Cardinals manager Oli Marmol sees his arch nemesis is calling it quits

Seven umpires have informed Major League Baseball that they will be accepting a buyout offer and retiring after the 2026 season, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today. One of those umpires is the much-maligned CB Bucknor.

In addition to CB Bucknor, Laz Diaz, Brian O'Nara, Lance Barksdale, Marvin Hudson, Tony Randazzo, and Andy Fletcher will be retiring at the end of the season.

CB Bucknor has been an umpire in the majors since 2000. He's one of the longest-tenured umpires in MLB right now, and his retirement should come as no surprise.

Bucknor is 63 years old, and he's now been umpiring for 26 years in the league. That number of games takes its toll on umpires, and Bucknor's feel for the strike zone has been fading over the years. According to Umpire Scorecards, Bucknor has been the 22nd-worst umpire in accuracy above expected when calling balls and strikes.

Bucknor's recent history with the St. Louis Cardinals is not overly positive, and at least one Cardinal may be happy to see Bucknor calling it quits.

St. Louis Cardinals manager Oli Marmol may be rejoicing now that umpire CB Bucknor is retiring.

Since 2022, Oli Marmol's first year at the helm in St. Louis, Bucknor has umpired 10 games featuring the Cardinals. In that time, he's managed to butt heads with manager Oli Marmol on several occasions.

The history between Bucknor and Marmol dates back to August 2022, when Bucknor ejected Marmol for arguing balls and strikes. At one point in the argument, Bucknor can be seen saying, "You just got here!" to Marmol. In response, Marmol said that Bucknor should retire. The skipper's wishes are now coming true.

The following spring training, Bucknor was umpiring the Cardinals first game of the spring. Bucknor refused to shake Marmol's hand prior to first pitch.

"He has zero class as a man," Marmol told reporters after the game. The other three umpires, Angel Hernandez, Ron Kulpa, and Carlos Torres, shook Marmol's hand. The umpiring crew also apologized to Oli on behalf of Bucknor for not shaking Marmol's hand.

A few days later, Bucknor was once again umpiring a game that included the Cardinals, and he shook Marmol's hand that day. The league considered the issue settled at that point and did not take action against Marmol or Bucknor.

Bucknor has been a thorn in Marmol's side for several years now. In 2024, after a three-hour rain delay that could have been shorter had Bucknor called for a delay earlier, the game ended on an egregious called strike that was several inches out of the zone. Of course, Bucknor was the man behind the plate calling balls and strikes.

With CB Bucknor now retiring at the end of the 2026 MLB season, St. Louis Cardinals manager Oli Marmol can rest easy. Bucknor hasn't called any Cardinals games this year, and he umpired in only three last year. He may still get a Cardinals game this year, but only time will tell. Perhaps Oli has already moved on.

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