MLB umpire Pat Hoberg has been suspended for breaching gambling protocols, the league said in a statement on Friday.
The league's rules preclude any player, umpire or staff member from gambling on anything MLB related. A person found to have gambled on a game they were directly involved in faces a permanent ban from the game — similar to the punishment former Raptors center Jontay Porter received for altering his play in order to repay alleged gambling debts.
A player, umpire or staff member is eligible to wager on any other sport — so long as it is done through legal means at a licensed sportsbook.
“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,” MLB said in a statement sent 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 is appealing the decision. He has not umpired a game this season. Hoberg is famous for registering the only perfect game in umpscorecards.com history when he did so in the 2022 World Series, meaning he did not miss a single ball or strike call on the game's biggest stage.
The Athletic was the first to report the news.
Hoberg's appeal process will be heard by commissioner Rob Manfred.
It is unclear when, to what breadth and which sports Hoberg is alleged to have potentially wagered on.
Baseball had earlier this season been embroiled in a gambling scandal to its most famous player. Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter and best friend Ippei Mizuhara plead guilty to bank fraud after stealing nearly $17 million from the superstar in order to pay off illicit gambling debts.
