Joe West, American baseball umpire and actor
Joseph Henry West (born October 31, 1952), nicknamed "Cowboy Joe" or "Country Joe", is an American former Major League Baseball umpire. Born in Asheville, North Carolina, he grew up in Greenville and played football at East Carolina University (ECU) and Elon College. West entered the National League as an umpire in 1976; he joined the NL staff full-time in 1978. West wore uniform number 22 throughout his career. As a young umpire, West worked Nolan Ryan's fifth career no-hitter, was on the field for Willie McCovey's 500th home run, and was involved in a 1983 pushing incident with manager Joe Torre. On May 25, 2021, West broke Bill Klem's all-time record by umpiring his 5,376th game.
West resigned during the 1999 Major League Umpires Association mass resignation, but was rehired in 2002. Since then, he has umpired throughout MLB. He served as crew chief for the 2005 World Series and officiated in the 2009 World Baseball Classic.
West has worked several no-hitters, including a 2012 perfect game by Félix Hernández. West has appeared in six World Series, three All-Star Games, ten League Championship Series (LCS), eight League Division Series (LDS) and four Wild Card Games.
West was president of the Major League Baseball Umpires Association (MLBUA) through 2018. As the organization's president, West helped negotiate the largest umpiring contract in baseball history. He works with a sporting goods company to design and patent umpiring equipment endorsed by MLB.