Umpire Pat Hoberg was fired by Major League Baseball (MLB) on Monday for sharing his sports betting accounts with a friend who placed bets on baseball games, and for intentionally deleting messages related to the league’s investigation.
MLB started looking into the situation last February after the sportsbook reported it, and Hoberg did not umpire during the last season. MLB said that while no evidence was found showing that Hoberg personally bet on baseball or tried to influence games, Michael Hill, MLB’s senior vice president of on-field operations, recommended firing Hoberg on May 24.
Commissioner Rob Manfred said he agreed with Hill’s decision. Hoberg, one of the top-rated umpires for judging the strike zone, can apply to return to the league no earlier than spring training in 2026.
MLB reported that the friend placed 141 bets on baseball games between April 2, 2021, and November 1, 2023, for a total of almost $214,000, with a net win of nearly $35,000.
“Enforcing MLB’s rules on sports betting is crucial for protecting the integrity of the game,” Manfred said in a statement. “The investigation found no evidence that Hoberg bet on baseball or tried to influence games. However, his poor decision to share his betting accounts with a professional poker player, who he knew or suspected was betting on baseball, along with deleting messages, created at least the appearance of misconduct.
This warrants serious punishment. Therefore, Hoberg’s firing stands due to his failure to meet the high standards of personal conduct required to maintain the integrity of the game.”
Hoberg, now 38, started as a professional umpire in 2009. He made his MLB debut as a call-up on March 31, 2014, and officially joined the major league staff in 2017. During Game 2 of the 2022 World Series, he achieved an “umpire’s perfect game” by correctly calling every pitch, a feat recognized by Umpire Scorecards.
“I take full responsibility for the mistakes mentioned in today’s statement,” Hoberg said in a statement. “These mistakes will always be a source of shame for me. MLB umpires are held to high standards, and I fell short of those standards. To be clear, I have never and would never bet on baseball. I have never provided any information for betting on the game.
Protecting the integrity of baseball has always been my priority. I apologize to MLB and the baseball community for my mistakes. I am committed to learning from this and becoming a better person.”
Hoberg was informed of his firing on May 31 for violating Article 9 (A) of the umpires’ collective bargaining agreement, which states that umpires must “conform to high standards of personal conduct” and “maintain the integrity of the international game of baseball.”
The labor contract gave Hoberg the right to appeal Hill’s decision, so MLB hired a neutral fact-finder who then submitted a report to Manfred.
MLB said the sportsbook notified it that Hoberg opened an account in his name on January 30, 2024. The investigation found that one of Hoberg’s devices used an account in another person’s name, which had placed bets on baseball.
Hoberg’s devices were used to place 417 bets with one sportsbook between December 30, 2020, and January 15, 2024, totaling $487,475.83, resulting in a loss of $53,189.65. The devices also placed at least 112 bets with another sportsbook totaling $222,130, losing $21,686.96. Most of the bets were on sports other than baseball, including football, basketball, hockey, and golf.
