Orioles: Adam Jones Played Umpire “Country” Joe West’s Music as Walk-Up Song
Baltimore Orioles legend Adam Jones chose a country song by Joe West (an MLB umpire) for his walk-up music on Wednesday night against Toronto.
If you weren’t aware, there’s an MLB umpire that is also a country singer: Joe West.
And while his driver’s license simply says Joe West, he’s known as Cowboy Joe West on stage and to those who know him well. West, in addition to his honky-tonk side, holds the MLB record for seasons as an umpire.
On Wednesday, while umpiring a game between the Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles, West’s street-cred and Spotify plays went way up. Per Dan Connolly of The Athletic Baltimore, outfielder Adam Jones used one of West’s songs as his walk-up music.
Goofy thing worth noting in this piece. Adam Jones, who has fun in whatever he does, temporarily changed his walkup music to a Joe West country song. West was umping this week at Camden Yards. @SimplyAJ10 tipped his helmet to the vet ump in first AB Tues https://t.co/js4RNdrUcy
— Dan Connolly (@danconnolly2016) August 30, 2018
According to Connolly, Jones tipped his helmet to West when he got into the batter’s box and had the gesture reciprocated by baseball’s favorite cowboy. Connolly added that Jones didn’t know precisely what song they played, only that it was very, very country.
The Baltimore Orioles wound up winning 10-5 over Toronto, completing an out-of-nowhere sweep of the Blue Jays. Combined, the O’s scored 29 runs in the series, nearly 10 per game. Not bad for a unit that ranks No. 25 in runs scored and features several starters that casual baseball fans wouldn’t recognize.
As for Jones, he may want to lean on Cowboy Joe West’s vocals more often. Hitting in his regular clean-up spot, he put the O’s in position to win with a towering grand slam in the bottom of the fifth inning.
He’s now hitting a rock-solid .285 on the year, although his power numbers are down. The grand slam was his 14th of the year but ESPN has him projected to finish with just 17 by season’s end. If that comes to fruition, it’d be his lowest home run total since 2010 when he hit 19 dingers.
It should be noted that Jones’ stunt wasn’t the first time Cowboy Joe West’s voice came through speakers at an MLB stadium. Per Cut4, Chase Utley orchestrated an entire inning of Joe West walk-up music with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
READ: GREAT SEEING POST-GAME HANDSHAKE BETWEEN METS-PHILLIES AT LLWS
If you’re interested in the vocal stylings of an MLB umpire, you can see Joe West singing with country star Bobby Mackey right here.