Umpire CB Bucknor. Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

ABS challenge system exposed brutal day for umpire CB Bucknor

By Adam Gretz | Last updated Mar 28, 2026 9:22 PM ET

Fans might love it. Players might eventually learn to love it (if they do not already). But umpires are going to hate Major League Baseball's new ABS challenge system for balls and strikes. At least as long as it makes them look bad.

That is exactly what happened to home plate umpire C.B. Bucknor on Saturday in the Cincinnati Reds' 6-5 win over the Boston Red Sox.

Umpire CB Bucknor had brutal day calling balls and strikes

Bucknor had eight different calls challenged on Saturday, including a whopping six of them that were overturned by the challenge system.

The most stunning sequence of the game came in the top of the sixth inning. It was then that Bucknor punched Cincinnati's Eugenio Suarez out on consecutive called third strikes, only to have Suarez immediately challenge both pitches and have them be overturned after review.

The crowd roared with approval each time.

CB Bucknor rung up Eugenio Suarez twice and was wrong on back to back pitches. He's been horrendous all day.

Also, great range from Marcelo Mayer throwing from shortstop. pic.twitter.com/qQ6dATvLb3
— Tyler Milliken (@tylermilliken_) March 28, 2026

Suarez ended up grounding out to second base on the next pitch to end the inning, but it was still a stunning sequence to watch.

But it would not be the only incident involving Bucknor on Saturday.

After having lost their challenges earlier in the game, Boston's Trevor Story was called out on strikes on a pitch that seemed to be clearly out of the strike zone, resulting in him losing his mind and screaming at Bucknor. Manager Alex Cora then charged out of the dugout to express his frustration and was ejected.

Teams start each game with two challenges, and keep them as long as they keep winning challenges.

As long as you keep winning, you can keep challenging.

The Red Sox did not win their early challenges and could no longer challenge the call on Story.

This sort of thing is going to be a story all season, and it might help confirm fans and players previously held opinions on certain umpires. Generally speaking, umpires get a lot of calls right and do an incredibly difficult job at a high level. But some of those misses in big moments can be egregious, and those are the ones that get the most attention. Now they are going to get even more attention.

Adam Gretz

Adam Gretz is a freelance writer based in Pittsburgh. He covers the NHL, NFL, MLB and NBA. Baseball is his favorite sport -- he is nearly halfway through his goal of seeing a game in every MLB ballpark. Catch him on X @AGretz

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