Christopher Blake Bucknor (born August 23, 1962) is a Jamaican

umpire An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French , , and , : (as evidenced in cricke ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) who worked in the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

(NL) from 1996 to 1999 and has worked in both major leagues since 2000.

Umpiring career

Bucknor was a member of the umpiring crew for the

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

and 2021 All-Star Games, and also for the

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

and 2020 American League Division Series. In 2003 and in 2006, ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

'' surveys of active major league players voted Bucknor as the worst umpire in MLB. In a 2010 ESPN survey of 100 active players, Bucknor was again named the worst umpire in MLB. Bucknor was the first base umpire for then-

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

pitcher

Justin Verlander Justin Brooks Verlander ( ; born February 20, 1983) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Detroit Tigers, Houston Astros, and New York M ...

's second

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter or no-hit game is a game in which a team does not record a hit (baseball), hit through conventional methods. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in ...

, thrown on May 7, , against the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

. Bucknor was the home plate umpire for

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

pitcher

Lucas Giolito Lucas Frost Giolito (born July 14, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Washington Nationals, Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Angels, and ...

’s no-hitter, thrown on August 25, 2020, against the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

Injuries

On May 1, 2012, Bucknor suffered an undisclosed injury during a game between the

and

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

and was forced to leave the contest. He was listed as "day-to-day" following the injury and was replaced by minor league call-up umpire D.J. Reyburn the following day. On July 12, 2013, Bucknor was injured and left an

Oakland A's Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

game when he was hit in the facemask by a 92-mile per hour pitch thrown by Jarrod Parker after it grazed

Daniel Nava Daniel James Nava (born February 22, 1983) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays, Los Angeles Angels, Kansas City Royals, and Philadelphia Phillies. ...

. Crew chief and second base umpire Bill Miller replaced Bucknor behind the plate.

Personal life

Bucknor moved to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in 1973. He attended

State University of New York at Cortland The State University of New York at Cortland (SUNY Cortland, C-State, or Cortland State) is a public university in Cortland, New York. It was founded in 1868 and is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. History The State Univ ...

, where he played center field, and received a B.S. in Recreation Therapy in 1984. Bucknor resides in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. He works with the Bonnie Youth Club in Brooklyn and was inducted into the Bonnies Hall of Fame in 2000 as well as the Cortland Athletic Hall of Fame in October 2002. Bucknor is actively involved in teaching baseball to children in Jamaica. He also collects toys and helps to organize an annual "Treat Day"—a holiday party, featuring athletic events, video games, and picnics—for over 300 children in Jamaica. In 2008, he was inducted into the Brooklyn Parade Grounds Baseball League Hall of Fame.UEFL Profile of MLB Umpire: CB Bucknor
" ''Close Call Sports and the Umpire Ejection Fantasy League''. October 1, 2013.

References

External links

Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bucknor, C. B. 1962 births Living people People from Westmoreland Parish Major League Baseball umpires National League umpires Sportspeople from Brooklyn Jamaican emigrants to the United States Cortland Red Dragons baseball players

Umpiring career

Injuries

Personal life

See also

References

External links