One of MLB’s best umpires fired after gambling investigation
MLB ump Pat Hoberg, once praised for a perfect World Series game, has been fired over a gambling rules violation involving 141 bets—eight during games he worked. No game-fixing found, but the league says integrity matters.
Umpire Pat Hoberg, who famously called a perfect game in the 2022 World Series, has been fired for violating Major League Baseball's gambling rules, the league said this week.
From handing out ejections to receiving one
Per an MLB investigation, Hoberg shared a legal sports betting account with a professional poker player friend, and asked this friend to place non-baseball bets on his behalf.
However, the friend ended up making 141 baseball bets between 2021–2023 – as rappers say, you can’t trust these pros – with eight involving games where Hoberg was working. The bets totaled ~$214,000, and were profitable to the tune of ~$35,000.
- The pair utilized Telegram to communicate; both Hoberg and his friend deleted chat logs after the investigation began; Hoberg attributes it to him being embarrassed by the volume of bets.
- Hoberg – MLB’s most-accurate balls/strikes umpire in 2022 and fourth-best in 2023 – has denied betting on baseball, and the league found no evidence that he placed bets on baseball or took any action to manipulate the outcomes of any games.
Ultimately, however, the MLB ruled Hoberg’s actions throughout the saga failed to uphold the integrity of the game.
Sports gambling scandals abound: News broke this week that NBA guard Terry Rozier is under federal investigation over whether he manipulated his performance as part of an illegal sports betting scheme.
