While Cubs fans hugged with delight, there was only despair for the Indians, who now have gone longer than anyone without a crown. Tuesday night we salute Joe West on breaking a long-standing record - just another notch on Cowboy Joe’s six-shooter belt.After defeating San Francisco and the Los Angeles Dodgers in the playoffs, Chicago became the first team to earn a title by winning Games 6 and 7 on the road since the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates. He has successfully umpired four separate decades and will retire at the end of this season. Joe West is one of the best umpires in baseball history, solely based on his longevity in the league. West might not match all of his accolades, but he has also umpired longer than Klem has (Klem umpired for 37 years, then was appointed Head of Umpires upon his retirement). Bill Klem retired in 1940, and it has taken over 80 years for anyone to catch up to the mark that he had set. Night in and night out, West has been there calling games for 43 years. Joe West has had a career of longevity in a profession that is so tough to survive in. West also pioneered the “West Vest” which is a chest protector made of Lexan and has protected many an umpire from serious injury. West was eventually re-hired by Major League Baseball in 2002.

In 1999, West, along with 21 other umpires submitted their resignations during the Umpires labor dispute, which was accepted by the MLB. He made his first All-Star game appearance in 1987.

1983 saw West get suspended for three days and fined $500 for shoving Braves manager Joe Torre. Joe West in 1981 also got to call the fifth of Nolan Ryan’s record seven No-Hitters. In the same year, he called both games where Pete Rose tied and broke the NL record for most consecutive games with a hit. In his first full season as an umpire, West was on the crew during Willie McCovey’s 500th career home run.

2016 world series game 7 umpires