SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – APRIL 05: Umpire Pat Hoberg #31 looks on during the first inning between the Seattle Mariners and the Los Angeles Angels at T-Mobile Park on April 05, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
According to a report from ESPN, Major League Baseball (MLB) has fired umpire Pat Hoberg after a long appeals process. He was let go for "sharing" a legal sports betting account with a friend who bet on baseball and for deleting important messages during the investigation.
MLB stated that Hoberg "adamantly denied betting on baseball directly or indirectly." Commissioner Rob Manfred said there was "no evidence" that Hoberg placed bets on games or tried to change the outcome of any games "in any way."
In its statement, MLB said Hoberg was fired for not "upholding the integrity of the game" and that he "should have known" his friend—a professional poker player—was using the shared account to bet on baseball.
Hoberg was known as one of the best at calling balls and strikes in MLB. He can apply to return to umpiring in 2026, once spring training begins.
"I take full responsibility for the errors in judgment that are outlined in today's statement [by MLB]," Hoberg said in a statement through the Major League Baseball Umpires Association (MLBUA). "Those errors will always be a source of shame and embarrassment to me.
"Major League Baseball umpires are held to a high standard of personal conduct, and my own conduct fell short of that standard. That said, to be clear, I have never and would never bet on baseball in any way, shape, or form. I have never provided, and would never provide, information to anyone for the purpose of betting on baseball. Upholding the integrity of the game has always been of the utmost importance to me."
