C. B. Bucknor missed call at first: MLB umpire back in spotlight after losing another obvious challenge
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C. B. Bucknor missed call at first: MLB umpire back in spotlight after losing another obvious challenge originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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Umpires have always been known to make the wrong calls at times. Angel Hernandez was one of the most notorious umpires in the MLB because of his frequent faulty decision-making that has cost teams wins.
While he hasn't caused a team to lose yet this year, umpire C. B. Bucknor has begun making his name a household name amongst MLB fans for all the wrong reasons. He has missed almost 30 balls and strikes in his first outing of the season, and originally called a player safe for not stepping on first base. Spoiler alert: the player did, and it was quite obvious.
Here is Bucknor's latest mishap on the diamond. You can be the judge of the situation.
MORE: C.B. Bucknor overruled by ABS six times in single game
C. B. Bucknor missed call at first
In the bottom of the sixth inning of Tuesday's Milwaukee Brewers vs. Tampa Bay Rays game, Brewers first baseman Jake Bauers hit a groundball that was bobbled and dropped by Rays second baseman Ben Williamson. After throwing the ball erratically to first, the ball flew past and Bauers was safe. Very clearly.
However, Bucknor ruled that Bauers had not touched first base and was out after being tagged. Here is a video of the play.
CB Bucknor strikes again, this time saying the runner did not touch first base. He very clearly did pic.twitter.com/zn6k9RtLXl
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) April 1, 2026
The call on the field was swiftly overturned, and Bauers was rightfully ruled safe.
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Who is C. B. Bucknor?
C. B. Bucknor is an MLB umpire who has gained a notorious reputation this season for missing multiple calls. This season, Bucknor's calls have been reviewed and overturned both behind the plate judging strikes, and calling runners out on the basepath.
Most recently, he misjudged that Bauers did not touch first base when he clearly did.
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C. B. Bucknor missed call history
Last week, Cincinnati Reds slugger Eugenio Suarez challenged two of Bucknor's strike calls successfully. Here is a video that captures both of those moments.
C.B. Bucknor tried to ring up Eugenio Suárez on back-to-back pitches.
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) March 28, 2026
Suárez challenged both and won both challenges.
(H/T: @tylermilliken_) pic.twitter.com/erzchAXPw0
As of March 30, Bucknor led the league with 26 missed ball and strike calls in their first outing. Here is how the umpire stacks up compared to other MLB umpires.
Incorrectly Called Balls And Strikes
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) March 30, 2026
(MLB Umps In Their First Outing, via @UmpScorecards)
26 CB Bucknor
25
24
23
22
21
20
19 Tripp Gibson, Chris Segal
18
17
16 Dan Iassogna, Ramon De Jesus
15
14 Cory Blaser, Ben May
13 Adrian Johnson, D.J. Reyburn, Bill Miller
12 Marvin Hudson,… pic.twitter.com/xRhfM6kdQF
Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora was ejected after Bucknor did not check with the first base umpire before ruling that Trevor Story had gone around on his swing. Here is a recap of the situation.
Alex Cora was ejected by CB Bucknor for arguing this check swing call on Trevor Story
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) March 28, 2026
Bucknor did not appeal to the first base umpire on the check swing, and he has already had several calls overturned on ABS challenges in today's game pic.twitter.com/Wh698UTgnl
C. B. Bucknor age
C. B. Bucknor is 63 years old and was born on Aug. 23, 1962, in Savanna-la-Mar, Jamaica. He made his umpire debut on Apr. 4, 1996.