Major League Baseball has disciplined umpire Pat Hoberg for a violation of the league’s gambling policy, as first reported by Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich of the Athletic. Hoberg has appealed the decision. Commissioner Rob Manfred will hear the appeal, according to Rosenthal and Drellich.
MLB released a vague statement on the news: “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.”
Hoberg, 37, has been a full-time MLB umpire since 2017 and was part of the crew for the 2022 World Series. He has not handled any regular season games in 2024.
He released a statement of his own (relayed by ESPN’s Jeff Passan): “I am appealing Major League Baseball’s determination that I should be disciplined for violating the sports betting policies. While that appeal is pending, it would not be appropriate to discuss the case. That said, I have devoted my adult life to the profession of umpiring, and the integrity of baseball is of the utmost importance to me. I look forward to the appeal process, and I am grateful that the Major League Baseball Umpires Association is supporting me in the appeal.”
Umpires are subject to the same gambling prohibition as are MLB players. Those found to have bet on games in which they were involved are given a lifetime ban. Betting on a baseball game in which the individual is not involved carries a one-year suspension. MLB handed down five gambling suspensions to players last week. Tucupita Marcano was banned for life for betting on Pirates games while he was on Pittsburgh’s injured list last season. Four other players (Michael Kelly, José Rodríguez, Jay Groome and Andrew Saalfrank) were hit with one-year bans for bets they placed while in the minor leagues. Rosenthal and Drellich report that the Hoberg investigation was unrelated to the players’ suspensions.
This was all Angel Hernandez’s fault. How convenient he was bought out into an early retirement right before this happened.
I didn’t killed fiddy men in Vietnam to have the integrity of the game cheapened by Angel Hernandez.
Poor fella is missin his shins!
All because I had to stop by the wax museum again to give the finger to FDR.
Games has been fixed by umpires for years! With all the new video that games have now you can’t get away with it like you could! Please start cleaning up the NFL! It’s all fixed!
Hoberg is just about the best at calling balls and strikes. In the 2023 WS he called a perfect game. Not one missed call. Umpires may very well have been fixing games, but it wasn’t Hoberg.
You killed Americans in Vietnam? You better prepare for a lot of trash talk messages.
huh
The only thing that joker has ever killed is McDonald’s Happy Meals
@gwynning you’re dang right. In this economy and with the cancerous plastic food we have now? I can only eat a happy meal, anything else and I’d crap both of our pants.
* see username
Fought on the American side.
Central
There’s a lot more than this guy who need to be investigated. Either that or you need to start getting some of these guys canes and dogs. Automatic Balls and Strikes just got a whole lot closer IMO.
Agreed, Uncle Mike. I will say, behind the plate is very hard more often than not. The catcher is in the way, the ball moves almost a foot as it’s crossing, or it’s traveling near 100mph.
BUT, many other calls are so bad it appears intentional. Having umps (even one) get nabbed for betting raises the ire of each terrible call.
Any wagers on who’s next to be caught?
Bud Selig
Umpires betting on games should be banned for life!
They are….or at least they will be. If you get got….YER OUT!!!!
Only for a year….for life if betting on games involved with
jeremy pena
jose abreu
For umpires? Nobody probably. I feel a scapegoat. That said I still commend them for doing something to one of them.
Pete rose
Rob Manfried
The only thing we know for sure is that it won’t be Shohei
Alex Cora
Trevor Bauer
Mike Trouts interpeter
Enrico Palazzo
MLB is so desperate to have a heel umpire now that Angel is gone. Maybe should turn their attention to the guy behind the plate in Baltimore tonight. He has been brutal and he looks young enough to be that “Angel” guy for years to come
This is what happens when we have so few people that have money in the US. Other people need money, so they will start needing it in other ways.
So, your assessment is that an MLB player and umpire bet because they need money?
Our definitions of “poor” are very different.
LOL Clipper.
I’m glad my team won a title before it all goes to sh…….
Sports are rigged
The thing about baseball which is intriguing in this regard is there is no way to entirely control the outcome of a baseball game. It would take an entire team. The pitcher could be in on it. An umpire could be in on it. It still wouldn’t guarantee anything. Not to say it wouldn’t be a problem. Now, there have been some games where the umpire largely did control the outcome (Livan vs ATL in playoffs) but in today’s game that would be highly improbable. But all it takes to start steering a game in one direction is one blown call sometimes. We see it all the time. I guess I’m saying that I feel safer with MLB than most sports. It’s far too easy for a ref to control the outcome in NFL. But let’s not kid ourselves…umps have done these things many times. They are in such a vulnerable position to be bought. It’s not like they make the millions players do, either.
Mlb umps make insane money for what they do. Heavy travel, but “work” half the hours of normal jobs. Yet they all make over 100k. Hell angel was around 400k
MLB would of been better off taking the money they paid Hernandez and hired BlackJack Dealers to ump games. You would have got more bang for your buck. Maybe now they’ll finally have some consequences for bad umpires other than you stink but we can’t fire you. Everybody else is accountable for their performance in baseball but Umpires get a free ride? How’s that work?
