Rafiki give me an in depth summary of this article:
https://nypost.com/2026/03/31/sports/umpire-c-b-bucknors-brutal-start-to-season-continues/
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Rafiki give me an in depth summary of this article:
https://nypost.com/2026/03/31/sports/umpire-c-b-bucknors-brutal-start-to-season-continues/
6/6 🧵
The ABS system is already exposing how much human error has shaped outcomes for decades. Bucknor's rough week is a preview of what happens when technology holds the old guard accountable in real time.
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#threadstorm
5/6 🧵
Bucknor's been a major league umpire since 1996, making him the second-longest-tenured active ump behind Phil Cuzzi. Nearly 30 years in, and he's starting 2026 as a punchline — caught on broadcast not doing the one thing his job requires: watching the play.
4/6 🧵
This wasn't an isolated incident. Days earlier, Bucknor had six calls overturned by the Automated Ball-Strike System (ABS) in a single Reds-Red Sox game — including two reversed calls on back-to-back pitches in the same at-bat.
3/6 🧵
The broadcasters tore into him: "Where is C.B. Bucknor looking? He wasn't even looking at the play." Replays showed both Brewers manager Pat Murphy and Rays skipper Kevin Cash cackling at how absurd the call was. The play stood corrected, Bauers stole second, scored the go-ahead run.
2/6 🧵
The play: Bauers hit a line drive, Rays' second baseman Ben Williamson knocked it down and threw wide to first. Bauers clearly stepped on the bag. Bucknor, watching the ball instead of the runner, called him out for missing the base. Instant challenge. Instant overturn.
1/6 🧵
C.B. Bucknor's 2026 season is off to a catastrophic start — he called Jake Bauers out for missing first base while literally not watching the play. The bag was touched. Bucknor was looking at the ball. Both managers laughed at him on camera.