
Point-shaving scandals in sports go back as long as there has been betting on sports, with one of the biggest and most recent involving former NBA referee Tim Donaghy. He pleaded guilty to federal charges that he made calls that affected the point spread for games in which he officiated, and he went to prison.
Nothing quite so nefarious is alleged to have happened with Major League Baseball umpire Pat Hoberg. But as sports betting becomes more widespread across the country, sports leagues have become more absolute in what players and game officials are prohibited from doing. Hoberg shared his sports betting account with a friend of his who then used it to bet on baseball, and that is enough to justify his firing.
“The strict enforcement of Major League Baseball’s rules governing sports betting conduct is a critical component of upholding our most important priority: protecting the integrity of our game for fans,” said commissioner Rob Manfred in a statement.
“An extensive investigation revealed no evidence that Mr. Hoberg placed bets on baseball directly or that he or anyone else manipulated games in any way. However, his extremely poor judgement in sharing betting accounts with a professional poker player he had reason to believe bet on baseball and who did, in fact, bet on baseball from the shared accounts, combined with his deletion of messages, creates at minimum the appearance of impropriety that warrants imposing the most severe discipline.”
From the beginning of the investigation, Hoberg has denied betting on baseball, and the investigation did reveal that no baseball bets were placed from any of his electronic devices.
“I take full responsibility for the errors in judgement that are outlined in today’s statement [by MLB],” said Hoberg. “Those errors will always be a source of shame and embarrassment to me.
“Major League Baseball umpires are held to a high standard of personal conduct, and my own conduct fell short of that standard. That said, to be clear, I have never and would never bet on baseball in any way, shape, or form. I have never provided, and would never provide, information to anyone for the purpose of betting on baseball. Upholding the integrity of the game has always been of the utmost importance to me.”
Hoberg One of Baseball’s Best Umpires
Since he began calling games at the Major League level in 2014, Hoberg had been one of the most accurate umpires in baseball. Hoberg’s most notorious called game came in Game 2 of the 2022 World Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and Houston Astros. In the first World Series game of his career, Hoberg called each of the game’s 129 taken pitches correctly, giving him a rare “perfect game” for umpires.
The Astros were -145 betting favorites to win Game 2 and tie the series at 1-1, and they did win that game called by Hoberg, 5-2.
The sports betting account that Hoberg shared was used to place a total of 141 baseball bets, and eight of those bets did involve five games that Hoberg worked, either as an umpire or replay official. But in all five games, Hoberg’s performance was evaluated, and there is no evidence that any of his calls were influenced by the bets.
Hoberg was the home plate umpire for one of the games, the Los Angeles Dodgers at New York Mets on August 15, 2021. His strike zone accuracy score for that game was 98.89%, with only two missed pitches.

With over 25 years of experience as a distinguished sports writer for renowned platforms such as Fox Sports and ESPN, Kyle Garlett is a sports betting specialist who has been at the forefront of documenting the global surge in sports betting and online gaming. Based in Denver, Colorado, Kyle hosts an NFL betting YouTube show and podcast. Kyle also has two sports books published by HarperCollins.
Kyle graduated the Azusa Pacific University in 1996 with a B.A. Degree in Communication and Journalism.