New York (AP) – Referee Pat Hoberg was dismissed by Major League Baseball Monday for sharing his legal sports games with a friend who bet on baseball matches and to intentionally delete relevant electronic messages to the league investigation.
MLB opened the investigation last February when he was brought to his attention by the Sportsbook, and Huberg did not referee last season. While MLB said that the investigation had not revealed Huberg evidence personally bet on baseball or manipulated matches, the main vice-president of MLB field operations recommended on May 24 that Huberg be dismissed .
Commissioner Rob Manfred said on Monday that he had confirmed Hill’s decision. Among the best rated referees to judge the strike zone, Huberg can request a reintegration at the start of training in the spring in 2026.
MLB said that the friend had made 141 baseball bets between April 2, 2021 and November 1, 2023, totaling nearly $ 214,000 with a global victory of almost $ 35,000.
“The strict application of the rules of the Major League Baseball governing sports betting is an essential element in the maintenance of our most important priority: protecting the integrity of our games for fans,” said Manfred in a press release . “An in -depth investigation did not reveal any evidence that Mr. Huberg has placed betting directly on baseball or that he or whoever manipulated matches in any way.
“However, his extremely bad judgment by sharing Paris accounts with a professional poker player, he had reasons to believe that the bet on baseball and who in fact bet on the baseball of shared accounts, combined with his deletion of Messages, at least creates the appearance of irregularity which guarantees imposing the most serious discipline. Therefore, there are just reasons for maintaining the end of Mr. Huberg not to comply with high personal driving standards and to maintain the integrity of the baseball game. »»
Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred confirmed a recommendation to dismiss a referee to share sports betting accounts. The correspondent Gethin Coolbaugh reports.
Now 38 years old, Huberg became a professional referee in 2009, made his debut in the big league as a call on March 31, 2014 and joined the staff of the major league before the 2017 season. During the Match 2 of the World Series 2022, he had an unprecedented “perfect game of the referee” by calling precisely the balls and strikes on the 129 throws taken, according to the dashboards of the referee.
“I take full responsibility for the errors of judgment which are described in today’s Declaration,” said Hoberg in a statement. “These errors will always be a source of shame and embarrassment for me. Major League baseball referees are held at a high level of personal driving, and my own conduct has not succeeded in this standard.
“That said, to be clear, I have never and never bet on baseball in a way, a form or a form. I have never provided and will never provide any information to anyone in order to bet on baseball. Maintaining the integrity of the game has always been of the utmost importance for me. I apologize to Major League Baseball and the entire baseball community for my mistakes. I swear to learn from them and be a better version of myself to move forward. »»
Huberg was informed of his termination on May 31 for breaking down article 9 (a) of the collective negotiation of arbitrators, which indicates that the arbitrator must “comply with the high standards of personal conduct; And maintain the integrity of the international baseball game. Under the employment contract, Huberg had the right to appeal the decision of Hill, triggering the hiring by the MLB of a neutral de facto researcher who reported to Manfred.
MLB said that Sportsbook informed that Hoberg had opened an account on its behalf on January 30 of last year and that an electronic apparatus associated with the account had accessed an account on behalf of another person, who had bet on baseball.
Huberg’s devices ranked 417 direct Paris with Sportsbook A between December 30, 2020 and January 15, 2024, on the accounts of the friend totaling $ 487,475.83, which lost $ 53,189.65 overall. The devices placed at least 112 Paris with Sportsbook B totaling $ 222,130, which led to a loss of $ 21,686.96 overall. Most direct bets focused on football, basketball, hockey and golf.
Nineteen from the 141 friend’s 141 Paris baseball was made from Huberg’s house and eight involved five games that Hoberg refereed or was a rereading rereader. MLB detailed these games:
– On April 13, 2021, Huberg had three calls close to the third goal on which MLB said that he had reigned properly. There were bets on the silver line of $ 2,000 and $ 1,000 on Cincinnati, who lost against San Francisco 7-6.
-June 15, 2021, Huberg was the main rereading referee and there was no rereading criticism in a 3-2 defeat of the Chicago Cubs against the New York dishes. There was a bet of $ 1,050 on a live race line, a baseball equivalent of a point propagation, and the bet won and paid $ 1,550.
-August 15, 2021, Huberg was the referee for the 14-4 victory of the Los Angeles Dodgers and had 98.89%precision, missing two locations which, according to Mlb, were in low situations lever effect and benefited Los Angeles. Six calls were in a “buffer zone” and four went against the dodgers and two against the dishes. A silver line bet of $ 3,200 for Dodgers paid $ 5,200.
– On October 8, 2021, Huberg was the third basic referee for the defeat of the Dodgers 4-0 against San Francisco in an opening match of the NL series and did not have close calls. A silver line bet of $ 2,000 and a racing line of $ 3,000 on the Giants both won and paid $ 9,300 combined.
-October 30, 2021, Huberg was responsible for the in-chief replay of the World Series match 4. Houston challenged a possible highlight by Austin Riley of Atlanta to the second goal during the sixth round of the 3-2 victory of the braves And Huberg maintained the appeal by appeal by Alfonso Márquez, a decision, MLB said that the staff of the releasing operations center was supported by its staff at the Operations Center. Money Line bets on Houston of $ 3,000 and $ 1,050 on the Astros have both lost.
“Although the baseball bets were profitable, the data did not argue the observation that the Baseball betting of the accounts of individual A were linked to the fixing of the game or to other efforts to manipulate part of any game Or baseball event, “said MLB in his conclusions. “The Paris baseball activity has not focused on any private club, launcher or referee, and there was no apparent correlation between the success of bets and the size of bets. The eight bets on Hoberg Games worked in the same way have not revealed any obvious model. »»
After being contacted by MLB investigators, the friend deleted the telegram sons communicating bets and the follow -up amounts due and, after a telephone conversation between Hoberg and the friend, the referee deleted his telegram account , according to MLB. MLB said Hoberg told him during the investigation and the call he was not aware of his friend’s baseball bets.
“If our union thought that a referee bet on baseball, we would never defend him,” said Major League Association in a statement. “But as today’s declaration of the league clearly indicates, the neutral meeting did not find that Pat had placed betting on baseball. However, we respect the unequivocal acceptance of the responsibility of the errors which led to its dismissal. »»
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