Baseball gambling scandals: Emmanuel Clase, Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter, Pete Rose, Black Sox and more

The U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of New York has announced that Emmanuel Clase, a pitcher for the Cleveland Guardians, and Luis L. Ortiz were indicted over charges stemming from alleged gambling misbehavior relating to the manipulation of wagers on certain pitches. If found guilty of a variety of charges such as wire fraud conspiracy and honest services wire-fraud conspiracy, conspiring to influence sporting events by bribery or money laundering conspiracy, the pair may face up to a 65 year prison sentence. Ortiz has already been arrested. CBS Sports thought that this was a good time to review some of those stories and scandals in light of these allegations. Please note that the article is only a short, incomplete summary and not meant to replace an in-depth education.)1865: The New York City Mutuals make baseball historyAlthough they were amateurs, the Mutuals deserve to be included because it was the first time that any documented baseball team had been tempted by game-fixing.

The Society for American Baseball Research detailed the allegations of game-fixing by the Mutuals in 2013. They noted that three players of the team had “conspired” with a gambler, to “throw a game against the Eckfords from Brooklyn.” The National Association of Baseball Players banned those players for a while. It did not last long as there were many allegations of game-fixing. Baseball Hall of Fame Journalist Henry Chadwick was outspoken in his criticism of the National Association. He wrote, according to Derek Zumsteg’s book “The Cheater’s Guide to Baseball”, that “no positive proof could be brought forward to support any direct charges of fraud among players.”

The National Association collapsed in 1875. Teams left to form the National League, which, according to Zumsteg in “The Cheater’s Guide to Baseball,” was intended to be “better organized, more businesslike and set higher standards that the National Association.” It is noteworthy that the National League did not stop allowing known corrupt players to participate, which undermined those efforts. Louisville Grays players admitted to throwing exhibitions games for money. As a result, they were all banned from the National League.

Criger declines offer to ‘throw the first World Series’You may be aware that the first World Series of the modern era was played between Cy Young’s Boston Americans and Pittsburgh Pirates. The Omaha Morning Bee reports that Lou Criger thwarted a gambler who wanted to fix the World Series. After receiving a promise of $12,000 for throwing games in return, he alerted American League head Ban Johnson. Johnson then repaid Criger’s integrity by using funds from the league to pay for Criger’s care when stricken with TB.  After acknowledging that the allegations of game-fixing continued to persist over the years, let’s go back and look at the infamous case in sports history.

1919: The Black Sox ScandalYup! Here we have what is arguably the most significant game-fixing controversy in professional baseball’s (and professional sports’) history. The Chicago White Sox were defeated by the Cincinnati Reds in the 1919 World Series. The White Sox are accused of throwing a series to get money from Arnold Rothstein, a crime boss. The “Shoeless Joe Jackson” name has been a household one for more than a hundred years.  Landis’ punishments are still debated, whether they were reasonable or fair. Bill Lamb of SABR noted that after the Black Sox were punished, “game-fixing was virtually eradicated from the Major League landscape.” Rob Manfred, the commissioner of Major League Baseball, lifted the lifetime bans imposed on the Black Sox (among other teams) earlier this year. He declared that the bans lapsed when the players died. 

Even so, the Black Sox suspensions weren’t the last time personnel were punished for their connections to gambling.1947: Dodgers’ Durocher receives suspension Leo Durocher was a three-time All-Star shortstop who later enjoyed a lengthy, Hall-of-Fame career as a manager. He was suspended by Happy Chandler in 1947 for his “accumulation” of “unpleasant incidents.” What were some of them? His embrace and association with gambling. Pee Wee reese, the shortstop at that time, is quoted in Paul Dickson’s Durocher biography as saying: “It seemed to me like there was always someone around who was a gambling and bookie.” 

