Joe west: Salary| Cardinals| Umpire quotes| Record Game…

Joe Henry West, nicknamed “Cowboy Joe” or “Country Joe”, is an American professional baseball umpire in Major League Baseball. Born in Asheville, North Carolina, he grew up in Greenville and played football at East Carolina University and Elon College.

Joe west: Salary| Cardinals| Umpire quotes| Record Game

Salary:

Professional baseball umpires don’t make quite as much as the MLB player minimum salary, but they’re still well off financially. According to Career Trend, the starting rookie umpire salary is $150,000 and the more experienced umpires and senior umpires (like Joe West) rake in as much as $450,000 per year.

According to Bleacher Report, MLB umpires make more per year than officiating crew members from the NFL and NHL. The average big league umpire makes $235,000, while the average salary for NFL referees is $188,322. The highest-paid refs are in the NBA, where the average is $375,000.

Cardinals:

West turned 69 this month and is planning to retire at the end of this season. There’s a chance Wednesday night could be his final game, if he isn’t assigned to any more postseason games.

West called his first big league game in 1976 and broke Bill Klem’s record for most games umpired when he worked his 5,376th regular-season game last May. Known as “Cowboy Joe” and “Country Joe,” the former Elon College quarterback has worked the World Series six times.

Umpire Quotes:

West explained his decision in an interview with the Associated Press.

“I wouldn’t take that from a player. I wouldn’t take that from a manager,” West told The Associated Press. “If it was Donald Trump, I’d eject him, too. But I’d still vote for him.”

We’re not sure why West needed to make his voting plans clear to everyone, but he apparently felt the need to do just that. The veteran MLB umpire further explained his decision to eject Rizzo.

Record Game:

Joe West broke the record for most games umpired in the history of Major League Baseball as soon as the Chicago White Sox vs. St. Louis Cardinals game was official after five innings on Tuesday night.

West, 68, umpired his 5,376th regular-season game, one more than Hall of Fame umpire Bill Klem, who had held the record since 1941.