Maddon calls Bucknor's strike zone 'equally offensive to both sides'
Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon didn't hold back when asked about the strike zone of home plate umpire CB Bucknor following his team's 5-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday.
"Unfortunately, whenever that fellow works, everybody expects that in advance," Maddon said, according to The Athletic's Patrick Mooney. "And it's hard to argue because it's equally offensive to both sides. That's as kind as I can be."
Maddon wasn't the only one to take issue with Bucknor's strike zone, as fans on Twitter criticized the umpire's ball and strike calls throughout Friday's contest.
@MLBUmpireCrews @MLB @MLB_PLAYERS
— Dave Kreis (@Swmrdak79) June 15, 2019
Please fix this. 3 and 6 are called strikes. CB Bucknor and a handful of other umps should be base umps only. This is brutal. pic.twitter.com/FefkWtpu6I
*Sees pitches 3 and 6 are called strikes and thinks, “CB Bucknor must be behind the plate.”*
— Parker Lee (@parker_lee_) June 15, 2019
*Checks to see. Confirms that CB Bucknor is in fact the home plate umpire.* pic.twitter.com/7FbkESQVlg
“Matt Beaty leads this inning off taking a ridiculous strike.” Joe Davis is done with CB Bucknor. pic.twitter.com/iOty1CBwgj
— Jeff J. Snider (@snidog) June 15, 2019
Too many missed calls tonight. Awful by CB Bucknor. pic.twitter.com/6yqlhlhuYG
— Icon Happ (@itshapp_ening) June 15, 2019
Bucknor's strike zone has been criticized on multiple occasions in the past, including last July when Bryce Harper - playing for the Washington Nationals at the time - shouted at the umpire over a questionable strikeout call.
Bucknor was ranked as the worst umpire in the major leagues in two surveys conducted by Sports Illustrated in 2003 and 2006 and in a separate one conducted by ESPN in 2010, all of which polled active players, according to Dan Collins of the Winston-Salem Journal.