Throughout Wednesday’s sport between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Milwaukee Brewers, umpire CB Bucknor took a foul ball to the mask and needed to be helped off the sphere. It was the cap to what has been a very unhealthy week for some of the controversial umpires in baseball.
It began with maybe the perfect instance of how MLB’s Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) Problem System can inject drama in baseball. That is the primary 12 months for the brand new robotic umpire, which permits hitters, catchers, and pitchers to challenge balls and strikes for the primary time. Every staff begins a sport with two challenges. However they solely lose a problem if it’s unsuccessful, so gamers aren’t inclined to demand a evaluation until they’re certain.
Throughout Saturday’s sport between the Crimson Sox and the Reds, Eugenio Suarez challenged Bucknor on back-to–back strike three calls and efficiently had them overturned by the robo ump.
It doesn’t matter that Suarez in the end grounded out. What issues is that, in a sport the place the Reds hit two residence runs, the loudest cheers got here for a pair of profitable ABS challenges.
This was removed from the one time that Bucknor had his calls overturned on the plate, it was a nasty night time for him total. There have been eight ABS challenges over the course of the sport, and 6 of them have been profitable. The 2 calls that weren’t overturned have been extraordinarily shut, inside 0.1 inch of the strike zone edge. His misses, nevertheless, have been extra dramatic. Three pitches he referred to as strikes missed by 2.4 inches or more — one was a full 2.7 inches out of the zone. And, by Jomboy Media’s judgment, Bucknor blew 20 calls for those who depend ones that weren’t challenged.
As the sport progressed, you would see the exasperation on Bucknor’s face develop because the final 5 challenges have been profitable. The clear message from the robots was: you’re unhealthy at your job. The league price for ABS challenges is 55 percent overturns, however Bucknor’s rate stands at 78 p.c as of April 2nd.
There have been a few umpires whose first brushes with ABS went worse. Chad Whitson had all seven of the seven challenges in his sport between the Yankees and the Giants on March twenty eighth overturned. However whereas Whitson might have had a nasty sport, Bucknor has had a tough profession.
Based on measurements by UmpScorecards Bucknor has been the least correct umpire in Main League Baseball during the last 5 years by a major margin. The positioning provides every ump an anticipated accuracy rating after which measures what number of right calls above or under that they make. From 2020 via April 2nd of 2026, CB Bucknor is rated as being 253.74 under his anticipated variety of right calls — and his anticipated accuracy will not be notably excessive to start with. Bucknor’s closest competitor is the almost as derided Laz Diaz, who’s rated as being 202.03 under the anticipated variety of right calls over an equal variety of video games.
Bucknor doesn’t want ABS to make him look unhealthy, both. On Tuesday, he made what’s clearly the worst call of the younger 2026 season to this point. He referred to as Milwaukee’s Jake Bauers out for failing to the touch first base on a groundball. The decision was shortly overturned on evaluation, however you didn’t want instantaneous replay to know that Bucknor was mistaken. The one manner it may have been extra apparent is that if Bauers stopped and jumped up and down on the bag with two ft. The decision was so egregious that each managers exchanged a figuring out chuckle from throughout the sphere.
Groups will clearly have to regulate to the brand new problem system and develop methods for the way greatest to navigate it. However its largest affect will likely be on umpires who’re going to have to regulate to a extra constant and mathematical strike zone. Umpires like CB Bucknor who’ve had, let’s say a extra subjective view of the strikezone, are going to have a tough 2026.