On Tuesday morning, Major League Baseball announced the suspension of five players for violating Rule 21, which prohibits betting on baseball. Minor leaguers Jay Groome of the Padres, José Rodríguez of the Phillies, Michael Kelly of the Athletics, and Andrew Saalfrank of the Diamondbacks were all suspended for one season.
But the headline in the announcement is Padres shortstop Tucupita Marcano, who was declared permanently ineligible after betting $150,000 on baseball games — a mix of MLB and international tournaments — through official sportsbooks. Marcano pitched 25 games against the Pirates last summer while on Pittsburgh's injured list and receiving treatment at PNC Park. While all five players pitched for their parent clubs, the key difference is that Marcano did so during his time assigned to the big league team. With that, he became the first player to receive a life sentence for the crime since Pete Rose 35 years ago.
This looks like another domino in a series of gambling scandals to hit baseball over the past 13 months: First is the Alabama baseball scandal, which involved questionable bets placed at the sportsbook at Great American Ball Park. Then, most famously, Shohei Ohtani's right-hand man, Ippei Mizuhara, washed up in the law enforcement net after stealing millions of dollars from Ohtani to fund a bet with illegal bookie Matthew Bowyer. Most recently, the Bowyer investigation caught up with longtime major leaguer David Fletcher, who played on Ohtani's team. And because when it rains it rains, Mizuhara pleaded guilty to fraud charges in a hearing just hours after MLB officially suspended Marcano. MLB followed shortly thereafter by officially closing the Ohtani case.
The discussion of Bowyer's case in particular has been long on innuendo and short on detail; federal investigation often, and undoubtedly should be. The goal of such a business is to reach ends that would deprive people of liberty and property; agents must follow the evidence wherever it goes, no matter how long it takes and the rumors start to arise from the investigators.
That leaves MLB, and Ohtani in particular, at a disadvantage. Not only was the game's biggest star tainted by the relationship — even after he was cleared of wrongdoing — MLB narrowly avoided a situation where Ohtani could have been wronged for throwing games.
These cases could not be more different. The betting in question in today's suspension came through the legal sports books, including the commercial partners of the MLB, who have a regulatory duty to disclose suspicious betting patterns – this is how Alabama coach Brad Bohannon and his son of the Coen Brothers were caught – and monitor betting by players MLB and staff.
We know exactly how much Marcano and others bet, when, and on which tournaments. The press release detailing the five-game suspension ran to four pages and included summaries of each player's betting behavior.
This produced some amusing details, such as Groome winning only two MLB bets he entered and losing over 95% of the money he bet. Marcano won only 4.3% of his MLB-related bets, while Saalfrank lost $1.80 on one college baseball bet among several hundred dollars he wagered on MLB action.
It almost feels cruel to kick someone down like that, as if the league is saying, “Well, we're not just going to end your career or end your career, we're going to broadcast it to the world to waste your free time and lose.” Uncut gems-Multi-legged parlays on your phone!”
But that level of detail is necessary for anyone to believe the last line of all five case summaries. The words are the same in all cases, except for the player's name: “There is no evidence to suggest — again.” [PLAYER] you deny – that any results of the baseball games on which you have placed bets have been compromised, influenced, or manipulated in any way. “
Generally, I maintain a default attitude of skepticism when it comes to Major League Baseball as a corporate entity. That includes the league's internal investigation, which has dogged the league, its players, and the sport during the height of PED hysteria 10 to 15 years ago. It also includes its attempt to balance its interest in legal gambling with a policy of zero tolerance for betting on baseball or betting with illegal bookies.
So brace yourself, I'm about to give MLB unreserved credit.
In my book on the Ohtani scandal, I made the following conclusion: “Is it possible for this legal and highly profitable gambling establishment to exist in the world of professional baseball along with its shadowy and illegal cousin? Maybe. But accepting one while rejecting the other requires clarification and discipline that comes with cognitive dissonance. “
Clarity and behavior.
When MLB engages in commercial relationships with casinos and sportsbooks on the one hand and prohibits ballplayers from gambling on the other, the merger is not easy. From a moral point of view, it is hard not to find a puritanical response to the hypocritical gambler. But MLB is not and has never been a moral actor, and while there are significant obstacles to eliminating illegal gambling from the game, the league's legal position is as clear as it has been in 100 years.
There are two big red no-nos when you work for MLB or a team: You can't bet on baseball, and you can't bet with unlicensed bookies. Betting on other sports in legal ways is borderline. Whether this position is ethical or healthy is beside the point. These are the rules, and if players (or coaches or trainers or anyone) break them, all credibility in the sport crumbles quickly.
By prohibiting players from betting on baseball, MLB is not contradicting its gambling status — it is simply enforcing a boundary necessary to protect the welfare of the sport and its players. I don't recall anyone having trouble holding both of these ideas in their heads at the same time that beer companies sponsor NASCAR teams. We've all seen the difference between enjoying a can of Miller Lite in the grandstands and pulling a six-pack before jumping in the car to do 200 mph at Talladega. Gambling is no different.
Commissioner Rob Manfred made this point in his statement that accompanied the suspension announcement: “We have been clear that the right to play baseball comes with the responsibility to refrain from engaging in certain types of behavior that are lawful for other people.”
I also see how clear the league has been. The announcement concludes with a summary of the anti-gambling education rules each team receives each season: Personal classes, books in English and Spanish. I've been to many big league ballparks and each one has an anti-gambling notice posted on their bulletin board. If you're a player who doesn't know Rule 21, or thinks it's more of a guide than a line in the sand, you're not paying attention.
Marcano, having lost not a small portion of his major league gambling fortune, is completely done with professional baseball at the age of 24. Four minor leaguers would lose a year of their careers for betting big bucks — none of the four bet more than that. $750, and Kelly only bet $99.32. That's a shame, and a life-changing tragedy for all five players, but I have limited sympathy for their plight. There is irrefutable evidence that these players violated the Prime Directive, and MLB would be remiss not to book them.
The only way to send a clearer message would be to take bank lockers throughout the clubhouse and stencil “PLEASE DON'T BET ON BASEBALL, DUDE” on the wall in foot-high red letters, and repeat the message below in Spanish, Korean, Japanese, and Papiamento. Betting on your team as a major leaguer? Banned for life. Betting on baseball in general? Banned for the season. Even if you didn't throw games. Even if you didn't use the inside information. Even if you lost your bet, or only bet a few bucks. It doesn't matter. Back in the 18th century, colonial authorities would release criminals as a warning; by banning Marcano for life, Manfred did the same. It is difficult, perhaps even draconian. But if legalized gambling and baseball were going to exist, it had to be done.
Source link
