Joe West (11)

Joseph Henry West (born October 31, 1952), nicknamed "Cowboy Joe" or "Country Joe", is an American professional baseball umpire in Major League Baseball (MLB). West is known outside umpiring as a singer–songwriter. His involvement in country music and his demeanor on the field have earned him the nickname "Cowboy Joe". West has described his music as "two chords and the truth. ... It's simple. It tells a story." In 2009, West said of his music pursuits, "I was lucky. You know, the dues you have to pay to get here as an umpire are long and tedious, but the music business, because I was already in the major leagues, kind of opened a lot of doors I normally wouldn't have been able to open." West has appeared at the Grand Ole Opry. He has performed with Mickey Gilley, Johnny Lee and Merle Haggard. West served as a pallbearer for Boxcar Willie. West released his first album, Blue Cowboy, in 1987. Blue Cowboy is an album of three original songs and five covers. Chuck Yarborough of the Cleveland Plain Dealer said, "Listening to the first excerpt of his "Blue Cowboy" made me balk—you'll pardon the expression—at listening to the second. But I did. And the third. And so on. And now? Well, if I'm Nashville, I run West outta the game. The Hook. The Heave-Ho. The Thumb." In a September 2012 review, music blog Long After Dark said, "Blue Cowboy easily ranks with Ron Artest and Carl Lewis as one of the worst albums that a sports figure has cut ... ever. I can say that I managed to make it through the record, although it was not easy." He released Diamond Dreams in 2008. The album was a collaboration with Kent Goodson, pianist for country star George Jones. It tells baseball stories inspired by West's umpiring career. Goodson later said, "As I look back on how this CD came together, I realize that I am a musician and Joe is an umpire. But his love for music and my love for baseball bonded us in this project." Sportswriter Doug Miller said that the album was "a fun, humorous and often touching collection of spoken-word gems in which the listener gets a perfect sampling of the true personality of Cowboy Joe West". West has made one film appearance, playing a third base umpire in the 1988 comedy film The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad![5] He also made a cameo appearance on the television crime drama The Oldest Rookie,[48] An avid golfer, West appears on the Celebrity Players Tour.