C.B. Bucknor has endured a brutal start to the 2026 MLB season.
The umpire was behind the plate on Saturday for a game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Boston Red Sox, and Bucknor had eight of his ball/strike calls challenged under MLB’s new ABS Challenge System.
Six of those calls were overturned, including this incredible sequence in the bottom of the sixth where he called a strike three that could have ended the inning, but after a challenge from Cincinnati’s Eugenio Suárez, the pitch was ruled a ball.
Then on the very next pitch, Bucknor called another third strike, only to have Suárez challenge that pitch as well. An exasperated Bucknor
→ Continue reading at SB Nation