Yes they make good money but my point is humans like money generally and it’s not like they have so much that fixing a game would be almost pointless. If I’m making 30m a year 99/100 people wouldn’t even take the thought seriously of fixing a game to make some more. Maybe I’m too generous but still.
Crazy money how much umpires make.
Think have posted this here before long ago, but doing again. Decades ago was FHSA certified in FL as an umpire, we got a whole 25. (lol) for doing a HS game then, 50. for doing a J/college game.
Really doubt many of the people calling games in the mlb today any better than those calling ones in the minors, even at the collegiate level, ex the ones at mlb can’t be fired because of richie phillips horrid union.
The cool thing about conspiracy theories is you never have to prove them right, just imagine that they could be.
I think it’s unfortunate the words “conspiracy theory” exist as a label. I agree with your sentiments. The problem is every single idea that is not the one most people accept to be true can be thrown into that label. It has too wide of a scope. I have conversations with a younger woman who tells me basic scientific ideas I’m stating are “conspiracy theories” simply because it’s not what people were taught in school. Bring up some basic facts about carbohydrates and she brings up the “food pyramid” or some nonsense. It’s like the word “disinformation”. It points to something that happens but is also a trickster and a weapon.
If there are facts that support your belief, its not a conspiracy theory. If it’s based on pure speculation, or falsehoods, then it deserves the title. All of these comments will look foolish if the investigation showed he bought some squares at a super bowl party.
stymeedone, this is almost exactly what I was going to say. The current fad for explaining anything and everything with a conspiracy theory is not a result of skepticism, but of refusing to accept facts that don’t support what you already believe. Conspiracy theories are all about bias confirmation, about finding explanations for events that verify existing beliefs, even if they can’t be supported by any facts.
The umpire calling balls and strikes could easily decide a game.
The “could” is my point. It would be much easier for an NFL ref to do so. They could certainly make it at least 10% more likely a team will win/lose. But I haven’t seen many otherworldly bad games since people started paying closer attention (K-zones,etc), compared to past. I only said what I said in terms of baseball being rigged. There are lots of people who claim NFL and even NBA are almost entirely rigged but that is not possible to that extent with baseball is all I mean.
The home plate ump has a pretty good shot at it. Look at the 1997 NLCS where Florida was given 10+ pitches a foot off the plate.
I said that myself. But do you ever see a game like that today? We see some bad ones tho but not complete ruling the outcome of a game like that.
Gematria
Yea. That’s the kind of thing I’m talking about. I’ve seen people using gematria to try to say such and such is rigged. They don’t understand the basic idea of gematria. The idea is basically that reality is like a computer in that information can be represented (like in 1s and 0s) by language as language was originally based on number. The fact that they see coincidence everywhere is, as the physicist Wolfgang Pauli and psychiatrist Carl Jung jointly stated- a reflection of the interconnectedness/unity of existence. At some level reality is pattern and it’s all the same pattern. Fractal mathematics presents this well. Finding patterns doesn’t mean there is a conspiracy. All things are patterns. It’s not some humans saying oh it’s this date which adds to this and this guy’s name adds to this…etc. that’s madness. It’s nature/reality itself “doing” it. I’m sorry to rant but that gematria/sports stuff kills me. The blind leading the blind. Looking for evil everywhere. Paranoia.
We’ve seen this run the gamut between the Marcano treatment and the sweep it all under the rug Ohtani treatment, now let’s see how the umps’ scale.
Pete Rose got screwed
Pete did it all to himself. From violating the rules to accepting the ban to lying all the way.
Belongs in the HOF. However, he no longer belongs in baseball as well. That part they got right. Nobody will ever have more hits and not one of those was gotten because of gambling. May be a few of the other kind of reds or a few Blackies, but I highly doubt any Roids. Baseball club houses were full of pill poppers in the 70s. Still belongs in the HOF.
People get paid to lie for a living. They call them politicians. Millions of dollars on a 200k salary. Don’t worry about the fuzzy math if you know what is good for you.
As long as juicers are in the HOF, Pete belongs without question.
RangerDanger
Pete had sex with an underage girl. He is even lower than Bauer, IMHO. And I think Bauer is a P-O-S.
I’m not defending him as a human. In fact I don’t give a rip about the guy at all. I’m just pointing out the fact that he was thrown under the bus when it was convenient. If he was bringing in millions of dollars it probably would’ve been swept under the rug as we have recently seen.
I think Rose, Bonds, Clemens, and AROD were not likable guys. Without the media to drum up support, they will get what they deserved, to be left out. While I am still a 60% Ohtani is innocent kind of guy, I do feel that something is probably different than the story we are hearing. But while Rose ran his mouth, Ohtani is staying quiet. But maybe more will come out if someone takes their gambling case to trial.
