As Major League Baseball gears up for its return to play in an abbreviated 60-game season, longtime umpire Joe West recently declared that he will be participating in the 2020 season despite the league classifying the 67-year-old West as a high-risk individual.
"If this game hasn't gotten me by now, no virus is going to get me," West told The Athletic on Monday. "I've weathered a bunch of storms in my life. I'll weather another one."
High-risk would include people who have heart disease, lung disease, cancer, high blood pressure, or diabetes. Coronavirus is commonly considered a respiratory illness, but many of those who have tested positive can experience a wide range of different symptoms, including possible effects on the heart.
West, who is 65 games short of breaking Bill Klem's record of 5,375 for the most regular-season games by an umpire, went on to say he does not "believe" that the reported coronavirus death totals (now more than 130,000 in the U.S.) were not all caused by the virus. Here's more of what West told The Athletic:
"He said, 'According to our doctors, you're high-risk,'" recalled West, who lives in Clermont, Fl., about 22 miles west of Orlando. "I said, 'Look, most of these people that they're reporting are dying are not healthy to begin with. I've lost 25 pounds over the winter. I'm playing golf every day in the heat. I'm fine. I'm not going to back down now.'
"I don't believe in my heart that all these deaths have been from the coronavirus. I believe it may have contributed to some of the deaths. I said, 'I'm not going to opt out. I'm going to work. And I'm going to work until you take me off the field or I get hurt, whatever. I'm working.'"
West doubled down on the comments to USA Today later in the week.
In response to West's comments (which were not backed up with evidence), the MLB Umpires Association (MLBUA) released a statement on Thursday, condemning his remarks.
"Recent public comments about the current Coronavirus pandemic do not in any way reflect the positions of the Major League Baseball Umpires Association," the union wrote in the statement. "Our nation, and the world, has suffered greatly from this deadly virus. In the midst of continued suffering umpires are attempting to do our part to bring the great game of baseball back onto the field and into the homes of fans everyone."
Here's the full statement:
Statement from the umpires’ union. Clearly in response to comments made by Joe West to The Athletic https://t.co/BSei2dnwpH West later made similar remarks to USA Today. pic.twitter.com/dQ7zUqNVdQ
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 9, 2020
In May, MLB and the MLBUA reached an agreement where the umpires would reportedly take a 30 percent reduction in pay for the 2020 season.
