Even C.B. Bucknor’s biggest detractors probably didn’t see this week going so badly for him.
Bucknor has long been one of the most unpopular umpires in MLB, and the advent of the ABS challenge system was bound to hit him harder than most, if not all, other umpires. That bore out on Saturday when thousands of Cincinnati Reds fans cheered on as he had back-to-back strike three calls overturned.
Those were two of six pitches that Bucknor had overturned in that game alone, and by the count of social media video magnate Jomboy, he blew a total of 20 calls that day.
That was Bucknor’s first game working behind home plate. We still have not seen the second, but he managed to egregiously blow a call from first base on Tuesday.
In the sixth inning of a game between the Tampa Bay Rays and Milwaukee Brewers, Brewers first baseman Jake Bauers reached first on a play that saw Rays second baseman Ben Williamson miss a throw.
Bucknor’s ruling: Bauers was out, because he failed to touch first base while running. That led to a quick challenge and a quick overturn, as replay showed Bauer’s entire foot hit the bag. It gets even worse when watching Bucknor himself on the replay, as he very clearly is looking at the errant ball and not the base.
The call was so bad that both Rays manager Kevin Cash and Brewers manager Pat Murphy were exchanging laughs from opposite dugouts in the aftermath. The Brewers broadcast, meanwhile, was perplexed. Play-by-play announcer Jeff Levering’s reaction to the replay:
“I think that is a horrendous call. Where is C.B. Bucknor looking?… C.B. Bucknor wasn’t even looking at the play.”
Levering later quipped “I’m really excited for him to have the plate tomorrow.”
The call was significant. Had Bucknor’s mistake been allowed to stand, it would have been the end of the bottom of the sixth inning. Instead, Bauers reached base, stole second and scored on a double from Brandon Lockridge to expand the Milwaukee lead to 5-2.
The Brewers won the game 6-2 behind a strong return start from Brandon Woodruff to improve their record to 4-1. Both Bauers and Gary Sánchez homered for Milwaukee.
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