SeeingEyeDog Posted Monday at 10:00 PM Report Posted Monday at 10:00 PM https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/43680990/mlb-upholds-firing-ump-pat-hoberg-gambling-violations Whether he broke the rules or not, nothing changes the fact that in the PitchTrak era, he was the best balls/strikes guy there was. This is tough news... ~Dawg Quote
grayhawk Posted Monday at 10:07 PM Report Posted Monday at 10:07 PM https://x.com/TalkinBaseball_/status/1886522326612586896 So foolish. I'm sure it's pounded into every professional umpire's head to stay far away from anything to do with gambling, and then he goes and does this. And to make it worse by deleting messages relating to the investigation? Damn. Quote
Aging_Arbiter Posted Monday at 11:01 PM Report Posted Monday at 11:01 PM well. there goes another D1 spot for anyone trying to move up Quote
Velho Posted Monday at 11:09 PM Report Posted Monday at 11:09 PM 7 minutes ago, Aging_Arbiter said: well. there goes another D1 spot for anyone trying to move up I follow the thinking but given the money flowing into NCAA is landing there a given - or even possible? Quote
grayhawk Posted Monday at 11:17 PM Report Posted Monday at 11:17 PM 6 minutes ago, Velho said: I follow the thinking but given the money flowing into NCAA is landing there a given - or even possible? I highly doubt it. NCAA baseball is more popular and visible than ever, and hiring a fired pro umpire, even one as good as Hoberg at the MLB level, for alleged gambling is an iron too hot to touch. 1 1 Quote
Replacematt Posted Tuesday at 12:03 AM Report Posted Tuesday at 12:03 AM There is something that is ironic and that should make the brain circuits short out on those who think officials actually rig games...the one official who had even an indirect tie to gambling was the one often held up as being the most accurate and consistent. 1 Quote
dumbdumb Posted Tuesday at 12:32 AM Report Posted Tuesday at 12:32 AM per old guy that went to umpire school and asked those no no questions when page comes up, click on rule 21. he said it is prominently displayed in every clubhouse in milb and mlb spring training and regular season. and yes umpires have seen it also. https://www.mlb.com/player-resource-center/player-policies 1 Quote
dumbdumb Posted Tuesday at 12:40 AM Report Posted Tuesday at 12:40 AM 7 minutes ago, dumbdumb said: per old guy that went to umpire school and asked those no no questions when page comes up, click on rule 21. he said it is prominently displayed in every clubhouse in milb and mlb spring training and regular season. and yes umpires have seen it also. https://www.mlb.com/player-resource-center/player-policies and nice article on how everyone in baseball gets personal or zoom training https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/mlb-embraced-gambling-while-trying-to-preserve-its-integrity-it-s-a-big-bet/ar-BB1nTsFJ 1 Quote
Velho Posted Tuesday at 12:55 AM Report Posted Tuesday at 12:55 AM 20 minutes ago, dumbdumb said: when page comes up, click on rule 21. Direct link to a pdf https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/fl_attachment/mlb/kavridnnjembnqt6dzgz.pdf Quote
The Man in Blue Posted Tuesday at 01:59 AM Report Posted Tuesday at 01:59 AM Notice that no article mentions which online sports betting services were involved … wouldn’t want to offend the big bucks sponsors. Quote: Of the 141 baseball bets placed from his friend's accounts, eight bets involved five games that Hoberg umpired or had responsibility for replay reviews. There was no evidence that Hoberg took any action to manipulate the outcome of the games. A detailed analysis did not reveal any pattern to indicate Hoberg's calls were influenced by the bets being made by his friend. • The investigation found that although the baseball bets were profitable, the data did not support a finding that bets from his friend's accounts were connected to game-fixing or other efforts to manipulate any part of any baseball game or event. The baseball betting activity also did not focus on any particular club, pitcher or umpire, and there was no apparent correlation between bet success and bet size. The eight bets on games that Hoberg worked similarly did not reveal any obvious pattern. How’s that FTX sponsorship going; I haven’t noticed it on umpire uniforms lately? 🙄 2 Quote
SeeingEyeDog Posted Tuesday at 03:42 AM Author Report Posted Tuesday at 03:42 AM So, I missed the part previously where it says he can apply for re-instatement no earlier than the start of spring training 2026. Presuming he has no other concerns or issues between now and then, is there any reason to think he wouldn't be re-instated? ~Dawg Quote
Velho Posted Tuesday at 04:19 AM Report Posted Tuesday at 04:19 AM 34 minutes ago, SeeingEyeDog said: So, I missed the part previously where it says he can apply for re-instatement no earlier than the start of spring training 2026. Presuming he has no other concerns or issues between now and then, is there any reason to think he wouldn't be re-instated? Him staying pristine and quiet is a start. The state of the world at that time will play a larger role than it should imo, e.g. an untimely gambling scandal unrelated to him could unduly influence things. Hope it works out for him (and that he realizes who he hangs out with matter and he shouldn't gamble in the first place). 2 Quote
