In Wednesday’s match between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Milwaukee Brewers, arbiter CB Bucknor sustained a hit from a foul ball to his mask and required assistance leaving the playing area. This incident marked the culmination of an especially unfavorable week for one of the most disputed officials in baseball.
The week commenced with perhaps the finest instance demonstrating how MLB’s Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) Challenge System can inject excitement into baseball. This marks the inaugural year for the novel automated official, empowering batters, receivers, and hurlers to contest ball and strike calls for the very first time. Every squad commences each match with two appeal opportunities. However, an appeal is only forfeited if it proves unsuccessful, thus players are disinclined to request scrutiny unless they are entirely certain.
In Saturday’s match featuring the Red Sox and the Reds, Eugenio Suarez contested consecutive strike three calls made by Bucknor, successfully having them reversed by the automated official.
The fact that Suarez eventually hit into a ground ball out is irrelevant. What holds significance is that, in a match where the Reds recorded two home runs, the most enthusiastic applause was generated by two victorious ABS challenges.
This was by no means the sole instance of Bucknor having his decisions reversed at home plate; it was, in general, an unfavorable evening for him. Throughout the match’s duration, eight ABS appeals were made, with six proving victorious. The two decisions that were not reversed were exceptionally narrow, falling within 0.1 inch of the strike zone’s border. His errors, however, were more conspicuous. Three pitches he erroneously designated as strikes exceeded the zone by 2.4 inches or more—one was completely outside the zone by 2.7 inches. Furthermore, according to Jomboy Media’s assessment, Bucknor missed 20 incorrect decisions if those not appealed are included.
As the match continued, one could discern Bucknor’s frustration intensify, especially as the final five appeals proved victorious. The unmistakable communication from the automated systems implied: you are incompetent at your duties. While the league’s overall average for ABS appeals results in 55 percent reversals, Bucknor’s personal rate registers at 78 percent as of April 2nd.
A few officials experienced initial encounters with ABS that fared more poorly. On March 28th, Chad Whitson witnessed all seven appeals in his match between the Yankees and the Giants being reversed. However, while Whitson might have endured an unfavorable match, Bucknor has faced a challenging professional path.
Based on data compiled by UmpScorecards, Bucknor has been identified as the least precise official in Major League Baseball over the past half-decade, by a considerable difference. The platform provides each official with an anticipated precision rating, subsequently determining the number of accurate decisions they render above or below that benchmark. Between 2020 and April 2nd, 2026, CB Bucknor is assessed as being 253.74 below his anticipated quantity of accurate decisions—and his projected precision wasn’t particularly elevated initially. Bucknor’s nearest rival is the similarly criticized Laz Diaz, who is assessed as being 202.03 below the anticipated quantity of accurate decisions across a comparable number of matches.
Bucknor doesn’t even require ABS to make him appear incompetent. On Tuesday, he rendered what is unquestionably the most egregious decision of the nascent 2026 season to date. He declared Milwaukee’s Jake Bauers out for neglecting to contact first base following a grounder. The decision was promptly reversed upon scrutiny, yet one didn’t require immediate video playback to recognize Bucknor was incorrect. The sole manner in which it could have been more patent would be if Bauers had halted and hopped on the base with both feet. The decision was so flagrant that both skippers shared an amused glance from opposite sides of the field.
Squads will clearly need to adapt to the novel appeal mechanism and formulate tactics on how best to manage it. However, its most substantial effect will be on officials who will be compelled to conform to a more uniform and computational strike zone. Officials such as CB Bucknor, who have possessed, shall we say, a more discretionary perspective of the strike zone, are anticipated to experience a challenging year in 2026.
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