Often referred to as “America’s Pastime,” baseball has been an integral part of the nation’s culture and identity for nearly two centuries. Its lack of a set playing time and the chance that the game can change on any of the hundreds of pitches thrown during each game make it different from the other major sports in the U.S. It’s that uniqueness that makes it well-suited for gamblers and prop bets. Unfortunately, it also makes it ripe for corruption and fraud.
On November 5, 2025, a grand jury in a Brooklyn courtroom in the Eastern District of New York indicted two Major League Baseball pitchers for wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to influence sporting events through bribery, and money laundering conspiracy. Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz face charges for plotting with their co-conspirators to bet on specific pitches in MLB games thrown by the two Cleveland Guardians pitchers.
While far from the first gambling scandal involving professional sports athletes sharing inside information with bettors, the sheer brazenness of MLB pitchers getting kickbacks for planned pitches in official baseball games is somewhat shocking. The fact that Clase, one of the game’s best relief pitchers and the possessor of a $20 million contract, would get caught up in a betting scandal that was netting him mere thousands at a time is almost unfathomable.
Representatives for both players refuted the accusations. Placed on paid leave in July as part of MLB’s investigation into the allegations, neither player pitched again during the remainder of the season.
Juuuust a Bit Outside
Long confined to Las Vegas sportsbooks and illegal neighborhood bookies, sports gambling exploded after the U.S. Supreme Court repealed a federal ban against it in 2019. As of this writing, 39 states allow some form of legal betting on professional sports. While they are banned from betting on the sport they participate in, pro athletes are generally allowed to wager on other athletic contests.
Alas, just because they can’t doesn’t mean they won’t. Pete Rose, one of baseball’s greatest players, remains on the outside of the Hall of Fame looking in due to a lifetime ban earned by betting on games while he was the manager of the Cincinnati Reds. Tucupita Marcano, who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates and the San Diego Padres, was also kicked out by MLB after being caught betting on Pirates games while on the injured list.
Nor are betting scandals exclusive to baseball. The National Basketball Association (NBA) is currently investigating allegations that players and coaches were conspiring with gamblers to facilitate successful betting wagers. Portland Trailblazers coach and former NBA player Chauncey Billups, Damon Jones, and Terry Rozier, along with about 30 others, find themselves accused of running rigged poker games and working with organized crime to ensure certain prop bets pay off favorably.
Wagers such as picking which team will win a certain game and by how much are popular bets, but don’t resolve until the end of the contest. For bettors craving more action, proposition bets (prop bets) offer the possibility of almost nonstop wagering. Bolstered by the ease of making sports bets on a mobile device like a smartphone, gambling platforms offer odds on just about every aspect of every sporting event. You can bet on the coin toss at the Super Bowl, whether a hockey team will score on their next power play advantage, and how many three-point shot attempts Steph Curry will take in his next game.
The slow pace of baseball makes it extremely accommodating for prop bets. These can include everything from whether the current batter will strike out or if a runner will try to steal second base. There are also parlay bets available, which lump more than one bet together. Parlays will give a better return, but to be successful, the bettor must get all the bets in the parlay correct. A difficult task, but one made easier if you have control over one or more of the players involved.
One Worm-Burner, Coming Up!
No player in a baseball game has more control than a pitcher. This makes them the best choice for betting shenanigans. According to the almost two dozen instances of fraud listed in the grand jury filing, bettors would conspire with the two to determine which of Ortiz’s and Clase’s pitches they’d place wagers on. In one instance, the parlay was that Clase’s first pitch of the inning would be both under a certain speed and outside of the strike zone. He then threw a slider that bounced in the dirt several feet in front of home plate, winning both legs of the parlay.
Either through texts or phone calls (both of which are prohibited to players during a game, as per MLB), the Guardian pitchers would make arrangements for the specified pitches. Making things worse, Clase stands accused of having his betting associates place wagers for him on some of the pitches he was controlling. The three-time All-Star closer would then direct the winning to be sent to associates in the Dominican Republic for fictitious deals, such as buying a horse.
Despite claims of their innocence, Clase and Ortiz are unlikely to ever be reinstated or permitted to pitch in an MLB game again. As bad as that seems, the potential of being sentenced to up to 65 years in prison on the collection of fraud and money laundering charges is a more pressing issue at the moment. Ortiz surrendered to law enforcement in Boston on November 9, while Clase was arrested at JFK Airport in New York on November 13. Both entered pleas of not guilty at their arraignments in federal court.
In response to the messy and embarrassing scandal, MLB announced on November 10 that almost every online betting platform has agreed to a cap of $200 on individual pitch wagers and to exclude them from being used in parlays. While applauded as a necessary move, it might not quell every eyebrow raised at ESPN highlights showing a pitcher throwing a pitch that comes up a few feet short of home plate.
Related Resources
- NBA Players Cross the Line With Sports Betting Using Insider Info (FindLaw’s Legally Weird)
- Minor Leagues Present Major Challenge to MLB’s Antitrust Exemption (FindLaw’s Legally Weird)
- Fair or Foul? Brother of Late Padres Owner Pushes Back on Widow's Lawsuit Allegations (FindLaw's Legally Weird)
