CB Bucknor missed 20 calls in one game, a breakdown

Mar 30, 2026 1.6M views 10:15

What Happened

Jomboy breaks down a day where veteran ump CB Bucknor got repeatedly embarrassed by the automated ball-strike challenge system during a 2026 game involving the Reds and (per Cora's involvement) Boston. Eugenio Suarez challenged two straight strike-three calls with the bases loaded and won both, the second missing by 1.1 inches off the plate as the crowd roared. Will Benson then overturned multiple low calls in the seventh, including a 3-2 pitch that missed two ways. By the eighth, a fed-up Bucknor rang up Trevor Story on a checked swing without asking the first base umpire for help, leading to Story's ejection and a furious Alex Cora.

Why This Matters

This is the ABS challenge system colliding with one of the game's most criticized umpires, and the timing is brutal for Bucknor. The challenge format keeps the human ump but lets players instantly contest calls, so every miss now gets shown on the jumbotron in real time. Bucknor's long history with the low strike made him the obvious candidate to struggle, and the video confirms it with hard numbers: misses of 2.4 inches, 1.1 inches, and a pitch that missed both low and outside. The Suarez bases-loaded sequence could have broken the game open but ended in a groundout, so the bigger fallout was momentum and morale. The real escalation came when Bucknor, stripped of control by replay, refused to check a swing and ejected Story. Cora's postgame point stands: checking with the first base ump is the job.

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Key Moments

Who / What Is Involved

Players: CB Bucknor.

Full Transcript

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CB Buckner had himself a day. This

breakdown is brought to you by MLB nine

innings. Whenever anyone asked me, "What

umpire do you think is going to suffer

from the automatic ball strike system?"