CB Bucknor Takes a Foul Ball to the Face, Exits Game After Brutal Week

CB Bucknor's already rough week just got worse, literally. The home-plate umpire took a 100.2 mph fastball flush to the facemask during the Milwaukee Brewers-Tampa Bay Rays game on Wednesday and had to leave the field. One minute he's behind the plate in the second inning, the next he's on his hands and knees in the dirt at American Family Field. After trainers checked him out, Bucknor got up and headed to the umpires' room. Game over for him.

A Week of Getting Torched by the New ABS System

This wasn't just any random bad day. Bucknor had already become the poster child for MLB's new Automated Ball-Strike challenge system, and not in a good way. The whole mess started Saturday in Cincinnati when the Reds and Red Sox challenged eight of his ball/strike calls. Six were overturned. The crowd lost it, especially after Reds slugger Eugenio Suárez successfully challenged back-to-back calls. Later, Bucknor called Red Sox batter Trevor Story out on a check swing, but the Red Sox were out of challenges. Story shouted at Bucknor anyway. The umpire let him stay in the game but ejected Red Sox manager Alex Cora for arguing. After the Red Sox's 6-5, 11-inning loss, Cora wasn't angry. He was sympathetic. "He has one job to do, it's to call balls and strikes," Cora said. "It wasn't his best day. That's what the system does. It's out there, everybody sees it, and he'll be the first one to accept it."

Tuesday's Disaster Before the Wednesday Hit

Then came Tuesday. Bucknor was working first base in Milwaukee when Brewers slugger Jake Bauers lined a ball off the glove of Rays second baseman Ben Williamson. The ball kicked loose, Williamson threw wildly to first, and Bucknor called Bauers out, ruling he'd missed the bag. Except that wasn't what happened. Brewers TV analyst Jeff Levering called it "a horrendous call," noting that Bucknor was watching the errant throw instead of Bauers' feet. The Brewers challenged, and Bucknor was overturned. Bauers went on to steal second and score on Brandon Lockridge's double. Milwaukee won 6-2, and Bucknor had another L on the scorecard.

The Bigger Picture: Umpires Struggling to Adjust

The ABS system is exposing more than just Bucknor's rough stretch. Five recently retired umpires told The Athletic that the new precision zone is creating impossible situations. Former umpire Gary Darling pointed out that umpires used to work with a "living zone" that shifted slightly based on the game situation. Now? The machine wants perfection. Dale Scott, another retired umpire, said active umps are now calling pitches based on "what the machine is going to call a strike" instead of what they actually see. "As an umpire, what you're trying to do is not get overturned," Scott said. "But when you're talking about 1/10th of an inch, being close doesn't really help."

Now when you're wrong, it's not just the manager chewing you out. It's the entire stadium seeing your mistake on the videoboard. On Wednesday, the crowd gave Bucknor polite applause as he limped out. Chad Fairchild took over at home plate, and the crew finished the game with three umpires.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.