The coach of St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Oliver Marmol tried to clear the air with MLB umpire CB Bucknor on Sunday before his team’s spring game against the Washington Nationals, but things didn’t go as planned.
When Marmol approached Bucknor before the game to shake his hand, Bucknor refused.
The other three umpires shook hands with Marmol and apparently apologized for Bucknor’s behavior, but Marmol, who said approached Bucknor with a respectful handshake, he did not come away happy from the incident.
“I don’t think he’s very good at his job, and he has zero class as a man,” Marble said later.
Remember, the two have a history dating back to last season.
Marmol was ejected in the third inning from an August 2022 game against the Arizona Diamondbacks when Bucknor threw a first pitch on a possibly obvious infield to Nolan Arenado.
Arenado turned around in shock after Bucknor’s call, and moments later, Marmol was ejected for complaining about it. Things escalated quickly, as the two men got closer and began yelling at each until things broke.
Marble coached the Cardinals for four years (2017-21) before becoming the team’s manager in 2022. He is 93-69 (.574) with St. Louis, which finished first in the National League Central last season before getting swept in a wild card series by Philadelphia.
Bucknor made his MLB debut in 1996 and has umpired five postseason divisional games (2007-09, 2013, 2020), two All-Star Games (2005, 2021) and one wild-card game (2020).
He was voted the worst umpire in the league by the active major leaguers in 2003 and 2006, according to Sports Illustrated. Bucknor was once again named the worst umpire in MLB in a 2010 ESPN poll of 100 active players, capturing 42% of the ballots.
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