Pat Hoberg fired by MLB for gambling violations

[dumbdumb]

absolutely long but stunning read. worthy of anything @lawump ever wrote up (brief) in his life, and you want to know why umpire joe west gave his opinion a while back on the subject going back years. and when is gambling awareness month? that's right, March, and what month is March famous for (and maybe starts the very end of February now days. and no, not March madness, although that would tie in with this article). that's right, MLB spring training.

https://vault.si.com/vault/1986/03/10/the-biggest-game-in-town

[Replacematt]

On 2/4/2025 at 6:03 PM, The Man in Blue said:

Yeah.  You don't FIRE him and say "reapply in a year" if you intend to bring him back.  You suspend him.

They don't have that option. He's on the ineligible list for one year, which means he cannot be employed by MLB or any of its clubs.

[dumbdumb]

some money amounts mentioned

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/columnist-umpire-s-firing-for-gambling-must-be-a-hard-line-for-mlb/ar-AA1yAzf4?ocid=BingNewsSerp

 

[Velho]

11 hours ago, dumbdumb said:

some money amounts mentioned

"MLB’s investigation showed that between Dec. 30, 2020, and Jan. 15, 2024, Hoberg’s devices made a total of $709,605.83 in bets, losing an aggregate total of $74,876.61."

Sounds like average bet size was $5,700.

Feels like a lot for someone making $250k/year

[BLWizzRanger]

Lost $75K??? Looks like he shouldn't quit his day job....

[Velho]

1 hour ago, BLWizzRanger said:

Lost $75K??? Looks like he shouldn't quit his day job....

What day job? 😉

[beerguy55]

2 hours ago, Velho said:

"MLB’s investigation showed that between Dec. 30, 2020, and Jan. 15, 2024, Hoberg’s devices made a total of $709,605.83 in bets, losing an aggregate total of $74,876.61."

Sounds like average bet size was $5,700.

Feels like a lot for someone making $250k/year

The average bet size cannot be surmised from those numbers.  There were 141 bets made on BASEBALL in that three-year window...the $700k is a sum of all the bets made on all the sports.

And though it looks like he's betting basically his gross salary every year, and losing 10% of it, you can't even conclude that.

There is no breakdown to what he was betting with his own money, and what he was betting on behalf of (and funded by) a pro poker player.  There is no breakdown because he and his pal deleted the messaging app which contained the details, and accounting, of those bets.

 

Of course, one does wonder why he didn't just create his own account, which would very clearly show a betting history that doesn't contain baseball...or how he could have access to his friend's account, a full record of his wins/losses, on many occasions put bets in on his friend's behalf, and have no idea his friend had bet on baseball...

[Velho]

9 minutes ago, beerguy55 said:

The average bet size cannot be surmised from those numbers.  There were 141 bets made on BASEBALL in that three-year window...the $700k is a sum of all the bets made on all the sports.

Yes, thanks. I misread it.

10 minutes ago, beerguy55 said:

And though it looks like he's betting basically his gross salary every year, and losing 10% of it, you can't even conclude that.

There is no breakdown to what he was betting with his own money, and what he was betting on behalf of (and funded by) a pro poker player.  There is no breakdown because he and his pal deleted the messaging app which contained the details, and accounting, of those bets.

His devices made $700k of bets so it's a logical leap since multiple devices were making bets but your point is valid.

The reporting is lacking but regardless, the suspension seems justified (and he'll need another day job since this wasn't making any money).

[beerguy55]

27 minutes ago, Velho said:

Yes, thanks. I misread it.

His devices made $700k of bets so it's a logical leap since multiple devices were making bets but your point is valid.

The reporting is lacking but regardless, the suspension seems justified (and he'll need another day job since this wasn't making any money).

Believe me, I don't buy for a minute he had no idea his friend was betting on baseball - he's almost certainly lying about that...and combine that with his choice to use his friend's account for his own bets, rather than just create his own, it's a very small leap to conclude that he was indeed betting on baseball too, and hoping to disguise it in the shared account that wasn't under his name.   MLB just can't prove it.

[Velho]

1 hour ago, beerguy55 said:

MLB just can't prove it.

I agree

 - This post brought to you by DraftKings - 

[834k3r]

42 minutes ago, Velho said:

I agree

 - This post brought to you by DraftKings - 

[dumbdumb]

why not just bet on the ponies and boxing from days gone by, then this topic would not appear on this site, for or about any of us that follow the little white ball on the field or off.

[Velho]

17 hours ago, dumbdumb said:

why not just bet on the ponies and boxing

Heck, no one bets on boxing anymore. It's more fixed than the NFL!

[dumbdumb]

similarities. and once again people thought joe west was nuts on his scared to death comment.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/2025/02/22/fresno-state-basketball-sports-gambling-investigation/79660182007/?tbref=hp

[beerguy55]

On 2/22/2025 at 4:33 PM, dumbdumb said:

similarities. and once again people thought joe west was nuts on his scared to death comment.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/2025/02/22/fresno-state-basketball-sports-gambling-investigation/79660182007/?tbref=hp

We was nuts.  Gambling has been happening all along, and most sports betting scandals of the past 100 years happened in scenarios where gambling was illegal.  Gambling being illegal didn't stop anything, and certainly didn't protect anyone's lives or livelihood.  Arguably it was more dangerous to those who wouldn't cooperate.   (see Boston College point shaving as just one example...not to mention it was uncovered by accident, when Henry Hill - of Goodfellas fame - was arrested for unrelated charges).

Legalized gambling hasn't made anything worse...it's simply brought most of the bullSH*# out of the shadow.    You now know what would not have been known to the general public 50 years ago.

Yes, there are risks with minor/amateur players who could be well compensated to provide information.  But frankly, this is the same disparity that leads people to use PED's.  You pay those players well enough, and you significantly reduce (not eliminate) those risks.  

Also keep in mind that the NFL's schedule was built around an efficient Las Vegas bookmaking model, including their rules to have accurate injury reports in by Thursday.