We said we'd get him and god dammit we got him. The one and only Joe West joins Baseball Is Dead and becomes our first official interview on the new podcast. We talk to Joe about his staredown with MadBum, having the most number of games umpired of all-time, his favorite catchers he's worked with, the best pitchers he's ever seen, interactions between umpires and managers, throwing people out, and a ton more. If you've ever wanted to hear an umpire's perspective on the most highly debated topics in baseball this is the interview to listen to. Huge thanks to Joe West for being so open and willing to tell stories from a perspective that most people have never heard before. Throughout the rest of the episode Jared, Dallas, and Joey break down the biggest topics of the week so far in MLB. They cover the Nolan Arenado fight, the Met's getting thrown at, Bassit's comments about the baseballs, Joc Pederson having some choice words with the fans, Ronald Acuña Jr. coming back and Eric Hosmer chasing Ted Williams' batting title. Jared also has a gripe with pitchers texting him being upset when he tweets out home runs that they gave up. This is a long one folks, enjoy!

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (IL/IN/MI/NJ/PA/WV/WY), 1-800-NEXT STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO/NH), 888-789-7777/visit http://ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), 1-877-770-STOP (7867) (LA), 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY), visit OPGR.org (OR), call/text TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN), or 1-888-532-3500 (VA).

21+ (18+ NH/WY). Physically present in AZ/CO/CT/IL/IN/IA/LA/MI/NH/NJ/NY/OR/ PA/TN/VA/WV/WY only. Min. $5 deposit required. Eligibility restrictions apply. See http://draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices