Major League Baseball has upheld the firing of one of its best umpires, Pat Hoberg, for violating its gambling rules. The decision follows an appeal filed by Hoberg last year after MLB first informed him of its discipline.
In a statement released Monday from the office of commissioner Rob Manfred, MLB said it upheld the termination of Hoberg for a failure “to uphold the integrity of the game.” The decision, the league said, is based on two major findings: that Hoberg shared sports betting accounts with a professional poker player and friend who bet on baseball and that Hoberg deleted electronic messages central to MLB’s investigation.
MLB did not determine that Hoberg bet on baseball. It said it found no evidence of “any action to manipulate the outcomes of any games.” By rule, Hoberg can apply for reinstatement no earlier than the start of 2026 spring training.
In a separate statement, Hoberg said, “I take full responsibility for the errors in judgment that are outlined in today’s statement. Those errors will always be a source of shame and embarrassment to me. Major League Baseball umpires are held to a high standard of personal conduct, and my own conduct fell short of that standard.
“That said, to be clear, I have never and would never bet on baseball in any way, shape, or form. I have never provided, and would never provide, information to anyone for the purpose of betting on baseball. Upholding the integrity of the game has always been of the utmost importance to me.
“I apologize to Major League Baseball and the entire baseball community for my mistakes. I vow to learn from them and to be a better version of myself moving forward.”
Hoberg, 38, was one of baseball’s best ball-and-strike umpires who gained renown for calling a “perfect game” in Game 2 of the 2022 World Series, when he correctly called all 129 balls and strikes. It was the first perfect game recorded by popular X account @UmpScorecards since their database went live in 2015.
A native of Urbandale, Iowa, Hoberg was one of the game’s star umpires. He made his debut in 2014 at age 27 and was hired as a full-time umpire in '17. He worked the postseason every year from 2018 through '22 and the World Baseball Classic in '23.
MLB began its investigation into Hoberg’s activities in February 2024. It did so, the release said, after receiving word from a licensed betting operator that Hoberg opened a betting account in his own name “and that the personal electronic device associated with this account was also associated with the legal sports betting account of an individual not covered by MLB’s policies (Individual A) who had bet on baseball.” That association was an immediate red flag to MLB. It removed Hoberg from the field at that time.
MLB terminated Hoberg on May 31, 2024. He immediately appealed. The appeal included a review of electronic records, interviews with Hoberg, a review of his electronic devices for forensic investigation, phone records related to calls with Individual A and provided financial and credit card records.
Hoberg, according to the findings, met Individual A at a poker tournament in 2014. They became friends who played poker and golfed together. Individual A would stay at Hoberg’s house “about 20 to 30 nights per year.” They began to share a betting account.
The findings also showed that Hoberg used the messaging app Telegram to send requests to Individual A to place sports bets for him. The app also was used to keep a ledger of transactions. According to the findings, Individual A deleted the Telegram threads upon being contacted by MLB investigators. Hoberg also deleted his Telegram account.
Data MLB obtained from a sportsbook showed that Hoberg’s devices were used to place 417 direct bets between Dec. 30, 2020, and January 15, 2024, on Individual A’s accounts. The total amount bet was $487,475.83. Those bets lost in aggregate $53,189.65.
Data from a second sportsbook showed 112 bets from Hoberg’s devices totaling $222,130, with a net loss of $21,686.96. The findings showed most of the bets covered football, basketball, hockey and golf. None of the bets on Individual A’s accounts with Hoberg’s devices were on baseball.
The Major League Baseball Umpires Association also issued a statement, in which it said, “We thank Commissioner Manfred for his careful consideration of Pat Hoberg’s appeal. As Major League Baseball umpires, we have devoted our professional lives to upholding the rules and integrity of the game. If our union believed that an umpire bet on baseball, we would never defend him. But as today’s statement from the League makes clear, the neutral factfinder did not find that Pat placed bets on baseball. Yet we respect Pat’s unequivocal acceptance of responsibility for the mistakes that led to his termination.”
In the MLB release, Manfred acknowledged the investigation "revealed no evidence that Mr. Hoberg placed bets on baseball directly or that he or anyone else manipulated games in any way. However, his extremely poor judgment in sharing betting accounts with a professional poker player he had reason to believe bet on baseball and who did, in fact, bet on baseball from the shared accounts, combined with his deletion of messages, creates at minimum the appearance of impropriety that warrants imposing the most severe discipline."
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as MLB Upholds Firing of Umpire Pat Hoberg Over Gambling Violations.
