Umpire Pat Hoberg is being disciplined by MLB for violating the league’s gambling rules, Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich of The Athletic reported on Friday.
Hoberg will reportedly be appealing the decision. According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, Hoberg has denied betting on baseball.
How the league will discipline the umpire is still unknown but commissioner Rob Manfred will listen to the appeal.
“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,” the league said in a statement issued to 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 yet to take the field this season but has been trusted with some big games since his tenure as an official began in 2017. Most notably, he was assigned to the 2022 World Series.
Discourse surrounding sports gambling has taken centre stage this season in MLB, with the case regarding Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter Ippei Mizuhara at the forefront. He recently pleaded guilty to fraud after stealing money from Ohtani to pay gambling debts.
The league also banned San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano for life after it was found that he had bet on baseball.
