Umpire Joe West thinks a cheat sheet is a "foreign substance." I think Joe West should retire.
Author's Note: I originally posted this article on scorum.com. If you are not familiar with scorum, imagine a steemit that is dedicated to sports blogging and actually gives a shit about giving it's bloggers the proper tools to make quality posts easier. The scorum team and community is also working together to prevent the scammers and abuse that have been ruining this platform. In other words, in two months they have surpassed by far what STINC has accomplished in two years. And it is improving every day. I love it. It is for sports blogging only, so if you are interested in sports (and I mean any and all types of sports) please check it out and consider joining. You'll love it. By the way, my user name is chops316 over there as well.
Since taking over as manager for the Phillies this year, Gabe Kapler has stressed the importance of analytics to his players. All season long the outfielders have carried cheat sheets in their back pockets to remind them where they are supposed to be positioned for each batter. Catcher Jorge Alfaro uses a cheat sheet strapped to his wrist to remind him how to call pitches for opposing hitters. Not once this season has this been an issue for opposing teams or umpires.
Saturday night Phillies relief pitcher Austin Davis pulled a cheat sheet out of his back pocket before Kris Bryant came up to bat. Bryant hit a single and Addison Russell came up to the plate. Davis retrieved his cheat sheet again to review the analytics and suddenly there was a problem. Why? Because umpire Joe West was on the field.
West confiscated the cheat sheet and cited Rule 6.02 (c)(7) as his reason why. The rule states a pitcher may not "have on his person, or in his possession, any foreign substance,".
"I told him we don’t allow him to carry anything on their glove, person or clothing except in some cases where there’s a rain situation we allow them to put a rosin bag in their pocket," West told the Associated Press. "Other than that they can’t have anything on the pitcher."
What a load of bull. The purpose of the rule is to prevent pitchers from carrying anything that can be used to effect the flight of a pitch. A cheat sheet does nothing to effect the flight of a pitch. If a pitcher pulled a pack of gum out his pocket while on the mound to pop a stick in his mouth would Joe West confiscate it? No. Isn't gum as much as a "foreign substance" as a cheat sheet. Yes. So why wouldn't he confiscate it? Because Joe West wasn't concerned about the rules, he was concerned about his image.
Joe West is the worst possible kind of umpire, a showboat. Umpires aren't supposed to make headlines, they are supposed to enforce the rules of the game in an impartial manner. Joe West likes making headlines. He's done it in the past with questionable actions on the field of play that have resulted in him being fined or suspended or both. He's also made comments to the press about pace of play which criticized both the Red Sox and the Yankees for being "pathetic and embarrassing."
Those comments should have gotten him fired. It isn't an umpires job to criticize teams, they are their to enforce the rules. When West started criticizing teams to the press he proved he isn't impartial. He admitted it to the world. Yet he still has a job. Unreal.
Don't think for one second that Joe West confiscated that cheat sheet because he was concerned it broke the rules. Pitchers come to the mound every game slathered in sunscreen (even in domes and in night games) to get a better grip. That is the very definition of a "foreign substance", but Joe West and his fellow umpires let it slide. West took the cheat sheet to let everyone know he doesn't care for the new analytical approach to the game. It was his way of making a statement.
Well Joe, I have a statement for you. Go home. Your antics make all umpires look bad.
It is being reported by MLB.com today that the MLB has informed both the Phillies and the Cubs that it is perfectly legal for pitchers to carry a cheat sheet on the mound. Of course everyone already knew that. So did Joe West, but he isn't going to see his name in the paper by using common sense.
Photo credits: Keith Allison CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons