MLB Disciplines Umpire Pat Hoberg for Sports Betting Violation

Yet another gambling issue is impacting baseball with umpire Pat Hoberg now being disciplined.

Sean Tomlinson

Last updated: June 18, 2024 12:14 AM EDT • 2 min read

Home plate umpire Pat Hoberg calls an out in the fifth inning during an MLB World Tour game between the San Diego Padres and the San Francisco Giants as we look at the Pat Hoberg MLB gambling scandal. — Home plate umpire Pat Hoberg calls an out in the fifth inning during an MLB World Tour game between the San Diego Padres and the San Francisco Giants. Photo by Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports.

There's been no shortage of sports gambling scandals in MLB. Most notably, superstar Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara pleaded guilty to bank and fraud charges after taking $17 million from the MVP's bank account to fund his gambling.

Then there was former Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Tucupita Marcano, who's been banned from baseball for life after placing 387 wagers on the sport.

Now the fresh twist is that someone charged with enforcing the rules has broken some gambling regulations.

Umpire Pat Hoberg gets disciplined

MLB has been investigating veteran umpire Pat Hoberg for months, and it was finally determined that a penalty is warranted. However, the exact nature of the issue and the extent of the discipline are not yet known.

"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. “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.”

Hoberg hasn't worked a game yet in 2024. He's been an MLB umpire since 2014 and was given a full-time position in 2017. The 37-year-old has made a reputation for himself as one of MLB's most accurate behind the plate. Most notably, he called a perfect game as the home-plate umpire during Game 2 of the 2022 World Series.

He's now firmly in the league's gambling-policy crosshairs, and Hoberg is set to fight.

An appeal is coming

Hoberg has denied betting on baseball, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan, and he'll appeal MLB's ruling.

It's the latest in a long line of MLB betting issues that goes beyond Mizuhara and Marcano. Oakland Athletics pictcher Michael Kelly was given a suspension along with three minor-leaguers for placing wagers on baseball games, though they weren't playing in the contests.

Then there's David Fletcher, who has been linked to the same bookmaker that Mizuhara used. He faced an MLB investigation in late May, though Fletcher denies placing bets with Mizuhara's bookmaker.

This all comes after incidents in other sports too, with the NBA banning Jontay Porter the most significant.

Written By:
Sean Tomlinson

Sean Tomlinson has been in the sports media wilderness since 2009, and he joined Sportsbook Review in 2021. His work has been referenced in The New York Times and Forbes. He's also made appearances on The Fan 590 and TSN 1050. Sean is a regular bettor who places bets daily while using a handful of books. Most frequently, he uses FanDuel and bet365 due to the quality experience on those apps. While he'll often take an analytical approach, Sean enjoys the fun, recreational side of betting too, and embraces alternative markets on events like the Westminster Dog Show or Eurovision, or the many novelty props tied annually to the Super Bowl, for example. Beyond sports, Sean is also interested in the betting markets tied to politics, and especially those connected to American elections. He sees betting as a way to explore and engage in a deeper way, and takes that same view to his work. He plays poker periodically too, and is an avid fantasy sports player. Sean also previously spent time with Bleacher Report and theScore, all after earning his media studies degree from the University of Guelph-Humber.