Pat Hoberg could return in a year
Major League Baseball has fired umpire Pat Hoberg after a year-long investigation and appeals process for violating league rules on gambling.
Interestingly, MLB is confident that Hoberg did not bet on baseball games, did not give anyone insider information on games, and did not umpire in such a way as to influence games. So what did he do? Essentially, Hoberg’s actions were bad optics and he interfered with the league’s investigation.
Fortunately, because Hoberg didn’t cross any red lines, he has only been fired, not banned. He is eligible to apply for reinstatement at the start of next year’s Spring Training.
Made tons of bets, but none on baseball
According to MLB, Hoberg and a professional poker player struck up a close friendship about a decade ago. When Iowa, where Hoberg lives, legalized sports betting in 2019, the poker player created a couple of online sportsbook accounts and not only placed his own bets, but placed wagers for Hoberg.
The friend eventually gave Hoberg the account’s login information and the two shared the account for several years. The league said that Hoberg did not bet on baseball, but his friend (called “Individual A” in the league’s press release) did, and Hoberg knew it. And it was because “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” that he was fired.
From December 30, 2020, to January 15, 2024, 529 bets were placed from Pat Hoberg’s device on Individual A’s account. The bets totaled $709,605.83 and resulted in a total loss of $74,876.58. None of the wagers were on baseball.
Individual A did bet on baseball 141 times between April 2, 2021, and November 1, 2023, but as mentioned, it does not appear that Hoberg made any of those bets or was involved in placing them. Nineteen of the baseball bets were made from Hoberg’s house and eight were made on games in which Hoberg umpired or was responsible for replay reviews. But, again, MLB determined that Hoberg did nothing to manipulate games.
One of MLB’s most respected umps
That it was Pat Hoberg who was fired is perhaps the most shocking part of the entire ordeal, as he is considered by many to be the best umpire in the game. Sports umpires and referees are always vilified – nearly every call is disputed by one side or the other. And while Hoberg makes mistakes like anyone else, he also makes fewer than just about everyone else.
UmpScorecards.com tracks how accurate and consistent MLB umpires are behind home plate and has data going back about a decade. During the period in which the betting on Individual A’s account occurred, Hoberg was one of the top two most accurate home plate umps in calling balls and strikes, as well as one of the most consistent.
Hoberg also owns the only perfectly umped game on UmpScorecards, as he did not miss a single ball or strike call in Game 2 of the 2022 World Series. Nobody has even umped perfectly in a regular season game, let alone a World Series game.
