Three hours into the game, Cardinals’ manager Oliver Marmol was forced to pinch-hit for lefty Nolan Gorman with Ivan Herrera, since the White Sox had brought in their own left-handed pitcher, Tanner Banks. With the count at 1-2, Banks threw a fastball low and outside, clearly missing the strike zone. Despite the obvious miss, umpire CB Bucknor called it a strike, leaving Herrera and the Cardinals stunned.
The Cardinals’ TV announcers couldn’t believe it, exclaiming, “You’ve got to be kidding me!” when Bucknor made the call. Herrera stood in the batter’s box, clearly taken aback by the umpire’s decision, which had him struck out.
After the game, Marmol spoke about the call without naming Bucknor directly but made his displeasure clear. “You wait three hours, and you want it to be determined between the pitcher and the hitter. That wasn’t the case,” he said, as reported by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
This controversial call was just the latest in a series of questionable decisions from Bucknor in less than a week. Earlier, he came under criticism for calling strike three on Baltimore Orioles rookie Gunnar Henderson, despite the fact that the pitch from New York Yankees’ Nestor Cortes was clearly low.
Major League Baseball umpires have been under fire from players and fans since the start of the season, as they are often making dubious calls in key moments of the game. Although umpiring is undeniably challenging, calls like Bucknor’s, particularly in critical situations, are a source of frustration for teams and fans alike.
