MLB disciplines umpire Pat Hoberg. Is gambling in professional sports a problem?
While it’s a stretch to say that MLB has a gambling problem in the wake of other cases, the fact that an umpire has been incriminated is not a good look.
The umpire has made it clear that he’s in no way culpable, but rest assured there is more to this story. With details continuing to emerge, the league has made its stance clear which begs the question,’is there more that needs to be done about gambling in professional sports?’
MLB to discipline umpire Pat Hoberg
According to reports, MLB umpire Pat Hoberg has been disciplined after violating the league’s gambling rules. It is understood that Hoberg is appealing the decision. Regarding the details of Hoberg’s alleged infraction, there has been no official word on exactly what he did, but it’s worth noting that MLB’s statement on the matter indicates that no evidence of Hoberg manipulating the games he worked on was found. The league reportedly initiated an investigation into Hoberg during spring training this year, eventually taking the decision to remove him from the field as it continued. The 37-year-old has since denied any wrongdoing. As for the league’s statement, you can see that below:
“During this year’s Spring Training, Major League Baseball commenced an investigation regarding a potential violation of MLB’s sports betting policies by Umpire Pat Hoberg. Mr. Hoberg was removed from the field during the pendency of that investigation. While MLB’s investigation did not find any evidence that games worked by Mr. Hoberg were compromised or manipulated in any way, MLB determined that discipline was warranted. Mr. Hoberg has chosen to appeal that determination. Therefore, we cannot comment further until the appeal process is concluded.”
For perspective, Hoberg has been calling MLB games since 2014 and later became a full-time umpire in 2017. Since that time, he has established himself as one of the most consistent umpires in the game. Indeed, it was Hoberg who was among the top ball-strike callers on Ump Scorecard’s leaderboard last year and was even acknowledged for calling a “perfect game” behind the plate during the 2022 World Series.
Is there a gambling problem in American sports?
As you undoubtedly know, Hoger’s case is just the latest in a string of high-profile gambling cases that we’ve seen in recent years, and not just MLB. Of course, where baseball is concerned, we recently saw Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani embroiled in a major scandal after it was discovered that his translator, Ippei Mizuhara, stole millions to cover gambling debts.
Then, just last week, we saw the shocking news surrounding San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano who was banned for life from MLB after an investigation found he had placed bets on games involving his own team. bet on games involving his own team. Marcano wasn’t the only one either, as the controversy also involved four other players - Oakland Athletics reliever Michael Kelly, Padres pitcher Jay Groome, Philadelphia Phillies infielder José Rodríguez, and Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Andrew Saalfrank all of whom were suspended for one year.
It should most definitely be said that this is not limited to baseball either. Sports fans were rocked by the news out of the NBA just last month when the league took the decision to ban Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter for life after he was found to have intentionally removed himself from games, to assist the bets of a group of co-conspirators. The NFL is also no stranger to the specter of gambling with Calvin Ridley being punished for his actions. Ultimately, it remains to be seen what comes next for Hoberg, but it’s now clear that the problem of gambling is not limited to him or the MLB.