Veteran Major League Baseball umpire C.B. Bucknor will retire at the end of the 2026 season, bringing to a close a three-decade career that was as controversial as it was lengthy.
Bucknor is one of seven umpires who accepted Major League Baseball’s voluntary buyout offer as he chooses to step away before the league’s full implementation of the Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) system, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today,
The other umpires taking the buyout include Laz Diaz, Brian O’Nora, Lance Barksdale, Marvin Hudson, Tony Randazzo and Andy Fletcher.
Nightengale notes that the retirements could make way for Jen Pawol to become the first woman to be a full-time umpire in MLB during the 2027 season.
Bucknor, 63, debuted as a National League umpire in 1996 before joining the full MLB staff in 2000.
Over the course of his career, he worked more than 4,000 regular-season games, earned assignments to the 2005 and 2021 All-Star Games and officiated multiple division series.
Despite those accomplishments, he became one of baseball’s most polarizing umpires because of his strike zone and several highly publicized missed calls, which have become more notable in recent years.
During Opening Week, Bucknor had six ball-strike calls overturned through the ABS challenge system while working behind the plate during a game between the Reds and Red Sox.
Umpire scorecards later credited him with missing 26 ball-strike calls in that contest, one of the highest totals recorded during the season’s opening week.
Only days later, he missed an obvious call at first base during a game between the Brewers and Rays, a decision that was quickly overturned on replay and drew laughter from both dugouts.
Bucknor often found himself at the center of criticism over his work behind the plate. Many routinely questioned his consistency, and for good reason. His accuracy behind the plate is said to be 92 percent, well below the MLB average, according to UmpScorecards.com.
In player surveys conducted by Sports Illustrated in 2003 and 2006, he was voted the worst umpire in MLB.
An ESPN survey of active players in 2010 reached the same conclusion.
With ABS expected to play a larger role in future seasons, the veteran umpire elected to walk away on his own terms, which may be a sigh of relief for baseball players, fans and others moving forward.
