Nothing like a little spring training drama being manager and umpire!
Following an incident last August between Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol and umpire C.B. Bucknor that led to Marmol’s ejection, the manager and umpire came face-to-face on Saturday at spring training for the first time since the heated dispute.
As Marmol and Nationals manager Davey Martinez met at home plate to exchange lineup cards, Marmol reached out to shake Bucknor’s hand.
Bucknor declined.
Marmol then sounded off on Bucknor’s decision in the postgame press conference.
“I went into that game pretty certain of my thoughts on him as an umpire,” Marmol said. “They weren’t very good and it shows his lack of class as a man. I chose my words wisely. I just don’t think he’s good at his job and it showed his lack of class as a man.”
When Marmol was asked if he was trying to make peace with Bucknor, he didn’t believe that his handshake was any sort of “olive branch.”
“It’s not an olive branch. It’s just respect,” he explained. “You can have disagreements. You still go to home plate. Any time I get thrown out of a game, I will go to home plate the next day for that very purpose. It’s unfortunate. I went out to home to shake his hand. He didn’t want to. He has zero class.”
Marmol was ejected by Bucknor last season on Aug. 21 in Arizona during a game between the Cardinals and Diamondbacks. The ejection stemmed from Marmol’s disagreement with a called third strike on Nolan Arenado.
It’s safe to say there won’t be any peace between this manager and this umpire anytime soon.
