The best part? Bumgarner is doing nothing wrong. He’s watching the ump from the mound, waiting for him to get into position so he can begin his delivery.

Not entirely true. Bumgarner hasn’t even established himself on the rubber yet while this is happening. Agree that West is more of an instigator here- but Bumgarner…

Great story, except the inside protector long predates Joe West’s career, which began in 1976. In the 60s when I started watching baseball, the NL was known as having a lower strike zone, because NL umps all wore the inside protector while AL umps wore the outside “balloon” protector, forcing them to stand more…

Doing nothing wrong in this case. I’m sure the next time a batter hits a home run off him, he’ll scream at him the entire way around the bases.

West: (stares)