Let me begin today with another amazing sports stat that I learned from reading an email from #2 son:
- Jerry Rice had 2,169 yards receiving after his 40th birthday; Rice played until he was 42 years old, so he had about 2.5 seasons to accumulate all those yards.
- Question: Who is second on the list of yards gained receiving after the age of 40 and how many yards did that player accumulate?
Answer is below – – no peeking.
MLB seems to have weathered whatever storm might have arisen regarding the “gambling incidents” surrounding Shohei Ohtani. Personally, there are still too many unanswered questions dangling there for my taste; but that situation seems to be completely under control. Later this year, MLB banned for life Tucupita Marcano – – a young infielder who saw limited action with the Padres and Pirates – – based on betting on baseball. Marcano is certainly not well enough known to make that situation into a “crisis moment” for the league.
However, there is another gambling-related situation involving MLB that is simmering at the moment. MLB has announced that it has “disciplined” umpire Pat Hoberg for alleged gambling activities. The league did not specify what the “discipline” is, nor did it spell out the alleged activities that brought on the “discipline”. Hoberg has appealed the “discipline” but the process by which that appeal will be resolved is not going to be open to the public; Commissioner Rob Manfred will hear the appeal. Hoberg had this to say about his case:
“I have devoted my adult life to the profession of umpiring, and the integrity of baseball is of the utmost importance to me. I look forward to the appeal process, and I am grateful that the Major League Baseball Umpires Association is supporting me in the appeal.”
MLB’s rules and policies forbid any player, owner, manager, coach or official to bet on baseball at any level of competition. So, it is well within the realm of possibility that Hoberg’s “discipline” could involve him betting on something like the College World Series or – – perish the thought – – the Little League World Series. Hoberg has not seen the field as an umpire at all in the 2024 season; and given the pacing of decisions on things like appeals by a union, I would be surprised to learn that he was cleared of all charges and back in the good graces of MLB before the end of the 2024 season.
It seems to me that there are multiple outcomes here that present varying degrees of agita for MLB:
- Hoberg bet on MLB games where he was on the field. The worst.
- Hoberg bet on MLB games where he was not involved. Not as bad but still awful.
- Hoberg bet on minor league games. Should be “disciplined’ for stupidity.
- Hoberg bet on college games. Another level of stupidity
- Hoberg bet on sports other than baseball but did so in venues where such wagering is illegal. Probably more a matter for the gendarmes than MLB.
- Hoberg and his next-door neighbor have kids on rival Little League teams and the two fathers bet a beer on the outcome of a game involving the two kids. There is a rule and I guess it should be enforced, but maybe in this case the rule is stupid?
The “worst possible situation” appears to be off the table based on a statement released by MLB earlier:
“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.”
[Aside: This investigation began during Spring Training in 2024.]
Here is the answer to the Trivia Question from above:
- Second to Jerry Rice in receiving yards gained after the age of 40 is – – Tom Brady.
- In 2018, at the age of 41, Tom Brady caught one pass for 6 yards.
Now, you know…
Finally, let me close today with these words of wisdom from Ted Williams:
“If you don’t think too good, don’t think too much.”
But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………
If Hoberg had bet on professional baseball at any level, the penalty would be firing, and MLB would not keep that a secret. So it must have been one of the other cases in your analysis.
I note that Hoberg did not profess complete innocence so perhaps the facts of the case are not in question. So I wonder how he will appeal this. Will he argue that the rule is overly restrictive?
In any event this is towering stupidity on Hoberg’s part. The rules are prominently posted in every umpires’ locker room, and they have been there for many years.
Gil:
MLB surely does not need its own version of “Tim Donaghy”; so, I agree that his offense is not having bet on any MLB games.
I just hope that the offense and the crime are congruent. Moreover, I hope this is not a situation where there has been a stretching of the rule to an illogical point. For example, suppose he bet on who would win the HR Derby at last year’s All-Star break. Is that a violation? Yes it is. Does that affect the “integrity of the game” for MLB? Not really…
I wonder if it could be something dumb like being in a rotisserie league. Or, dumber, one of those 13 run pools.
Ed:
You have indeed laid out two examples that would be incredibly stupid for Hoberg to have done.
Most of those “at least 40” yards by Jerry Rice were garnered while wearing the Silver and Black. His 2002 season was astounding. It made me sad when Tim Brown and Jerry Rice said it seemed as if the defense knew what plays the Raiders would run beforehand.