More than 4,000 regular-season games worked. Yet what has defined his career more than anything else? His highly publicized missed calls. Now, however, baseball players and fans can breathe a sigh of relief, as 2026 will be the final season for one of MLB’s most controversial umpires. After a career spanning nearly three decades, the infamous C.B. Bucknor will retire at the end of the season.

With the MLB fully implementing the Automated Ball Strike System, alongside six of his colleagues, Bucknor will also step away from his current role. Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported that Bucknor has chosen to accept MLB’s buyout offer. With that, the number of veteran umpires will shrink considerably in the 2027 season, but at the same time, it could open doors for other umpires, such as Jen Pawol.

“Players and fans can soon stop complaining about veteran umpire C.B. Bucknor,” Nightengale wrote for USA Today. “He is one of seven umpires who have informed MLB that he will retire at the season’s conclusion, accepting their buyout offer.”

Apart from Bucknor, Laz Diaz, Brian O’Nora, Lance Barksdale, Marvin Hudson, Tony Randazzo, and Andy Fletcher have also accepted the buyout clause.

With his accuracy sitting at approximately 92%, per UmpireScorecards, Bucknor’s calls have been under scrutiny. This season, he has umpired two games, and across those games, seven of the veteran umpire’s calls have been overturned following challenges.

Bucknor was at home plate during the Cincinnati Reds-Boston Red Sox game in Opening Week. It was a particularly bad game for the umpire, as he missed twenty-six ball-strike calls. During the same game, six of his calls were overturned.

Days later, one of Bucknor’s verdicts in a Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays game was as horrendous as it was laughable. The call that made fans demand the umpire’s retirement came in the sixth inning. After hitting a line drive to Rays second baseman Ben Williamson, Jake Bauer of the Brewers sprinted toward first. Rushing to make the play, Williamson threw the ball above and out of the 1B’s reach. Though Bauer comfortably reached base, Bucknor called him out. His call made everyone, including the announcers, question, ‘Where is CB Bucknor looking?’

Bucknor currently remains sidelined after a foul tip struck his face mask on April 1. The incident happened in the second inning of the Brewers’ 8-2 victory over the Rays, after which he was forced to exit.

Bucknor began his full-time umpiring journey with the MLB in 1996. This year marks his 31st season of officiating games. Aside from regular-season games, Bucknor has also umpired All-Star games (2005 and 2021), the 2016 Wild Card game, and multiple division series games in his lengthy career.

Despite his controversial judgments, the 63-year-old Bucknor has become one of the familiar faces in MLB. However, with his tenure ending, an era of new faces, like Jen Pawol, will begin.

Who is Jen Pawol?

Bob Nightengale of USA Today wrote that the retirement of Bucknor and others might bring Jen Pawol to the forefront. In that case, Pawol will become the first female full-time MLB umpire.

Pawol made her umpiring debut in the big leagues on August 9, 2025, as the first base umpire. She became the first woman umpire in MLB to officiate a regular-season game. It was a doubleheader game, and she officiated the second game at third base at Truist Park in Atlanta. The following day, Pawol became the first female home plate umpire in MLB during a regular-season game.

Before her MLB debut, Pawol spent time working in the minor league system since 2017. She became the first female umpire in MiLB in 34 years to officiate a Triple-A game.

Before she cemented her place in baseball, Pawol was a part-time softball umpire for 11 years. Her tryst with baseball started in 2016 when she attended the Minor League Baseball Umpire Training Academy in Vero Beach, Florida.

A trend-setter, Pawol is once again on the verge of MLB history as she can be the first female full-time umpire.