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Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol and umpire CB Bucknor FINALLY shake hands, two days after St. Louis snubbed an MLB official amid an ongoing “bad sportsmanship” dispute
St Louis Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol and umpire CB Bucknor buried the hatchet after lineup cards were exchanged at a spring training game Monday, just two days after the MLB official refused to shake Marmol’s hand and the manager to say that Bucknor “had no class.”
“I was raised and raised in this organization to do exactly what I did today,” Mármol said. ‘You go to the plate. You hand out the lineup card and shake hands with the four referees running that game.
The dispute stems from a Cardinals-Diamondbacks game last year when Marmol was thrown out for Bucknor in the top of the third inning.
The umpire passed up the opportunity to make amends and shake Mármol’s hand on Saturday before the Cardinals’ first spring training game against the Nationals, according to Mármol.
MLB is investigating any trade between the two men. Marmol publicly criticized Bucknor’s reaction in his postgame comments to reporters.
St Louis manager Oliver Marmol (R) argues with CB Bucknor after being sent off August 21
The pair had to be separated by referee Jeff Nelson at Chase Field, home of the Diamondbacks.
“I don’t think he’s good at his job, and that shows a lack of class as a man,” Mármol said after Saturday’s 3-2 loss.
On Sunday, an MLB spokesman said ESPN that the league is “aware of Mr. Marble’s comments, and the matter is under review.”
The pair have history, as Bucknor ousted the St. Louis manager in August at Chase Field after a controversial and incorrect callout to the team’s third baseman, Nolan Arenado, that led to a heated verbal exchange.
Bucknor ejected Mármol, who came off the dugout to argue, and as the two yelled at each other, Mármol appeared to have told Bucknor that his time in baseball’s elite was over.
Bucknor then appeared to tell Marble that he better get used to the big leagues relatively quickly, referring to the 35-year-old becoming the youngest manager in MLB last season, five years younger than the next youngest. .
On Saturday, Marmol came to the plate to exchange lineup cards and, according to his version of events, Bucknor refused to shake his hand.
The game’s three other designated referees, Ron Kulpa, Ángel Hernández and Carlos Torres, had no problem engaging in a handshake with Mármol. According to the Cardinals’ own manager, they even apologized for Bucknor’s refusal.
Bucknor, 60, has been officiating in MLB since 1996. Before becoming the Cardinals’ manager, Mármol, 36, was the team’s first base coach until 2021.
Mármol, 35, became MLB’s youngest manager last season after being promoted from within