Uh Oh, Not Another One — MLB Suspends Umpire Pat Hoberg For Gambling Violation

It was only a matter of time before an umpire got pinched for gambling. On Friday, the MLB suspended umpire Pat Hoberg for violating league gambling policies. This comes on the heels of the MLB permanently banning now-former San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano for betting on his team's games and suspending four more ball players for a year for violating MLB betting rules. 

Chicago White Sox manager Pedro Grifol argues a call with MLB home plate umpire Pat Hoberg in the sixth inning vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. (Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Obviously, both of these stories are trumped by the Shohei Ohtani ordeal. In early June, his former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, pleaded guilty to bank and tax fraud after stealing roughly $17 million from Ohtani to cover his illegal gambling debts with a Southern California bookie. Luckily for Ohtani and Los Angeles Dodgers fans, he wasn't involved with any illegal activity himself. 

Hoberg became a full-time MLB umpire in 2017 after starting part-time umpiring duties in 2014. This suspension comes as a surprise considering Hoberg is famous for correctly calling all 129 balls and strikes in Game 2 of the 2022 World Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and Houston Astros. 

Based on it being a "suspension" and not "banning", I'm assuming that Hoberg didn't bet on any games he was umpiring. However, that's just speculation on my part and MLB said it would provide no further comments until Hoberg's appeal process is finished. OutKick will continue to monitor the situation and provide further details when they are announced. 

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