C.B. Bucknor, Controversial Umpire, to Retire After 2026 MLB Season

Veteran Major League Baseball umpire C.B. Bucknor announced he will retire at the end of the 2026 season, concluding a career spanning three decades that was marked by both longevity and controversy.

Bucknor is among seven umpires who have accepted Major League Baseball’s voluntary buyout offer. This decision comes as the league prepares for the wider implementation of its Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) system. The other umpires taking the buyout include Laz Diaz, Brian O’Nora, Lance Barksdale, Marvin Hudson, Tony Randazzo, and Andy Fletcher.

Bucknor, 63, began his career as a National League umpire in 1996 and joined the full MLB staff in 2000. Over his tenure, he officiated more than 4,000 regular-season games, including assignments to the 2005 and 2021 All-Star Games, and worked multiple division series.

Despite these accomplishments, Bucknor became one of baseball's most polarizing figures due to his strike zone consistency and several widely publicized missed calls. In one instance during Opening Week, six of his ball-strike calls were overturned via the ABS challenge system in a game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Boston Red Sox. Umpire scorecards later indicated he missed 26 ball-strike calls in that game, a high total for the early season. Days later, a missed call at first base in a game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays was overturned on replay, drawing laughter from both dugouts.

His accuracy behind the plate has been a frequent point of criticism, with UmpScorecards.com reporting his accuracy at 92 percent, a figure below the MLB average. Player surveys conducted by Sports Illustrated in 2003 and 2006, as well as an ESPN survey of active players in 2010, reportedly named Bucknor the worst umpire in MLB.

Bucknor's retirement, prompted in part by the league's move towards more automated officiating, allows him to step away on his own terms. The retirements of Bucknor and the other umpires may also create an opportunity for Jen Pawol to become the first full-time female umpire in MLB during the 2027 season.