Replacematt Posted Tuesday at 05:44 AM Report Posted Tuesday at 05:44 AM 3 hours ago, The Man in Blue said: Notice that no article mentions which online sports betting services were involved … wouldn’t want to offend the big bucks sponsors. More likely it's related to the fact it was the service that notified MLB of the situation. Quote
dumbdumb Posted Tuesday at 08:04 AM Report Posted Tuesday at 08:04 AM 4 hours ago, SeeingEyeDog said: So, I missed the part previously where it says he can apply for re-instatement no earlier than the start of spring training 2026. Presuming he has no other concerns or issues between now and then, is there any reason to think he wouldn't be re-instated? ~Dawg googleing around for other type situations https://www.cbsnews.com/news/report-gambling-touched-baseball-umps/ 1 Quote
lawump Posted Tuesday at 05:36 PM Report Posted Tuesday at 05:36 PM I can confirm that Rule 21 is posted on the door into or inside the locker room of every professional umpire locker room I have been in. I can also confirm, though I have been in far fewer, that Rule 21 is also posted in every clubhouse/locker room I have ventured in. 2 Quote
umpstu Posted Tuesday at 10:06 PM Report Posted Tuesday at 10:06 PM 20 hours ago, The Man in Blue said: Notice that no article mentions which online sports betting services were involved … wouldn’t want to offend the big bucks sponsors. Quote: Of the 141 baseball bets placed from his friend's accounts, eight bets involved five games that Hoberg umpired or had responsibility for replay reviews. There was no evidence that Hoberg took any action to manipulate the outcome of the games. A detailed analysis did not reveal any pattern to indicate Hoberg's calls were influenced by the bets being made by his friend. • The investigation found that although the baseball bets were profitable, the data did not support a finding that bets from his friend's accounts were connected to game-fixing or other efforts to manipulate any part of any baseball game or event. The baseball betting activity also did not focus on any particular club, pitcher or umpire, and there was no apparent correlation between bet success and bet size. The eight bets on games that Hoberg worked similarly did not reveal any obvious pattern. How’s that FTX sponsorship going; I haven’t noticed it on umpire uniforms lately? 🙄 Just because they wore an FTX patch doesn't mean they should all run out and start gambling. That's almost like saying they should become alcoholics because they're sponsored by Budweiser. How about just don't gamble or associate with known gamblers in the first place? That being said, I hope nothing else comes up in Hoberg's situation and that he is welcomed back to umpire in the MLB. 1 Quote
UMP45 Posted Tuesday at 10:51 PM Report Posted Tuesday at 10:51 PM I hate to say it but, in todays "blame game" society I fear his career is over. MLB or NCAA. 1 Quote
The Man in Blue Posted Tuesday at 11:58 PM Report Posted Tuesday at 11:58 PM 1 hour ago, umpstu said: Just because they wore an FTX patch doesn't mean they should all run out and start gambling. That's almost like saying they should become alcoholics because they're sponsored by Budweiser. How about just don't gamble or associate with known gamblers in the first place? That being said, I hope nothing else comes up in Hoberg's situation and that he is welcomed back to umpire in the MLB. I wasn't trying to imply that any of Hoberg's situation was because of an FTX patch . . . I was commenting that Big Boy League Baseball isn't too concerned about the appearance of things so long as they are getting theirs. Many of us commented on the poorly perceived appearance of slapping a (scam) cryptocurrency patch on umpire's uniforms. I mean, what other product does a company accept as a sponsor and then FORBID it's people from using? That should tell you something right there. We don't want gambling in the game . . . but we'd love to have your gambling money in the game! I think this is bullSkittles. There was no evidence whatsoever that he did anything to compromise the integrity of the game. In fact, all the evidence is to the contrary. But then, I'm angry about a lot of the world situation these days. Quote
The Man in Blue Posted yesterday at 12:03 AM Report Posted yesterday at 12:03 AM 1 hour ago, UMP45 said: I hate to say it but, in todays "blame game" society I fear his career is over. MLB or NCAA. Yeah. You don't FIRE him and say "reapply in a year" if you intend to bring him back. You suspend him. 1 Quote
SeeingEyeDog Posted yesterday at 03:08 AM Author Report Posted yesterday at 03:08 AM @The Man in Blue, I must also remind everyone...as you said, not only was the decision to put ANY sponsor's patch on the umpire's uniforms but, that it was a cryptocurrency commonly used to settle online gambling debts just adds to all the controversy. The thing about the FTX patch was that when MLB signed that deal with FTX, it caused the REMOVAL of existing memorial patches honoring recently deceased MLB umpires from their uniforms as well as prevented the MLBUA from adding additional memorial patches. The whole affair was rather disrespectful, frankly. Further, the sponsorship deal ended when FTX found themselves in an enormous and sordid financial scandal. ~Dawg 1 Quote
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