Major League baseball has terminated MLB umpire Pat Hoberg after he violated the leagues gambling policy. They announced Monday, February 3, 2025 that the appeals process was over and they decided to terminate his contract.

MLB’s official statement:

The disciplinary action was taken due to Hoberg’s failure to uphold the integrity of the game by sharing sports betting accounts with a professional poker player and friend who bet on baseball and whom Hoberg should have known bet on baseball, and due to Hoberg’s intentional deletion of messages central to MLB’s investigation into his conduct. Throughout the investigation and appeals process, Hoberg adamantly denied betting on baseball directly or indirectly (i.e., through his friend), and the data provided by the sportsbooks does not show any baseball bets from his own electronic devices. MLB found no evidence that Hoberg or anyone else took any action to manipulate the outcomes of any games, and an analysis of the betting data did not show any discernible patterns indicative of an integrity risk. Consistent with Major League Rule 2(c) for players, Hoberg can apply for reinstatement, but no earlier than the start of 2026 Spring Training.

MLB immediately opened an investigation in February 2024 upon receiving information from a licensed sports betting operator that Hoberg had opened a sports betting account in his own name and that the personal electronic device associated with this account was also associated with the legal sports betting account of an individual not covered by MLB’s policies (Individual A) who had bet on baseball. Hoberg was subsequently removed from Spring Training and made inactive for the 2024 Championship Season pending completion of the investigatory process. On May 24, 2024, Senior Vice President of On-Field Operations Michael Hill determined that, based on the totality of the circumstances, including impeding the investigation into his conduct, Hoberg’s conduct and extremely poor judgment created a situation in which Hoberg could not be trusted to “maintain the integrity of the international game of baseball” on the field as required by Article 9.A of the CBA.

The Major League Baseball Umpires Association issued the following statement after the decision:

“We thank Commissioner Manfred for his careful consideration of Pat Hoberg’s appeal. As Major League Baseball umpires, we have devoted our professional lives to upholding the rules and integrity of the game. If our union believed that an umpire bet on baseball, we would never defend him. But as today’s statement from the League makes clear, the neutral factfinder did not find that Pat placed bets on baseball. Yet we respect Pat’s unequivocal acceptance of responsibility for the mistakes that led to his termination.”

Hoberg had his major league debut in 2014 and was considered one of the better balls and strikes umpires in the league. He could apply for reinstatement in spring of 2026,

With gambling becoming legal in more and more states, I believe we are going to see more of this in the coming years.