(Originally published: March 22, 2024)
Major League Baseball announced Tuesday it closed its investigation into the largest baseball gambling story in generations; separately the league issued a permanent ban of a player for placing 231 MLB-related bets through a legal sportsbook.
Ippei Mizuhara, Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter, pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison, and one count of submitting a false tax return, which carries a maximum sentence of three years in federal prison. The date for his sentencing is set for Oct. 25.
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MLB permanently banned San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano for placing hundreds of bets on baseball, including wagers on the Pittsburgh Pirates when he was a member of the team last season. Four other players were also suspended for one year — Oakland Athletics pitcher Michael Kelly, Padres minor-league pitcher Jay Groome, Philadelphia Phillies minor-league infielder José Rodriguez and Arizona Diamondbacks minor-league pitcher Andrew Saalfrank — for violating MLB’s betting policies.
Illegal sports betting has created problems for leagues before and scandal has implicated people in the periphery of some of the world’s biggest stars. Last year, it was made public that the business partner of LeBron James was a client of a bookie under federal investigation and had placed bets on NBA games.
But that did not ensnare James, as this episode has, with Ohtani involved financially. That has created questions around MLB’s rules on gambling and where it draws its lines for players and team employees. The sport’s collective bargaining agreement spells out some of those answers, even if this new scenario raises others.
Can MLB players bet?
Yes and no. Players can’t bet on baseball. The CBA is cut-and-dried on this, as if it weren’t already clear. Attachment 60 in the CBA spells out MLB’s sports betting policy and the very first prohibited conduct is “No Betting on Baseball.”
Players cannot bet on MLB games. Players cannot bet on minor league games. They can’t bet on youth games or high school games or college or international games. They cannot bet on skills competitions or home run derbies or anything of that sort. They can’t bet on the outcomes of events during games, like at-bats or a particular pitch or inning. You name it, if it involves baseball, they can’t bet on it. Players also are not allowed to place bets on baseball on their behalf or “assist” with bets made by others.
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They can’t play fantasy baseball or daily fantasy baseball where there’s prize money or they can win something “of value.” They can’t help people “who participate in such games” or arrange for someone to play on a player’s behalf.
One player said he’d been told that even betting softball was off the table — it’s too close to baseball and it’s better safe than sorry. That’s not in the actual rules. But because of the overlap between the sports, it is mentioned verbally during meetings about the gambling rules that are a staple of every spring training camp. That’s when MLB officials go around to clubhouses and lay out what activities are permitted, and which are barred.
”The league was here early (in spring) and they talked about rules,” Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Thursday. “And we know them.”
Can MLB players bet on a March Madness pool, or participate in a fantasy football league?
Yes, as long as the bet is legal and it doesn’t involve baseball, they can do it. When March Madness got underway, clubhouse televisions in spring training were tuned into the first round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, and the fact that players were openly discussing their brackets was absolutely no problem. Players can bet on the English Premier League or the NBA or Quidditch, as long as it’s legal under the relevant state laws. And the amount they bet makes no difference, even if it is in the millions. Here’s what the CBA says:
Major League Players may place legal bets on sporting events other than Baseball Games and Baseball Events in jurisdictions in which such bets are legal, provided that the person placing the bet is eligible under applicable law to place the wager. Similarly, Major League Players may participate in legal fantasy games relating to sports other than baseball for prizes or other things of value.
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But players can bet on other sports. As long as that bet is legal.
“We all understand the rules,” Cincinnati Reds pitcher Brent Suter said. “They do a good job of explaining it and keeping us informed.”
Can MLB players bet with bookies?
No. It doesn’t matter what sport. Players cannot make “illegal bets on any sport or event, including bets placed with illegal bookmakers or illegal off-shore sports betting websites or applications.” So they cannot place a bet in a state like California where it is still illegal.
Can MLB team employees bet?
