When the Supreme Court struck down a federal law that effectively banned commercial sports betting in most states, the floodgates opened. Within five years of the landmark 2018 ruling, teams, athletes, and multiple sports leagues across the country were endorsing legal sports gambling operators.
And while the leagues’ anti-gambling laws remained strict for its own personnel, the opportunities for anyone to cross that line had exploded.
That includes umpires.
Against this backdrop, perhaps it was just a matter of time until the latest instance of sports gambling run amok was revealed: a major league umpire, Pat Hoberg, is now facing discipline for violating MLB’s gambling rules.
MLB has disciplined umpire Pat Hoberg for violating the league’s gambling rules. While the specific nature of the discipline Is unknown, Hoberg has denied betting on baseball, sources tell ESPN, and is appealing the ruling, which @Ken_Rosenthal and @EvanDrellich first reported.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) June 14, 2024
The Athletic, which first reported the news Friday afternoon, notes that Hoberg is appealing the decision. The 37-year-old umpire has been conspicuously absent from any on-field assignments this season.
“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,” MLB said in a statement reported by The Athletic. “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.”
Hoberg has received high marks for his work as an umpire. He was assigned to work the World Series in 2022. He even earned a perfect score from the website UmpScorecards.com, an extremely rare feat, for his strike zone in Game 2 of the series:
It is rare, though not unheard of, for an umpire to be suspended by MLB. Typically, those suspensions arise from on-field interactions with players, managers, or other uniformed personnel. This would be the first suspension of an umpire for gambling since the 2018 Supreme Court decision.
Unfortunately, MLB is no stranger to gambling-related controversies this year.
Mitchell Layton/Getty Images
On June 4, San Diego Padres utility player Tucupita Marcano was placed on MLB’s permanently ineligible list for legal wagers he placed on baseball games between 2022-23. Four other minor league players were suspended for one year for placing bets on baseball.
Read more: San Diego Padres Utility Player Declared Permanently Ineligible by MLB for Betting on Baseball
The interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani, Ippei Mizuhara, was fired in March when it was revealed he had stolen millions from Ohtani to pay off his own sports gambling losses with an illegal bookmaker. Mizuhara recently pled guilty to two federal charges in connection with the theft, and Ohtani was exonerated by an MLB investigation into the payouts Mizuhara made directly from Ohtani’s bank account.
Much remains unknown about Hoberg’s case, including what he allegedly bet on, when, and how much. MLB umpires are bound by the same rule (Rule 21) that regulates player gambling, and given the right to appeal potential discipline.
In the meantime, the fallout for a league whose ties to the gambling industry have intensified in recent years will continue to face scrutiny.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.