” Off the Wire ” proudly sponsored by Pete’s Auto Body
One of the most amusing baseball books was penned by the late former Major League umpire Ron Luciano, titled ” The Umpire Strikes Back “.
Less humorous but certainly apropos is the recent award of $ 500,000 to umpire Joe West in a defamation suit against former All-Star catcher Paul Lo Duca.
Lo Duca was on a podcast and stated he had been ejected 8 or 9 times in his Major League career by West.
In another podcast moment Lo Duca told the story of how pitcher Billy Wagner had 3 straight batters called out on strikes. As Lo Duca related, Wagner told him the reason he got the calls was because the pitcher had allowed West to drive his 1957 Chevy.
So umpire West sued Lo Duca.
To aid his case, they went to the record books.
The MLB records which are meticulous, indicated West ran Lo Duca……once in his career.
Furthermore, the records also revealed that Wagner did not pitch in the only Mets-Phillies game that West worked behind the plate during 2006 and 2007, the period of time in which Lo Duca told the 57 Chevy story.
The judge ruled in West’s favor but in doing so more-or-less outlined the primary desire of the umpire, that is, consideration and induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
In making the ruling the judge stated the plaintiff expressed a legitimate concern that, if Hall of Fame voters credited Lo Duca’s false assertion regarding West’s integrity and character, West might not be elected for induction into the Hall of Fame for the same reasons as otherwise excellent players ‘Shoeless’ Joe Jackson, Pete Rose, and Barry Bonds have encountered.
I’m not sure Joe West will be selected for the Baseball Hall of Fame in spite of a career that stretches 45 years, but $ 500,000 should ease any offense taken from a podcast pertaining to his umpiring career.