MLB umpire Pat Hoberg disciplined for violating gambling rules

Major League Baseball has disciplined umpire Pat Hoberg for violating the league’s gambling rules. Hoberg is appealing the decision.

The league acknowledged the investigation in response to inquiries by The Athletic.

“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. “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.”

Commissioner Rob Manfred will hear the appeal. Reached for comment, MLB spokesperson Glen Caplin said MLB cannot elaborate while the appeals process is pending.

Hoberg could not immediately be reached by phone and email.

Hoberg worked last season but has not been on the field in 2024. The 37-year-old became a full-time major-league ump in 2017, and started umpiring professionally in 2009, per MLB’s umpires media guide. He is regarded as a strong umpire, earning an assignment to work the World Series in 2022, the first of his career. The tracking site umpscorecards.com gave Hoberg a perfect score during the game he worked behind the plate.

The rise of sports gambling has left a pockmark on baseball all season. Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, recently pleaded guilty to fraud, stealing money from Ohtani to pay gambling debts. MLB then recently banned one player for life for gambling on baseball, Tucupita Marcano, and suspended four other players for a year.

Umpires are covered by the same MLB statute that regulates player gambling, officially known as Rule 21. Anyone found to have gambled on a baseball game they are directly tied to — “any baseball game in connection with which the bettor has a duty to perform,” as the rules formally put it — is to be banned permanently from the game. The punishment for gambling on baseball otherwise is one year and there are ranges of punishments for other kinds of violations.

(Top photo of umpire Pat Hoberg: Steph Chambers / Getty Images)