Major League Baseball statement regarding Hoberg appeal
Major League Baseball (MLB) announced today that following an appeal process in accordance with its Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the Major League Baseball Umpires Association (MLBUA), Commissioner of Baseball Robert D. Manfred, Jr. has upheld an earlier decision by MLB to terminate Major League Umpire Pat Hoberg¡¯s employment.
The disciplinary action was taken due to Hoberg¡¯s failure to uphold the integrity of the game by sharing sports betting accounts with a professional poker player and friend who bet on baseball and whom Hoberg should have known bet on baseball, and due to Hoberg¡¯s intentional deletion of messages central to MLB¡¯s investigation into his conduct. Throughout the investigation and appeals process, Hoberg adamantly denied betting on baseball directly or indirectly (i.e., through his friend), and the data provided by the sportsbooks does not show any baseball bets from his own electronic devices. MLB found no evidence that Hoberg or anyone else took any action to manipulate the outcomes of any games, and an analysis of the betting data did not show any discernible patterns indicative of an integrity risk. Consistent with Major League Rule 2(c) for players, Hoberg can apply for reinstatement, but no earlier than the start of 2026 Spring Training.
MLB immediately opened an investigation in February 2024 upon receiving information from a licensed sports betting operator that Hoberg had opened a sports 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. Hoberg was subsequently removed from Spring Training and made inactive for the 2024 Championship Season pending completion of the investigatory process. On May 24, 2024, Senior Vice President of On-Field Operations Michael Hill determined that, based on the totality of the circumstances, including impeding the investigation into his conduct, Hoberg¡¯s conduct and extremely poor judgment created a situation in which Hoberg could not be trusted to ¡°maintain the integrity of the international game of baseball¡± on the field as required by Article 9.A of the CBA.
Upon notification that he was terminated effective May 31, 2024, Hoberg appealed the decision to Commissioner Manfred per the process outlined in the CBA, including the involvement of a mutually agreed upon ¡°Neutral Factfinder¡± whose role is to reach conclusions on ¡°the events, occurrences, omissions and/or conduct relating to the reason(s) for the discipline ¡ [and to] find facts that may be relevant to the issue of mitigation and may make credibility determinations inherent in the factfinding process without commenting on the veracity of witnesses or other individuals involved.¡± The process calls for the Commissioner to give ¡°due regard¡± to the Neutral Factfinder¡¯s findings but the Commissioner is not bound by them and can make an independent judgment that is final, binding and not subject to the grievance procedure or challenge in any other forum. Commissioner Manfred held an in-person hearing with Hoberg after an extensive review of all the available information regarding this matter.
Commissioner Manfred said: ¡°The strict enforcement of Major League Baseball¡¯s rules governing sports betting conduct is a critical component of upholding our most important priority: protecting the integrity of our games for the fans. An extensive 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. Therefore, there is just cause to uphold Mr. Hoberg¡¯s termination for failing to conform to high standards of personal conduct and to maintain the integrity of the game of baseball.¡±
A summary of facts regarding this matter accompanies this statement.
Factual Findings:
The following summary of facts on this matter was established through MLB¡¯s investigation and the Neutral Factfinder process, including witness testimony and the extensive review of electronic records. Hoberg submitted to an interview, made his electronic devices available for forensic investigation, provided phone records related to his calls with Individual A, and provided financial and credit card records.
MLB opened an investigation in February 2024, when a legal online sportsbook (¡°Sportsbook A¡±) notified the Commissioner¡¯s Office that umpire Pat Hoberg had opened a Sportsbook A account in his own name on January 30, 2024, and that the personal electronic device associated with this account had previously accessed a Sportsbook A account in another person¡¯s name (hereinafter, ¡°Individual A¡±). Hoberg opened the Sportsbook A account in his own name after attending a training by MLB that instructed umpires not to have others place bets on their behalf or to place bets on behalf of others. Although Hoberg¡¯s new account was not betting on baseball, Individual A¡¯s account had bet on baseball, including on games that Hoberg umpired.
Hoberg and Individual A, a professional poker player, met at a poker tournament circa 2014. They became friends. In addition to poker, they played golf, traveled together and watched sports on television. Individual A was a frequent overnight guest at Hoberg's home. These stays occurred one or two nights at a time and about 20 to 30 nights per year.
In 2015 or 2016, Hoberg began placing sports bets on occasion through Individual A. In 2019, when online sports betting became legal in Iowa, Individual A opened a legal online betting account with Sportsbook A. Additionally, at some point, Individual A opened a legal account with Sportsbook B. Betting on these accounts was possible only from electronic devices physically located in Iowa, but users could log into the accounts to check on the status of bets from outside the state.
Initially, when online sports betting became legal in Iowa, Hoberg asked Individual A to place bets for him (referred to herein as "indirect" bets). Individual A used his sportsbook accounts to do so. Subsequently, Individual A gave Hoberg the username and password to his accounts so that Hoberg could place bets directly by logging into the accounts using Hoberg's own devices on occasions when Individual A was not in Iowa and, therefore, not able to place the bets for Hoberg. There were also occasions when Hoberg placed bets on the accounts on behalf of Individual A when Individual A was not in Iowa. The records show that the first time Hoberg used his device in Iowa to place a sports bet on Individual A's Sportsbook A account was December 30, 2020, and his direct betting on the account continued through January 15, 2024.
Hoberg¡¯s requests to Individual A to place bets for him were communicated via the messaging app Telegram. The Telegram app was also used to maintain a separate log or "ledger" of Hoberg's direct and indirect bets placed through Individual A¡¯s accounts. The ledger kept track of the amounts of money Hoberg won and lost as well as the balance Hoberg owed Individual A in the event of cumulative losses or, in the event of cumulative wins, the amounts Individual A owed Hoberg. The funds for these bets all came from money Individual A deposited into his accounts; Hoberg never deposited money into the accounts. Hoberg and Individual A would settle outstanding debts in cash when they saw each other in person.
