C.B. Bucknor’s Latest Blunder Had Both Managers Sharing a Laugh

Pat Murphy and Kevin Cash share a laugh about a C.B. Bucknor call. | @JomboyMedi

C.B. Bucknor wasn't behind home plate on Tuesday, but he still found a way to impact the game between the Rays and Brewers and ensure that instant replay was used.

In the bottom of the sixth inning Jake Bauers hit a line drive towards right field. A diving Ben Williamson got a glove on the ball, but only managed to knock it down. Williamson scrambled to pick the ball up and made an errant throw towards the first baseman as Bauers ducked and ran safely to first base. Catcher Nick Fortes picked the ball up and threw it to first and that's when Bucknor inserted himself into the ballgame.

As Bauers walked back to first he was tagged and called out by Bucknor. The home plate umpire Dan Iassogna went on the public address system and said that Bauers didn't touch first base. Except he clearly did. And it wasn't close. He basically put his entire foot right on the top of the base.

CB Bucknor strikes again, this time saying the runner did not touch first base. He very clearly did pic.twitter.com/zn6k9RtLXl

— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) April 1, 2026

"I think that is a horrendous call," said announcer Jeff Levering watching the replay. "Where is C.B. Bucknor looking? C.B. Bucknor was not even looking at the play. Well, I'm really excited for him to have the plate tomorrow."

That's right, sports fans! Umpire C.B. Bucknor will be calling balls and strikes in Milwaukee this afternoon for the final game of the Brewers-Royals series. Not only did he make the call above but he's coming off a game behind home plate where he was challenged eight times and one team has five of his calls overturned over the course of two innings. It's fitting he should be back calling balls and strikes on April 1.

Look, the important thing is that we can all laugh about this. Just look at the reactions of everyone involved last night. Bucknor seems to be suppressing a bit of a smirk as the call is challenged. Then Bauers has a huge smile as Bucknor walks past him back to his spot behind first.

But the real stars of the clip are Brewers manager Pat Muprhy and Rays manager Kevin Cash. They smile and then when they make eye contact you can actually see them sharing a laugh at what they just witnessed. How many times have you seen a call so bad that when it gets overturned no one is upset? In fact, the situation is so unbelievable that both sides are actually laughing about it?

This seems much worse than some bad calls on close pitches. Those are tiny baseballs with an incredible amount of movement and sometimes a wrong call is a fraction of an inch from being a right call.

This was a guy basically just guessing. Bauer stepped on the base. There's no room for interpretation. It was a call based on nothing.

And today he has to determine whether or not Jacob Misorowski's 104 mph fastballs caught the corner. If both teams use their ABS challenges carefully, we could be in for another record day. We'll make sure to keep a closer eye on that game today and Bucknor kept his eye on first last night.

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