Joe West is The Jair Bolsonaro of Major League Baseball

MLB umpire Joe West wants to work during the abbreviated 2020 season despite being at high risk for COVID-19. 

West, 67, told Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, “If this game hasn’t gotten me by now, no virus is going to get me.”

To make matters worse, West is one of those folks who doesn't believe COVID-19 has killed nearly 130,000 Americans since February:

“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, who has been umpiring since 1976 and is 65 games away from umpiring more big league games in MLB history, reminds me of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.

For months now, Bolsonaro has dismissed the seriousness of COVID-19 likening it to nothing more than "a little flu". Bolsonaro also said back in April, "That's life. We're all going to die someday." Well, more than 65,000 Brazilians have lost their lives because of COVID-19 as more than 1.6 million in South America's most populous country have been afflicted. Outside of the United States, no other country has been more devastated by COVID-19 than Brazil. Yet their President is unfazed by it all. Sound familiar?

Bolsonaro bragged that his athletic prowess would prevent him from testing positive for COVID-19. Well, today he tested positive. Of course, Bolsonaro claims he feels fine after taking hydroxychloroquine. Should West test positive for COVID-19 it would come as no surprise to me if he would extol its virtues. 

Brazil might be stuck with Bolsonaro, but MLB is not stuck with Joe West. MLB should forbid him from umpiring this season. The personal achievements of a single umpire is less important than the well being of the players, coaches, training staff and his fellow umpires. The last thing MLB needs is to become its own little Brazil.