Major League Baseball (MLB) has punished umpire Pat Hoberg for violating the league’s betting rules. Hoberg, who has not refereed any games this season, has filed an appeal.
Official statement about the case
The league said in a statement: “During spring training this year, Major League Baseball began an investigation into a possible violation of MLB sports betting policies by umpire Pat Hoberg. Mr. Hoberg was removed from the field during the pending of this investigation.”
But although MLB’s investigation found no evidence that games worked by Mr. Hoberg were compromised or manipulated in any way, MLB determined that discipline was warranted.
Mr Hoberg chose to appeal this decision. Therefore, we will have no further comment until we have completed the appeals process.”
Hoberg has been a full-time MLB umpire since 2017. As a result, he has worked seven postseason series, including his first World Series in 2022.
MLB punished players for gambling involvement
The league recently placed Padres player Tucupita Marcano on its permanent ineligible list for violating the league’s sports betting rules.
According to data obtained by MLB, from 2022 to 2023, Marcano placed 387 baseball bets, including 231 MLB-related bets, through a legal sportsbook.
Marcano has bet more than $150,000 on baseball, with $87,319 in bets related to Major League Baseball. Of Marcano’s MLB bets, 25 were on Pirates games while he was with the Pittsburgh Major League club.
In any case, Marcano did not participate in any of the games he placed bets on, as he was on the injured list. In addition to him, four other players received one-year suspensions for non-gambling violations following investigations by the league’s Department of Investigations.
