The St. Louis Cardinals had plenty to be happy about when they left Arizona this weekend. They swept the Diamondbacks while riding a seven-game winning streak. Chase Field looked like Busch Stadium. And they’re starting to pull away in the NL Central standings as Albert Pujols chases 700 home runs.
But … Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol did have one issue with the otherwise successful weekend, and that came courtesy of umpire C.B. Bucknor.
Marmol was ejected in the third inning on Sunday when Bucknor called a first-pitch strike on an obvious inside pitch to Nolan Arenado. The reaction from Arenado said it all, but the fireworks really sparked when Marmol got tossed for complaining about the call. That led to the two shouting at each other from *very* close range.
CB Bucknor and Oliver Marmol got into a HEATED argument over this strike call pic.twitter.com/uTkYxc8BET
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) August 21, 2022
Marmol definitely got his money’s worth, but Bucknor didn’t exactly try to back down either. The umpire was just as animated as Marmol, which was a bit odd considering Bucknor was the one who missed the call.
After the game, Marmol said what really set him off in the whole exchange was Bucknor’s behavior. According to the Cardinals manager, he took issue with Bucknor’s smirk and how the ump apparently questioned his time in the league.
Oli Marmol got his money's worth after umpire C.B. Bucknor ejected him in the #STLCards' win Sunday: "I didn't like the smirk when I got out there. And then he questioned my time in the league, so I returned the favor and questioned his time in the league." pic.twitter.com/tLYjv23tu7
— Bally Sports Midwest (@BallySportsMW) August 22, 2022
Though Bucknor doesn’t receive attention at Angel Herndandez’s level, baseball players often name Bucknor among their least favorite umpires. In fact, out of umpires who have worked at least 15 games behind the plate this season, Bucknor is dead last in accuracy at 91.3 percent.
Per @UmpScorecards, Jeremie Rehak has passed Pat Hoberg to regain the #1 position based on season-to-date Overall Accuracy. Jeremie was most recently #1 through 8/2 but Pat passed him on 8/3. The difference between them is literally 1 pitch out of more than 3,000 called. pic.twitter.com/1jap21nVWu
— Umpire Scorecards Analysis (@UmpAnalysis) August 21, 2022
When you combine that poor performance with zero umpire accountability, Marmol’s frustration makes sense.
This was how Twitter reacted
CB Bucknor is another reason why the electronic strike zone cannot come soon enough https://t.co/Xmk1e1PbpE
— AtomAnt (@AtomAnt85) August 22, 2022
The worst part is how excited CB is to get the chance to become the headline https://t.co/TGsU9zFLoQ
— Caleb (@calebgoodman91) August 22, 2022
Even Enrico Pallazzo thinks this ump is acting like a 🤡🤡 https://t.co/VSFnsxAdPk
— Martin Kilcoyne (@martinkilcoyne2) August 22, 2022
I love Brenly’s affirmation of Marmol here. He understands his frustration https://t.co/bYcrOijRdl
— Brian Hoffman (@b_hoffman11) August 22, 2022
Never trust a ‘Buckner’ who spells his name ‘Bucknor’ https://t.co/UVJaxlP8Ax
— Candace Buckner (@CandaceDBuckner) August 21, 2022
I wish it wasn’t necessary, but the bots are coming. https://t.co/1uOakXjc58
— Kenny Mossman (@Kenny_Mossman) August 22, 2022
I LOVE Oli sticking up for our guys #STLCards https://t.co/JbZfLO9jkV
— Bruce Wayne (@B1ackBruceWayne) August 21, 2022
THIS is where the challenge system would be perfect. I'd LOVE for a batter to show up these umps that are as blind as a bat. https://t.co/CscEElrmaR
— John Brophy (@jbrophybaseball) August 21, 2022
CB Bucknor has been awful for a long time. He doesn't get quite the attention he deserves for it because Angel Hernandez is still around. https://t.co/n6tU3Wn50L
— Proud Katz (@A_Katzman83) August 21, 2022
Robot umps cannot arrived soon enough.