It will be interesting when a robo ump gets caught using an AI algorithm to make bets. Do they disassemble it?
I need tungsten to live!
Number 5 is alive! No disassemble!!
Robot umps will do exactly what Manfred programs them to call
Does anyone else find it suspicious baseball is just now cracking down on gambling? Prior to this season, I don’t recall the last time a player or umpire got in trouble for gambling but now all the sudden baseball finds a handful or players and an umpire?
I didn’t believe in any conspiracy surrounding Ohtani but now it’s looking a bit suspicious.
Maybe its just that prior investigations did not find evidence.
Maybe, but the cynic in me finds it hard to believe considering the last time a player was suspended for anything gambling related was 1970.
Let’s ban gambling. It isn’t good for anyone, anyways.
People will still do it, but at least I won’t have to hear 5 draft king commercials every podcast.
I bet they’ll never happen
Let’s ask Sheldon Adelson’s wife her opinion
T.A.S. must live in Alabama or Utah. The casino and betting industries are more powerful than you think.
I live in Pennsylvania our economic growth is purely gambling, vape shops, car washes, and Healthcare. My brother coaches high school lacrosse and had to talk to his kids about sports gambling because even they do it, and they’re not even all 18. Gambling is not good for anyone.
Tabatha
Didn’t you leave out late night massage parlors?
Would have guessed Altoona until the word lacrosse…somewhere near Reading but not Reading?
Pittsburgh, we aren’t as into Lax as the east but we have it.
Too much money in it for everyone….. including umps, apparently.
To clarify, there’s just too much money in it for the people who make decisions: the government that gets their cut via taxation, the politicians who get their cut via donations, and the businesses that profit off of it.
It’s a loser for anyone who gambles.
Brought to you by Bet MGM and Draft Kings
…annndddd Phizer.
Reckon peoples don’t get what’s underneath your ‘bets’.
Everyone you sign up with/for provides your personal data to the League wherein your ‘bet’ is focused. So if you’re affiliated with any club / league you’ll get found out. Even normal folk – those hoping to profit – your data is shared with the leagues, any of their affiliates that ‘buy’ data and – more ominous – I res…..she’s always on the hunt like an ex!
These guys that got busted were caught because they were using a bookie. Not a legal gambling site. This umpire if the allegations are true, should be gone forever.
The Otani matter was settled so quickly that it’s looking like the face of baseball was protected by the league. there’s no way that baseball lets the interpreter go to a penitentiary where he will be offered millions to write a book. I highly suspect he never sees prison
time and is instead unofficially deported before he’s to report. if he’s out on bond, he’s probably already back in Japan. There are plenty of ways to sneak into the country so obviously he will be assisted in leaving. There’s too much on the line for MLB, including their relations with Japan to allow anything else to happen. This was the only solution. Anyone that believes Otani didn’t know something was going on also is probably interested in some oceanfront land in Nebraska.
Huh? I think you need to lay off the grains man. Paranoia is running your life. Nobody uses ” Bookies” anymore. They’re as outdated as rotary phones and pagers. There are too many ways for people to bet legally to bother with bookies. The fact that guys in the NFL were dumb enough to do it from their own teams facilities has got to be the stupidest thing ever. Anybody with half a brain would have an alias and would just use a coffee shop or anyplace with Wifi to make a bet. Betting on your own sport has to be the quickest way to get caught because sooner or later the gambling sites will pick up if you’re winning a lot and do some research. There are lots of ways to do it.
“Ippei” used a bookie, just saying.
People use bookies to avoid the IRS tax implications of winnings and can also bet on credit once you establish a history. And can also literally with credit cards.
I can think of 12 states where people still use bookies.
The Ohtani business was settled so quickly because the guilty party confessed, and he confessed because the evidence amassed against him was overwhelming and the only way for him to avoid going to prison for a very long time was to avoid trial. Sorry if this outcome doesn’t satisfy your baseless cynical conspiracy theories but it’s true just the same.
Because there are no publishers in Japan???
Wow, I’m so shocked that professional sports now have a gambling issue. Who on Earth could have seen this coming?
Still waiting for ohtani to get his punishment for being a degenerate gambler & then convincing his best friend to take the fall
Sicko.
Hi, I’m Tim Donaghy and I Am an addict.
If I recall correctly, Pat Hoberg umpired a perfect game behind the plate in the 2022 World Series. I trust there is nothing in this and he wins his appeal. We need all the good umpires we can get.
His umpiring scorecards are consistently top of the line, I think this is going to be smoke without fire
This doesn’t seem like a “don’t do that again, OK?” kinda thing.
Hoberg called a PERFECT game in the World Series. He didn’t miss a call. In 2023 he was one of the top umpires in calling balls and strikes. If all umpires were as good as he is then ABS would not be necessary.
If you are a top player in the game then just claim stupidity find a scapegoat and MLB will look away and make examples of low level players.
Another sicko. 🙁