MLB umpire Country Joe West is no stranger to controversy. Last year, he spoke out about games between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees being too long.
Just last night he brought himself to the forefront after Red Sox skipper Terry Francona was ejected by home plate umpire Angel Hernandez. And Saturday afternoon at Fenway Park, he took center stage in the third inning.
With Kevin Youkilis on first base and Jed Lowrie at the plate with a 3-1 count, Youkilis took off on the pitch from Kevin Slowey. The pitch was called a ball but West had his back turned from the plate as he got into position for the stolen base attempt.
He called Youk out and then Youk started to go to the dugout before realizing the situation and headed back to second. Minnesota Twins shortstop Trevor Plouffe tagged out Youk again. But this time Youk didn’t go anywhere and West realized his mistake that Youk should have been safe no matter what.
The Red Sox went on to win the game 4-0.
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