We see the players’ performance. We see the game display panels. If we want to see the lines of Paris, we can easily find them too.
What we don’t see is how players interact with the players on which they bet. In the edition of this year of Athletics‘s Anonymous MLB players surveyOur writers asked the players about the experience – and to judge overwhelming answers that we have received great league, it is even uglier and more scary than you think.
It is, people, is a landslide. But the most surprising part was what the players said after “yes”, “no” or “uncertain”. In recent weeks, we have seen the launchers launched McCullers Jr. and Liam Hendriks reveal that they and their families had been targeted with death threats. Harmless taunts – “Beautiful game, pretty boy– Takes a darker turn, and the reason is obvious to players.
Most of the time, players said, the worst things come back anonymously on social networks. “They wouldn’t say these stuff on their face,” said a launcher. But it has also become a routine for fans to remind players of the Paris lines for the game of this day (Note: Athletics has a commercial partnership with the online sports book BETMGM.)
“As a starting launcher, you warm up, and all people are suspended above the fence:” I have you at the end! “” Said an old All-Star from the National League. “You are trying to settle them – it’s not my goal – but you hear these kinds of things and you are very aware of your sur -sous for the day behind the stick.”
The minimum wage of major leagues is $ 760,000, theoretically rich enough for players to resist the players’ openings. But many players are only a professional part of this salary, depending on the real days they spend in the majors, and some players fear that an sinister element can infiltrate their ranks.
“My fear,” said a seven -year -old veteran, “is that these young guys coming, if (a player) can handle them, I never want to see this happen.”
A veteran emergency launcher said he had threatened his entire career, but they have become more precise because of the game. He too fears the worst.
“I have received (something) as simple as a venm request with a threat that says:” You owe me $ 9,000 because you have exploded the game-I need you to send me this money or I will find your family, “he said. “It is too far. We have communicated as the MLB security players that we must understand this before it becomes uncontrollable. I do not want to say this, but something bad will happen and it will be said:” We have told you. “”
It was different, the players said when fans focused more on their fantastic teams. These days, they can say that there is a different level of intensity and that some fans want to eliminate their problems on players.
“This is the worst thing that has happened since I was here,” said a veteran voltiseur. “I think it will only get worse because of its popularity. There are ways to bet on the by-by-pich in the stadium during the game. I will be in Wrigley in the central field and I have people who tell me that they will put me money to hit a home run the next strike. I don’t need to know it.
“And then the things of hatred if you have a bad day (and) 0 or 4 – it has become uncontrollable. This is a problem. And unfortunately, they will not change it because there is too much money in it.”
Many players reported that fans have found their venmo accounts and demand money. A launcher from the American League noted that Veno requests often arrive before the end of the matches. (Yes, he changed his username.)
“It’s hostile at strange moments,” he said. “Previously, if you win or lose the game, the fans are happy or sad. Now, it’s like, if you do not cover, they are sad. Or if you abandon a race in the first round, they are sad. Or if you launch a quick ball instead of a curve, they are sad.”
Strikers have even worse, he said, because the circuits are common bets but relatively rare events.
“They are still betting on the circuits,” he said. “These guys are trying to pull the ball through the 4 holes and these (players) have a bet Homer and they shout them.”
Another launcher we talked about was less worried and underlined a positive aspect of the game craze.
“I have obtained DM over the years to find out if bets have struck or not; it simply comes with the territory,” he said. “But I think it’s cool, guy. If you are there, and you do not see it as a problem, and you do it in a responsible manner, I do not think there is a problem with this. I think it gives fans deeper. With social media, you can contact us immediately (and) when you have more access to sport.”
For most players, however, the fans who play look too closely – and that makes them very uncomfortable.
“It’s crazy,” said a player in the national league. “Nowadays, it’s” f – you, f – your family “. S—, it’s a bad day, I’m sorry. You make fans expect that we become 4-in-4 every day. “”
He continued: “I receive requests all the time on Venmo:” Thank you for making me lose $ 2,000 last night … “I receive threats:” I’m going to draw you from my apartment. I live just opposite (from) the stadium. “… I received three or four texts like that and I had to report it to MLB Security.
An Al lift said that he was also fearing violent reprisals and that the planned athletics move to Las Vegas in 2028 could be problematic.
“I think there will be a risk of security or a risk of personnel,” he said. “Someone will lose a pile of money and track someone in a parking lot, especially if they end up moving to Vegas. With live bets, it could become quite serious.”
A launcher from the National League said he deactivated the word “spread” on his social media accounts and uses an alias for Venmo. Online abuses, he said, can make cynical players.
“People suck, guy,” he said. “But that is one of them. I asked a teammate to answer each person who said that she had lost money on him:” You are so poor! “It’s a bit funny, (but) it is better to no longer respond to anything.
An Al East launcher said he had deleted all of his social media accounts and called him “the best thing I have ever done”. But players are also human and expect them to avoid social media and all game sites can be unrealistic.
Tucucita Marcano, an interior field player from San Diego and Pittsburgh from 2021 to 2023, was Prohibited for life Last June, to bet on baseball, and four other professional players were suspended for a year. An 11 -year -old veteran said it was naive to think that players cannot be tempted.
“The fact that it is so easy to do and you can just go to your phone and search for propeller bets, everyone plays,” he said. “Every man I know. Obviously, not baseball players on baseball, but baseball players play other sports every time they can. It’s easy, it’s fun, no matter. … You don’t have to travel to Vegas to go to a sports book as it’s 2010. He’s crazy.
And that, said an NL recipient, is antithetic to the way things should be. The adoption of the legalized game, he said, was a bad bet for MLB.
“He must be abolished,” said the receiver. “It brought more fans to the bad ways.”
Publisher’s note: Some quotes from players included in this story have been slightly modified for length and clarity.
(Illustration: Dan GOLDFARB / Athletics; Lance photo McCullers Jr.: Rob Carr / Getty Images)