They always say it isn’t a good thing when you know an umpire’s name. So that headline right there is already pretty inauspicious.
Whatever else you want to say about the ABS challenge system – and I’ve thoroughly appreciated it this year – it has undeniably changed one thing, which I’m sure is pretty hard on some guys: home plate umpires now get publicly graded, in the stadium, in real time, every single night.
So, when I saw this report from Bob Nightengale at USA Today, my mind went where I suspect many of yours did, too:
“Players and fans can soon stop complaining about veteran umpire CB Bucknor. He is one of seven umpires who have informed MLB that he will retire at the season’s conclusion, accepting their buyout offer. The other six umpires: Laz Diaz, Brian O’Nora, Lance Barksdale, Marvin Hudson, Tony Randazzo and Andy Fletcher. The wave of retirements could open the door for Jen Pawol becoming the first full-time female umpire in 2027.”
I recognize the name of every single one of those umps, and, although they have undoubtedly had loads of unremarkable game moments where they simply did a good job, it’s hard not to first think of the drama. Bucknor, in particular, has routinely been at the center of absurdity, and I expect a lot of fans will weirdly miss having him to complain about, not unlike when Angel Hernandez and Joe West hung up their masks.
Seven retiring umpires at once sure seems like a lot, though the group skews heavily toward long-tenured veterans. These are guys who came up in a world where the strike zone was theirs, and it’s logical to wonder whether the risk of public shaming that comes from overturned calls has weighed on any of them. Again, I’m empathetic here, because I know it would really bug me!
Nobody in the group has said “ABS is why I’m leaving,” mind you, and I want to be careful not to write the tidy narrative just because it’s sitting right there. MLB has used buyout offers before to encourage turnover on the staff, and some of these retirements were probably coming regardless – the age and tenure math is what it is. But it would be silly to pretend the timing is pure coincidence. If you’re a veteran umpire who was going to hang it up within a few years anyway, why stick around to be publicly dinged by a machine every night?
There’s one more bit of timing I should at least mention: the CBA expires on December 1, and the possibility of a lockout – and a delayed or messy 2027 – is very real. The umpires aren’t a direct party to that fight, but if you’re weighing a guaranteed buyout now against umpiring into a season that might not start on time? If you’re on the fence? The looming CBA fight might be a tiebreaker.
Hence then, the article about a number of notable mlb umpires reportedly expected to retire after this season was published today ( ) and is available on Bleacher Nation ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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