Major League Baseball announced on Monday that it fired a referee to share his legal sports game accounts with a friend who bets on baseball games.
MLB said that Umpire Pat Hoberg was also fired to intentionally delete electronic messages relevant to the league’s investigation. The league opened a probe to Hoberg in February last year after a sports book brought it under the attention of officials.
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Umpire Pat Hoberg during a game between Seattle Mariners and Orioles on Camden Yards on June 23, 2023 in Baltimore. (Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
The league said that although the probe did not reveal evidence he personally focused on baseball or manipulated games, MLB Senior Vice President Michael Hill recommended on May 24 that Hoberg was fired. Hoberg Judge Didn’t Last Season. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred Obheld Hill’s decision.
Hobert can apply for reintroduction not earlier than 2026 spring training.
“The strict enforcement of the Major League Baseball’s rules for sports betting is a critical component of maintaining our most important priority: To protect our games for fans,” Manfred said in a statement. “A comprehensive study revealed no evidence that Mr. Hoberg placed efforts on baseball directly, or that he or any other manipulated game in any way.
“However, his extremely poor judgment was by sharing betting accounts with a professional poker player, he had reason to believe that baseball is betting and who actually bet on baseball from the shared accounts, combined with his deletion of messages, creates the least the appearance of inappropriate that guarantees to impose the most serious discipline.
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MLB Umpire Pat Hoberg Signals during a game between Minnesota Twins and Chicago Cubs on May 12, 2023 at Target Field in Minneapolis. (Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/Getty Images)
MLB said Hoberg’s friend made 141 baseball bet between April 2, 2023 and November 1, 2023, a total of almost $ 214,000 with a total victory of almost $ 35,000.
Hoberg had been touted as one of the best in baseball. He is among the highest ranked judge by judging the strike zone.
He had an unprecedented “Umpires perfect game” when he exactly called balls and strikes in all 129 seats in Game 2 in the 2022 World Series, according to computer tracking.
Hoberg, 38, issued a statement.
“I take full responsibility for the mistakes in the judgment described in today’s statement,” Hoberg said. “These mistakes will always be a source of shame and embarrassment for me. Major League -Baseball -umpires are kept to a high standard of personal behavior and my own behavior fell under this standard.
“That said, to be ready I never and would never bet on baseball in any way, form or form. I have never delivered and would never give any information for the purpose of betting on baseball. Storing the integrity of The game has always been of the utmost importance to me.
Home Plate Umpire Pat Hoberg during the game between Arizona Diamondbacks and Cleveland Guardians at Chase Field on June 18, 2023 in Phoenix. (Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
MLB said the sports book told the league that Hoberg opened an account in its name on January 30, 2024 and that an electronic device associated with the account had access to an account in the name of another person who had put on Baseball.
