This year’s wave of MLB gambling scandal has reached the ranks of umpires.
According to The Athletic, MLB referee Pat Hoberg has been disciplined for violating the league’s gambling rules. Hoberg is reportedly appealing the decision.
The exact nature of Hoberg’s violation was unexplained, but MLB said in a statement that no evidence had been found that he manipulated the games he worked. MLB reportedly began an investigation into the 37-year-old during spring training this year and removed him from the field during the investigation.
According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, Hoberg has declined to bet on baseball.
MLB’s statement, via The Athletic:
“During this year’s Spring Training, Major League Baseball initiated an investigation into a possible violation of MLB’s sports betting policy by umpire Pat Hoberg. Mr. Hoberg was removed from the field during the course of that investigation. Although MLB’s investigation found no evidence that the games developed by Mr. Hoberg had been compromised or manipulated in any way, MLB determined that discipline was warranted. Mr. Hoberg has chosen to appeal this decision. Therefore, we cannot comment further until the appeal process has been completed.”
Hoberg has been calling MLB games since 2014 and became a full-time referee in 2017. Since then, he has built a reputation as one of the most accurate referees in the sport. He was among the top ball-strike callers on Ump Scorecard’s leaderboard last year and gained attention for calling a “perfect game” behind the plate in the 2022 World Series.
MLB umpire Pat Hoberg is the latest name associated with gambling
An umpire being highly regarded in a gambling scandal is already damaging to the league, but right now it’s especially tough on MLB. The season started with the Ippei Mizuhara-Shohei Ohtani scandal flooding league news coverage for the better part of a month, and the issue surfaced again last week through a group of players.
San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano was banned from MLB for life after an investigation revealed he had bet on games involving his own team and four other players: Oakland Athletics reliever Michael Kelly, Padres pitcher Jay Groome, Philadelphia Phillies infielder José Rodríguez and Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Andrew Saalfrank – were all suspended for a year for gambling on baseball.
The issue is certainly not an isolated issue for the MLB. The NBA banned Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter for life for a particularly brazen scheme in which the bench player took himself out of games to help his conspirators hit his personal unders.
Meanwhile, the NFL has been dealing with players gambling in ways they shouldn’t for more than a year, with All-Pro wide receiver Calvin Ridley still the highest-profile name feeling the sting. The ranks of the universities have also been affected.
Part of this is a result of the increased legality of sports gambling, which leagues have recently embraced with open arms. It’s certainly a financial boon for the league’s team owners, but athletes regularly run afoul of the rules.
