Major League Baseball (MLB) announced that it has penalized umpire Pat Hoberg over a gambling violation. According to the league, Hoberg opted to appeal the discipline.
The MLB is yet to announce the exact nature of the alleged breach but clarified that it has represented a violation of the league’s gambling rules. The irregularity was noticed earlier this year.
During this year’s Spring Training, the MLB opened an investigation into the 37-year-old umpire’s activities to see whether he had truly committed an offense. In a statement to reporters, the league confirmed that Hoberg had been removed from the field during the pendency of the investigation.
The MLB added that it had determined that “discipline was warranted.” However, the league added that, despite the alleged violation, there was no evidence to suggest that any games worked by Hoberg had been compromised or manipulated in any way.
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.
MLB statement
Since Hoberg opted to appeal the MLB’s decision, the league was unable to provide further insights into the matter. The MLB suggested that it would be able to comment further on the topic once the appeal process has been concluded.
For context, Hoberg has not umpired a game this season. He has served as a full-time MLB umpire since 2017 and has worked seven postseason series. He worked his first World Series in 2022 and has also served as the home-plate umpire for the Field of Dreams game between the White Sox and Yankees in 2021.
MLB Is Struggling with Player Harassment
In other news, the MLB seems to have a serious problem with player harassment. Professional athletes recently expressed concerns about their safety amid a rise in gambling-related threats.
As it turns out, the proliferation of sports betting since the PASPA’s repeal has led to a significant increase in bettor disappointment and, by extension, to threats by unlucky punters seeking someone to blame.
Sometimes such harassment would take the form of offensive critiques and verbal abuse while others it goes as far as involving requests for restitution or even death threats. Some cases have even warranted police intervention, highlighting the seriousness of the issue. Some believe that this betting focus could potentially undermine the integrity of professional games and start taking away from the beauty of the sport. In any case, many agree that the league should do more to protect players from online harassment.
