Major League Baseball fired umpire Pat Hoberg for sharing betting accounts with a friend who wagered on games, the league announced Monday.
There's no evidence that Hoberg bet on baseball or influenced any games that he worked, MLB said. However, Hoberg did delete messages that were pertinent to its investigation.
"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," the league's statement said.
Hoberg was disciplined last June for violating the league's gambling rules. He subsequently appealed the decision to MLB commissioner Rob Manfred.
MLB said Hoberg's friend made 141 baseball bets between April 2, 2021 and Nov. 1, 2023, equaling almost $214,000, per The Associated Press.
"I take full responsibility for the errors in judgment that are outlined in today's statement (by MLB)," Hoberg said, according to ESPN's Jesse Rogers. "Those errors will always be a source of shame and embarrassment to me."
The 38-year-old didn't umpire a game during the 2024 season as the situation was under review. Hoberg regularly umpired MLB games beginning in 2017 and worked as part of the crew that officiated the 2022 World Series.
Hoberg is eligible to apply for reinstatement but can do so no earlier than the start of spring training in 2026.
