Cubs: Anthony Rizzo makes interesting comments about Joe West

Anthony Rizzo, for the most part, has been an honest man throughout his MLB career. That was no different this week. Every Tuesday, the Chicago Cubs star goes on “Kap and J-Hood“, the 7 AM morning show on ESPN 1000. It is always great to get updates on things surrounding the team from someone who would know better than everyone. He made some comments that might make people think twice when they rip on umpire Joe West.

Anthony Rizzo of the Chicago Cubs clearly has some respect for Joe West.

Earlier in the week, Joe West was in town to umpire a series between the Chicago White Sox and St. Louis Cardinals. In that series, he broke the MLB’s record for the most games umpired with 5,376 games. It is an amazing accomplishment for anyone to be involved with anything for that long.

A lot of people, however, don’t like Joe West. He has done a lot in the game but he has annoyed some people along the way. He throws people out for strange reasons a lot and seems to enjoy making the game about himself from time to time. He is someone who often is graded by MLB managers to be one of the top umpires which is the reason he has appeared in many different World Series.

Speaking of the World Series, Joe West was the crew chief when the Cubs defeated the Cleveland Indians in 2016. That was the franchise’s first World Series championship in 108 years so you know it was special to a lot of people.

On the radio, Rizzo made a great point about that game. It was Joe West’s decision to call a rain delay late in game seven which canceled all of the momenta that the Indians had. It allowed the Cubs to catch a breath of fresh air and come out and win. If it weren’t for Joe West’s decision to do that, the Indians might have snatched victory from the hands of defeat to win.

Rizzo is a guy who likes to talk to folks on the field so you know he has had some conversations with Joe West in between innings when Joe is at first base. Rizzo is also the type of guy to trust when it comes to his judgment of character. Joe West may not be perfect but he was a big part of the biggest moment the Cubs have ever had.

This wasn’t the only topic Rizzo touched on. He acknowledged that the current edition of the Chicago Cubs is playing with a chip on their shoulder right now because of how the offseason and the first part of the season went. The hope is that they can continue playing well and battle until the end.