Umpire Joe West has been suspended for three days for comments he made about Adrian Beltre.

In an article published on June 20 to coincide with the umpire's 5,000th regular-season game, West said "it's got to be Adrian Beltre" when asked who was the biggest complainer in baseball.

"Every pitch you call that's a strike, he says, 'Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!' I had a game with him recently and the pitch was right down the middle. He tells me, 'That ball is outside,'" West said.

Beltre said Tuesday he thought West's suspension was unnecessary and that West told him he was kidding when he worked a Texas Rangers series in early July.

The World Umpires Association said Tuesday that West was serving the first game of the suspension. It said Major League Baseball told the union in an Aug. 3 letter the discipline was in response to an "appearance of lack of impartiality."