They can’t bet on baseball, that’s for sure. Rule 21(d)(1) says that any league or team official or employee will be declared ineligible for a year if they bet anything on a baseball game in which they are not involved — or more formally, in “which the bettor has a duty to perform.” Rule 21(d)(2) says that those same employees or officials will be banned for life if they bet on a baseball game in which they are involved. That seems to leave them room to bet on sports other than baseball. Or at least the rule does not explicitly say that league and team employees cannot bet on sports other than baseball.
Unless those bets are placed illegally. Rule 21(d)(3) is clear on this one. It says: “Any player, umpire, or Club or League official or employee who places bets with illegal book makers, or agents for illegal book makers, shall be subject to such penalty as the Commissioner deems appropriate.” Working for an illegal bookmaker, or being one, carries a minimum of a one-year suspension.
And in case there is any confusion or someone tries to claim ignorance, MLB hangs this rule in every clubhouse around the country.
How would MLB even know if someone was making a bet?
Good question. It would be hard to figure out if someone is making a bet with an illegal bookie, of course. But other sports have mechanisms in place to notify them if their league or team employees, or players make a bet at a legal sportsbook. The NFL suspended Calvin Ridley after it caught him betting on football because his wagers were flagged by one of its betting partners. The NBA gets notifications from Sportradar, its global data distributor, and other authorized gaming operator partners if a player or official places a bet. An MLB spokesperson said that the league has a similar mechanism in effect. The league’s authorized gaming operators are required to tell MLB if they become aware if a baseball player or employee makes a wager in violation of the sports betting policies. Sportradar and US Integrity also provide services for MLB.
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Is there any wiggle room?
Well if there is, Major League Baseball tries to cover up any gray area later down in Rule 21. Section F tries to cover any other possible misconduct with this all-encompassing clause:
Nothing herein contained shall be construed as exclusively defining or otherwise limiting acts, transactions, practices or conduct not to be in the best interests of Baseball; and any and all other acts, transactions, practices or conduct not to be in the best interests of Baseball are prohibited and shall be subject to such penalties, including permanent ineligibility, as the facts in the particular case may warrant.
That’s a broad clause that would clamp down on many things, even if they are not explicitly described in Major League Baseball’s rules or its CBA. It would rule out any illegal ties to betting by a player, even if they may not have placed a bet themselves, and leave themselves to exposure for discipline from the commissioner.
Have there been any other betting incidents in baseball recently?
MLB is investigating whether David Fletcher, a teammate and close friend of Ohtani during their time with the Los Angeles Angels from 2018 to 2023, bet on sports with the same bookmaker who took wagers from Mizuhara, according to ESPN. According to the report, Fletcher and close friend Colby Schultz, who spent two seasons in the Kansas City Royals farm system, bet on games through Mathew Bowyer, an illegal bookie who Mizuhara also used to place bets.
Fletcher’s bets did not include baseball games, but Schultz’s wagers included games involving the Angels that Fletcher played in, ESPN reported.
Jarred Cosart was fined nine years ago for making bets with an illegal bookmaker, though not on baseball. That stemmed from leaked DMs between Cosart, then an active pitcher for the Miami Marlins, and a Twitter betting expert. MLB said its investigation found that Cosart did not bet on baseball.
Peter Bayer, a career minor league pitcher, was suspended in 2021 for betting on baseball. Bayer had more than 100 wagers on baseball, including at least 12 on his organization that season, the Oakland A’s, according to a league investigation. Bayer said he bet through a legal sportsbook. Bayer was still suspended as of the 2023 season.
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Are there any other gambling-related activities that could get a player in trouble with the Commissioner’s Office?
There are a few. MLB doesn’t want even the appearance of impropriety when it comes to its sport, especially the sort that might come from being in the nexus of gambling. Players aren’t allowed to fix baseball games — duh — but they are also found to have violated the rule against game fixing if they do not immediately report that they have been solicited to fix games.
Players are also barred from disclosing what the CBA calls “confidential information” to anyone who the players know will “use such confidential information in connection with the betting markets.” That kind of information includes “player health, rosters, lineups, transactions, discipline or umpires.”
— The Athletic‘s C. Trent Rosecrans and Chad Jennings contributed to this report.
(Top photo of Ohtani and Mizuhara: Meg Oliphant/ / Getty Images)