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C.B. Bucknor endured a horror show of an outing during the Reds' clash with the Red Sox on Saturday afternoon.
Bucknor, a 26-year veteran behind home plate, has long been reviled for his inconsistent application of the strike zone. On Saturday, he found a willing dance partner in the form of a newly-minted participant in big-league contests: the automated balls-strikes challenge system.
Bucknor saw myriad calls flip at the Great American Ballpark. Suffice to say, his struggles had the baseball world talking.
With that, here's a look at Bucknor's hellish display in Cincinnati.
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C.B. Bucknor overturned calls
Bucknor struggled to find the strike zone on Saturday night, missing his spots with increasing regularity. All told, he missed six calls, posting an overall accuracy rate of 88 percent, per Ump Scorecards. That was well short of the 92 percent rate he flaunted during last year's regular season.
In years past, Bucknor's error would go unchecked, vanishing into the abyss as batters stood at home plate dumbfounded. The automated ball-strike system, however, was designed to be a bulwark against strike zone discrepancies. On Saturday night, it found a worthwhile target in Bucknor.
Bucknor saw six of his eight efforts overturned, many of which prompted delight from the Reds faithful. No moments proved as memorable as Bucknor's toils against Eugenio Suarez. The Cincinnati slugger was rung up after seeing a pitch whiz past his shadow on a 1-2 count. Suarez tapped his helmet to challenge the call. Moments later, it was overturned.
— Umpire Scorecards (@UmpScorecards) March 29, 2026One pitch later, Bucknor appeared to send Suarez to the dugout with another strikeout. Suarez challenged the call. He was proven right once more.
CB Bucknor, a member of a major-league umpiring crew since 1999, had eight calls challenged and a whopping six overturned — including this sequence.
MORE: What to know about ABS rules and robot umpires in 2026 season
What is ABS?
ABS refers to automated ball-strike system, a new technological challenge system introduced in MLB in 2026. The edict allows batters and pitchers to use replay review to challenge on-field balls and strikes calls.
Effectively, ABS serves as a "robot umpire." It's a complement to human umpires, serving as something of a last defense — assuming teams have challenges available.
ABS challenge overturn rate
As of March 29, the ABS challenge rate sits at 54 percent, according to Baseball Savant. Of the 124 challenges presented to umpires by batters and fielders, 67 have been overturned.
Reactions to overturned calls
Suffice to say, the baseball world was abuzz as Bucknor's calls flipped. Here's a look at some of the more noteworthy social media reactions from a day Bucknor would rather forget.
Absolutely electric lmao CB Buckner noticeably annoyed when he tapped the 2nd time only to be wrong again and listen to 40,000 people cheer for his incompetence 😂 pic.twitter.com/F7zY93G7fz
— Shelfy (@RealShelfy) March 28, 2026Longtime umpire CB Bucknor had eight calls challenged and a whopping six overturned on Saturday.
What does this mean for ABS? pic.twitter.com/YRJnllZM5U
There have been 6 successful ABS challenges today on CB Bucknor and we haven’t gotten through 7 innings of the game yet 😭 pic.twitter.com/Ewe0krPvf0
— js9innings (@js9inningsmedia) March 28, 2026Trevor Story just exploded on CB Bucknor. Never seen him this mad before. Well-deserved.
Alex Cora has been ejected... pic.twitter.com/K4sMZPNnN6
The Red Sox blew all their ABS challenges early against the always horrible CB Bucknor and now he’s running amok like Jason Voorhees. I like ABS it’s a brand-new way to get aggravated during a baseball game.
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) March 28, 2026C.B. Bucknor umpire rating
Bucknor's 92.8% accuracy, 92.5% consistency and -0.5% accuracy above average all ranked comfortably below league averages in 2025. Simply put, he's one of baseball's worst umpires as far as balls and strikes are concerned. He hasn't ranked inside the league average range in any of the marks since the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season.
C.B. Bucknor salary
Bucknor's salary hasn't yet been made public. However, he is likely to command a healthy salary, having accrued some 26 years of tenure. Front Office Sports reported MLB umpires earn $300,000 annually on average, equivalent to an average pay-per-game rate of $1,852. That figure can swell in postseason play; umpires reportedly earn $17,500 (plus expenses) in the playoffs and $20,000 (plus expenses) in the World Series. Veterans like Bucknor can land between $350,000-$400,000, per Front Office Sports.
Who is the worst umpire in MLB?
Since Angel Hernandez's retirement in 2024, the title of MLB's worst umpire has been shrouded in mystery. Bucknor is a leading candidate for the scornful prize, regularly producing accuracy, consistency and expected correct call differentials that rank well below league average.
Bucknor finished below Hernandez in two of the three marks in 2023, Hernandez's final full season in MLB.
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