San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano is facing a lifetime ban from MLB for betting on baseball games. Last year Marcano was a member of the Pittsburg Pirates and during that time he betted on his team according to MLB.
San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano is facing a potential lifetime ban for betting on baseball, sources confirmed to ESPN.
This news was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. pic.twitter.com/vmXXPoFzub
— ESPN (@espn) June 3, 2024
Padres release a statement
“We are aware of an active investigation by Major League Baseball regarding a matter that occurred when the player in question was a member of another organization and not affiliated with the San Diego Padres. We will not have any further comment until the investigative process has been completed.”
As of now Marcano, 24, has yet to be formally penalized, but MLB Rule 21 explicitly states that a player who bets on games involving his own team is subject to a lifetime ban. This will be the biggest scandal in regards to betting since Pete Rose who bet on games as a player-manager for the Cincinnati Reds.
With the Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling that began the spread of legal betting in the U.S. There was a lot of fear that players would push the line and get caught for making illegal bets. Baseball has been lucky up until this season. Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, has indicated he plans to plead guilty to federal felony charges. He admitted that he had stolen money from Ohtani to pay off gambling debts. Ohtani’s former teammate David Fletcher is still under investigation. Fletcher used the same illegal bookmaker who took wagers from Mizuhara.
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Robert LaMar is a writer for Dice City Sports. You can follow him on X via @RobertLaMar26
