Am I going to I have to say something supportive of the St. Louis Cardinals manager? Sometimes this job is so hard.
As necessary background, Cardinals manager Oli Marmol and oft-criticized umpire C.B. Bucknor had a blow-up last August about the latter’s umpiring in a game against the Diamondbacks, which led to Marmol’s ejection.
In the two men’s first reunion since that day, a spring game yesterday in Florida, Marmol attempted to shake Bucknor’s hand before the game started and squash any lingering beef. Bucknor refused, which seems ridiculous to me, and Marmol was NOT happy about it.
The STL Post-Dispatch was unable to get a comment from Bucknor. I’m not one for formalities or whatever, but unless there is some unknown element to this, I can see no reason for Bucknor not to just shake the guy’s hand and put it behind them. Be a professional.
Per Marmol in the report, the other three umpires on the crew did shake his hand, and one of them even apologized for Bucknor.