MLB Season Resumes as Umpires Face Retirement
The second half of Major League Baseball’s season kicks off tonight, bringing an end to what felt like a long, baseball-less three days.
The restart is also significant for three of the league’s least popular umpires. As it turns out, Raz Diaz, Brian Honora, and CB Buckner will be hanging up their masks at the end of this season.
Speaking of umpiring, this season hasn’t exactly set high standards. It’s interesting—or perhaps not—to see that Diaz, Honora, and Buckner are rated among the least effective umpires this year.
Umpiring Under Scrutiny
According to some reports, Diaz has a score of eight, Honora sits at seven, and Buckner comes in with a score of just one. They’ve all opted for buyouts and are planning their retirement. Coincidence? Who knows—maybe it just seems that way.
It makes you wonder if they’re just coasting towards the finish line like many of us do during the last stretch of school. There’s even a lighthearted term for it: “senileitis.” Funny how that feels apt sometimes.
For those following along, it’s particularly not shocking that Buckner is on this list. He started the season with some really questionable calls, which made it even more surprising that he got to keep officiating games.
Seriously, some of those calls were just astonishing. Buckner has the lowest accuracy among referees, sitting at 91.33%, while Honora and Diaz aren’t doing much better at just over 92%. A total of seven umpires have taken buyouts set for the season’s end.
By the way, the other less-than-stellar umpires include:
- Lance Barksdale (70th place)
- Marvin Hudson (52nd)
- Tony Randazzo (no called games this season)
- Andy Fletcher (74th place)
So, it’s not the best group overall, but others are facing even tougher critiques. And yes, Jan Pawol continues to be a favorite target for criticism, currently ranking as the third-worst umpire this season. Whether or not she has been offered a buyout is still up in the air.