Dickson says that Branch Rickey, the Brooklyn Dodgers’ executive director, discovered that some players had a tendency to gamble on high-stakes games of poker and horse racing. However, there was no proof that anyone had bet on baseball. Durocher was allowed to return to his dugout during the 1948 season. McLain is suspended for gambling connections. In 1970, Bowie Kuhn permanently suspended Detroit Tigers’ pitcher Denny McLain because of his 1967 bookmaking activities. In a New York Times piece on McLain’s suspension, the article heavily references Sports Illustrated’s reporting. According to Sports Illustrated, McLain sustained an injury that kept him out of a pennant run after he and his partners failed to pay a “debt of nearly $46,600” by a hoodlum.

McLain won 31 games in 1968 and was permitted to return on the mound as early as July 1970. 1980, 1984: Mays & Mantle suspended If you needed more proof that Commissioner Kuhn takes any links between baseball and gaming seriously, then consider the fact that he put retired Hall of Famer Willie Mays & Mickey Mantle permanently on the ineligible lists after they took ambassador positions with casinos. Kuhn told Mays that a casino was not the place for a Hall of Famer and baseball hero, according to an article in 2020 by Craig Calcaterra. Mays and Mantle were unable to continue working in baseball during Kuhn’s term. Peter Ueberroth’s successor Kuhn reinstated both players in 1985 – albeit without taking issue with Kuhn’s initial ruling. 

Rose banished in 1989After Ueberroth’s resignation in 1989, Bart Giamatti began a five-month period of intense activity before his death. Giamatti’s most enduring legacy is the ban on Cincinnati Reds legend Pete Rose, who was player-manager during the time he served as the team’s manager. Rose would deny these allegations for years until 2004, when he finally admitted to gambling only on games he managed. ESPN reported in 2015 that Rose gambled in games that he was a part of. Rose has been allowed to be closer to the action, working as an analyst with FOX. Rose was supposed to be inducted into the Philadelphia Phillies’ Wall of Fame by 2017. However, after a woman claimed that Rose had a sexual relationship in the 1970s with her when she wasn’t old enough, the Phillies canceled their plans.

Rose placed Ohio’s very first legal sports wager in January 2023. Perhaps time is indeed a flat circle.2024: A tidal wave of allegationsThe 2024 regular season was ushered in with controversy, as Shohei Ohtani’s longtime interpreter Ippei Mizuhara, was fired by the Dodgers organization amid allegations of illegal gambling. Mizuhara has not been accused of gambling at baseball. He has, however, pleaded guilty to other crimes. He was sentenced to 57 months in prison after pleading guilty to one charge of bank fraud and one count of submitting a false tax returnMLB personnel are allowed to bet on non-diamond sports (in other words, not baseball or softball) provided — and this is the important part of the situation — sports gambling is legal in their jurisdiction. Mizuhara, who is a California resident, placed bets through Mathew, an accused bookmaker, at the centre of a larger probe. Tucupita Marcano, an infielder for the San Diego Padres who had bet over $150,000 on baseball matches (even when his team was involved), received a life-long suspension. Athletis reliever Michael Kelly and minor-league players Jay Groome, José Rodríguez, and Andrew Saalfrank were suspended for a year. 2025: Ortiz indicted, Clase chargedOrtiz and Clase are accused of intentionally manipulating the results of pitches for money. The Department of Justice claims that the two “agreed with their coconspirators in advance to throw certain types of pitches and speed of pitches” and “in some cases, the defendants were paid bribes or kickbacks in exchange for rigging pitch results.”This is the first time since 2024 that MLB players have been accused of manipulating in-game results to gain improper financial gain. It’s safe to say that both players will not pitch in MLB, regardless of the punishment Manfred decides. Formerly, a player’s association with a casino was enough to place them on the list of ineligible retired players. But now the league has partnered with the gaming industry. Rob Manfred, the commissioner of Major League Baseball at the time, named MGM Resorts as its first “Official Gambling Partner”. In March 2023, MLB announced a multi-year deal with FanDuel, which made it the “co-exclusive Official Sports Betting Partner” of MLB.It’s up to the future whether this will be a positive or negative development. It ensures, if nothing else, that gambling and professional baseball will be more than just acquaintances. 

2025-11-09 20:29:38