MLB referee CB Buckner, who was the subject of a blowout call at the beginning of the 2024 season, is under fire again after being called a blowout to end a game after a three-hour delay due to rain.
Saturday’s game between the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago White Sox ended with Buckner calling a strike-three on the Cardinals’ Ivan Herrera, who was clearly outside the strike zone.
Even though the Cardinals loaded the bases with no outs, the White Sox escaped with a 6-5 lead in the 10th inning. After two strikeouts, the rain postponement began.
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On May 4, 2024, in the bottom of the 10th inning of a game against the Chicago White Sox at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Ivan Herrera of the Cardinals reacts to a strike-three call by umpire CB Buckner and stops the game. Ta. (Joe Puetz/Getty Images)
Three hours later, the White Sox had left-hander Tanner Banks on the mound, so Herrera was a pinch hitter for left-hander Nolan Gorman.
With the count 1-2, Banks threw a low, outside-corner fastball that was clearly visible outside the bat. However, Buckner immediately called out to Herrera, who crouched down in the batter’s box, surprised by the umpire’s decision.
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When the call came in, the Cardinals’ television announcers said, “You’ve got to be kidding.” “When it’s all said and done, he’ll call it a pitch from the bat.”
Willson Contreras of the St. Louis Cardinals speaks with referee CB Buckner during a game against the Cubs at Wrigley Field in Chicago on May 8, 2023. (Michael Reeves/Getty Images)
Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol spoke about the call after the game. He didn’t name Buckner, but mentioned his terrible phone call.
“You’d want to wait three hours and have it decided between the pitcher and the batter, but that wasn’t the case,” Marmol said, via the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Buckner’s call was just the latest controversy for him within the past week. When New York Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortez threw an obviously low pitch, he called a three-strike call on young Baltimore Orioles star Gunnar Henderson.
Home plate umpire CB Buckner during the bottom of the fourth inning of the Washington Nationals vs. Reds game at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati on March 30, 2024. (Nick Cammet/Diamond Images via Getty Images)
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MLB officiating has drawn the ire of players and fans alike since the start of the season. And while it’s a tough job, calls like this from Buckner are not what teams want, especially in key situations of the game.
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