MLB fires umpire for violation of league's gambling policy
Photo credit: SportsNet
Major League Baseball has fired umpire https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Hoberg for violating the league's gambling policy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Hoberg had previously been suspended during the 2024 season.
While the league's investigation found no evidence that Hoberg directly bet on games, it was discovered that he asked a friend to place non-baseball bets for him. The device used by his friend contained 144 baseball-related bets.
This is an unfortunate development for Hoberg, who had been widely regarded as one of the top umpires in the game today. He earned significant praise during the 2022 World Series, where he achieved an «umpire's perfect game»-calling every single ball and strike accurately. On average, umpires miss 4-7% of calls during games.
Hoberg released the following statement following the decision:
"I take full responsibility for the errors in judgment outlined in today's statement. Those errors will always be a source of shame and embarrassment for me. Major League Baseball umpires are held to a high standard of personal conduct, and my own conduct fell short of that standard. That said, to be clear, I have never and would never bet on baseball in any way, shape, or form. I have never provided, and would never provide, information to anyone for the purpose of betting on baseball. Upholding the integrity of the game has always been of the utmost importance to me. I apologize to Major League Baseball and the entire baseball community for my mistakes, and I vow to learn from them and become a better version of myself moving forward."
Gambling remains one of the few activities that can lead to suspension within the game. We saw this last year with Ippei Mizahura, the former interpreter for Shohei Ohtani.
This is a continuation of a long history of gambling-related sanctions in baseball, with both Pete Rose and «Shoeless» Joe Jackson facing lifetime bans due to gambling issues (though many believe Jackson was innocent of any wrongdoing).
Hoberg is eligible to apply for reinstatement, but that won't be possible until the start of the 2026 spring training.
SOURCE - MLB Trade Rumours
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