After being contacted by MLB investigators, Individual A deleted both of his Telegram threads (the thread that communicated the bets and the ledger showing amounts owed) with Hoberg. Subsequently, after a phone conversation between Hoberg and Individual A, Hoberg deleted his Telegram account. This had the effect of deleting both sides of the Telegram threads between Hoberg and Individual A. Hoberg asserted throughout the entire investigation and appeal process that he had no idea at the time that he was being investigated for betting on baseball because he had no knowledge of Individual A¡¯s baseball bets and that he deleted the messages simply because he was embarrassed by the frequency and volume of his legal non-baseball betting activity. However, Hoberg¡¯s actions regarding the deletion of messages made those messages irretrievable. Later efforts by MLB and Hoberg to recover those messages failed.
The data obtained from Sportsbook A shows that Hoberg's devices were used to place 417 direct bets between December 30, 2020, and January 15, 2024, on Individual A's accounts. The total amount bet was $487,475.83. These bets lost $53,189.65 in the aggregate. The data obtained from Sportsbook B shows that Hoberg¡¯s devices were used to place at least 112 bets totaling $222,130.00. These bets lost $21,686.96 in the aggregate. Most of the direct bets (on both accounts) were on football, basketball, hockey or golf.
None of the bets placed on Individual A's accounts with Hoberg's devices were on baseball.
Data reflects that Individual A¡¯s accounts bet on baseball 141 times between April 2, 2021, and November 1, 2023. The bets were almost exclusively on which team would win a certain game (i.e., money line) or whether more or less than a specific number of runs would be scored in a certain game (i.e., total). Of those 141 bets, 26 were parlays, and six of the 26 parlays included multiple MLB legs. The total amount bet on baseball from Individual A's accounts was $213,754.45 with an overall win of $34,583.06 in the aggregate.
Of the 141 baseball bets placed by Individual A¡¯s accounts using Individual A¡¯s devices, 19 were placed from Hoberg's home.
Of the 141 bets placed from Individual A¡¯s accounts, eight involved five games that Hoberg umpired or had responsibility for replay reviews. There is no evidence that Hoberg took any action to manipulate the outcome of the games. Further, a detailed analysis does not reveal any pattern to indicate that Hoberg¡¯s calls were influenced by the bets being made by Individual A.
On April 13, 2021, Hoberg was the third base umpire and had three close calls logged in MLB¡¯s evaluation system. All three calls were graded as correct. The money line bets for $2,000 and $1,000 on the Cincinnati Reds both lost.
On June 15, 2021, Hoberg was the lead replay official for the Chicago Cubs-New York Mets game. There were no replay reviews in this game. The live run line bet for $1,050 on the Cubs won and paid out $1,550.
On August 15, 2021, Hoberg was the home plate umpire for the Los Angeles Dodgers-New York Mets game. His strike zone accuracy score was 98.89%; he missed only two pitches in the game. Hoberg¡¯s accuracy score in this game was higher than his 2021 season average (98.59%) and higher than the umpire staff average in 2021 (97.56%). His two missed pitches were both in low-leverage situations and benefitted the Los Angeles Dodgers. Six other calls were within the ¡°buffer zone¡± of which four went against the Dodgers and two went against the Mets. The money line bet for $3,200 on the Dodgers won and paid out $5,200.
On October 8, 2021, Hoberg was the third base umpire for the Dodgers-San Francisco Giants NLDS game and did not have any plays that were close enough to be logged in MLB¡¯s evaluation system. The money line bet for $2,000 and run line bet for $3,000 on the Giants both won and paid out a combined $9,300.
On October 30, 2021, Hoberg was the lead replay official for Game Four of the World Series. There was one replay review during the game. The Houston Astros challenged when an Atlanta Braves baserunner was called safe at second base, and Hoberg confirmed the call. Hoberg¡¯s ruling was supported by MLB staff working in the Replay Operations Center. The money line bets for $3,000 and $1,050 on the Astros both lost.
MLB analyzed baseball bets placed from Individual A¡¯s accounts and corresponding game data to search for any discernible patterns that could indicate integrity risks. Overall, although the baseball bets were profitable, the data did not support a finding that baseball bets from Individual A¡¯s accounts were connected to game-fixing or other efforts to manipulate any part of any baseball game or event. Critically, the baseball betting activity 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 Hoberg worked similarly did not reveal any obvious pattern. The average size of those eight bets ($2,038), which were all placed in 2021, was in line with the average size of all straight (i.e., non-parlayed) baseball bets placed by Individual A¡¯s accounts in 2021 ($1,910). And those eight bets, unlike the larger sample, were not profitable.
Throughout the entire process, Hoberg has adamantly denied betting on baseball or knowing that Individual A was betting on baseball, and the data provided by the sportsbooks does not show any baseball bets from his electronic devices. However, based on the record of evidence, it is found as a matter of fact that Hoberg knew or should have known that Individual A bet on baseball. He had unfettered access to the account that reflected his own bets ¨C as well as his wins and losses. Individual A¡¯s bets as well as wins and losses could easily be distinguished when compared to the Telegram ledger. Hoberg admitted that given Individual A was a sports gambler he had reason to believe that Individual A bet on baseball and thought that he could have bet on baseball.
Hoberg acknowledged that he never told Individual A not to bet on baseball and said that it did not occur to him to ask if Individual A had done so. Accordingly, Hoberg did nothing to disassociate himself as a Major League Umpire from Individual A's baseball betting for several years despite knowing that he was allowed to open betting accounts in his own name and bet on other sports.