BREAKING: Esteemed MLB Umpire Disciplined For Violating Gambling Policy

In the latest stain for baseball with regards to its gambling policy, esteemed umpire Pat Hoiberg has been disciplined by the league.
Chicago Cubs manager David Ross (3), talks about a call made by umpire Pat Hoberg (31) in the ninth inning at Wrigley Field.
Chicago Cubs manager David Ross (3), talks about a call made by umpire Pat Hoberg (31) in the ninth inning at Wrigley Field. / Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports

In the latest stain for Major League Baseball with regards to gambling, esteemed umpire Pat Hoberg has been disciplined by the league for violation of the gambling policy.

Per Jeff Passan of ESPN:

MLB has disciplined umpire Pat Hoberg for violating the league's gambling rules. While the specific nature of the discipline Is unknown, Hoberg has denied betting on baseball, sources tell ESPN, and is appealing the ruling, which @Ken_Rosenthal and @EvanDrellich first reported.

Passan had more from MLB's statement in his article at ESPN.com:

In the statement, MLB said: "During this year's Spring Training, Major League Baseball commenced an investigation regarding a potential violation of MLB's sports betting policies by Umpire Pat Hoberg. Mr. Hoberg was removed from the field during the pendency of that investigation. While MLB's investigation did not find any evidence that games worked by Mr. Hoberg were compromised or manipulated in any way, MLB determined that discipline was warranted. Mr. Hoberg has chosen to appeal that determination. Therefore, we cannot comment further until the appeal process is concluded."

Hoberg has not worked any games yet this season while this investigation has gone on. If Hoberg were to have bet on games that he had an influence over, he'd be subject to a lifetime ban. If he did not, he'd be subject to a one-year suspension.

Baseball has already dealt with its fair share of gambling controversy this season with Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara sentenced to jail time and five players suspended, including Tucapito Marcano for life.

We'll have more on this story as it develops.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady.