Black Sox, Ohtani's interpreter and more: A look at prominent sports betting scandals
Here is a look at betting scandals involving pro sports:
— In 1920, a Chicago grand jury indicted eight members of the Chicago White Sox on charges of fixing the 1919 World Series, which became known as the 'Black Sox Scandal.' White Sox owner Charles Comiskey immediately suspended the eight players, including 'Shoeless' Joe Jackson, and they were banned permanently a year later by newly appointed baseball commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis. Although a jury returned a not guilty verdict on all charges against the eight, their ban from baseball remains in place.
— In 1946, Hockey Hall of Famer Babe Pratt was suspended for gambling before being reinstated weeks later, with the NHL Board of Governors issuing a warning that any further instances of gambling would lead to a player's lifetime suspension.
— In 1948, Billy Taylor and Don Gallinger were issued lifetime bans from the NHL for betting on hockey games.
— In 1951, 35 active and former players were accused of fixing at least 86 games between 1947 and 1951. Among those implicated were four members of the Adolph Rupp-coached Kentucky Wildcats, accused of taking bribes from gamblers ahead of an NIT game against Loyola during the 1948-49 season. An NCAA investigation found several violations, which led to the cancellation of Kentucky's 1952-53 season.
— In 1980, two Italian soccer teams were relegated and five others penalized for their involvement in a match-fixing scandal that was dubbed 'Totonero.' Most notably, Paolo Rossi was banned for two years for his involvement while playing for Perugia.
— In 1981, former Boston College basketball player Rick Kuhn and four others, including New York mobster Jimmy Burke, were convicted of conspiring to fix basketball games in the 1978-79 season.
— In 1985, Tulane suspended its basketball program in the wake of point-shaving and other allegations. The school resumed basketball for the 1989-90 season.
— In 1989, Pete Rose agreed to a lifetime ban after an investigation for MLB by lawyer John Dowd found Rose placed numerous bets on the Cincinnati Reds to win from 1985-87 while playing for and managing the team. Now 82, baseball's all-time leader with 4,256 hits remains ineligible for induction into Cooperstown, and has numerous requests for reinstatement denied.
— In 1996, 13 Boston College football players were suspended for gambling, including two who bet against B.C. in a 45-17 loss to Syracuse. Coach Dan Henning, who informed school officials upon hearing allegations of players placing bets with bookies, resigned. No evidence of point-shaving was found.
— In 2007, current Vancouver Canucks coach Rick Tocchet was placed on two years probation after pleading guilty to conspiracy and promoting gambling while serving as an assistant coach with the Coyotes. He was reinstated by the NHL the following year. Also initially implicated in a gambling scheme titled 'Operation Slapshot' involving a New Jersey-based ring were several players, Wayne Gretzky's wife, Janet Jones, and Gretzky's former agent and then Coyotes GM Michael Barnett.
— In 2008, NBA referee Tim Donaghy pleaded guilty to wire fraud and transmitting betting information for taking thousands of dollars from a gambler for inside tips on games, including games he worked. He was sentenced by a federal judge to 15 months behind bars.
— In 2019, former Wales men's rugby team captain Rob Howley was sent home on the eve of the Rugby World Cup, where he was to work as an assistant coach. Howley had made 363 bets, including on Wales' 2019 Six Nations Grand Slam decider against Ireland. He was suspended from rugby for 18 months.
— In 2021, England defender Kieran Trippier was banned for 10 weeks after providing insider information on his potential transfer to friends who were then betting on the outcome.
— In the NFL, at least 15 players have been suspended by the league for gambling violations. The list dates to 1963, when two eventual hall of famers, Green Bay halfback Paul Hornung and Detroit defensive tackle Alex Karras, were suspended for the season for betting on league games. In 2022, the NFL suspended then Atlanta receiver Calvin Ridley for the entire season for gambling on NFL games a year earlier while away from the Falcons addressing mental health concerns.
— In May 2023, Brazil's lower house of Congress opened a probe into a soccer match-fixing scandal. It is the third investigation into evidence of wrongdoing by soccer players who allegedly made sure to get bookings and gave away penalties in exchange for bribes.
— In 2023, six-time major tournament-winning golfer Phil Mickelson was alleged to have wagered more than $1 billion over the last three decades, and wanted to place a $400,000 bet on the 2012 Ryder Cup, while representing Team USA, in a book written by renowned gambler Billy Walters. A month later, Mickelson wrote in a lengthy social media post that he has stopped gambling, and acknowledging his betting habits crossed the line from moderation to addiction. Mickelson denied ever betting on the Ryder Cup.
— Soccer players Ivan Toney of Brentford, Sandro Tonali of Newcastle and Nicolò Fagioli of Juventus all served gambling bans in 2023. Fagioli was banned for seven months by the Italian soccer federation. Italian player Tonali was banned for 10 months last year for betting on teams he played for.
-- In October 2023, the NHL issued a 41-game suspension to Ottawa Senators forward Shane Pinto for sports gambling. The NHL would only say there was no evidence of Pinto betting on hockey. Pinto declined to reveal any details upon rejoining the Senators in January.
— In March 2024, the Los Angeles Dodgers fired Ippei Mizuhara, the interpreter and close friend of newly acquired two-way star Shohei Ohtani following reports regarding his ties to an illegal bookmaker. Three months later, Mizuhara pled guilty in federal court to bank and tax fraud for stealing nearly $17 million from Ohtani's bank account. He spent the money to cover his growing gambling bets and debts with an illegal bookmaker, plus $325,000 worth of baseball cards and his own medical bills. Mizuhara capitalized on the language barrier to keep Ohtani's financial advisers from understanding their client, and at times, Mizuhara even impersonated the player to the bank to prolong the fraud.
— In April 2024, Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter was banned for life from the NBA after a league probe found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors and wagered on games, even betting on the Raptors to lose. In making the announcement, Commissioner Adam Silver called Porter's actions 'blatant.' The investigation started once the league learned from 'licensed sports betting operators and an organization that monitors legal betting markets' about unusual gambling patterns surrounding Porter's performance in a game on March 20 against Sacramento. The league determined that Porter gave a bettor information about his own health status prior to that game and said that another individual — known to be an NBA bettor — placed an $80,000 bet that Porter would not hit the numbers set for him in parlays through an online sports book. That bet would have won $1.1 million.
— In June 2024, San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano was banned for life by MLB for betting on baseball. MLB said Marcano placed 387 baseball bets totaling more than $150,000 with a legal sportsbook in 2022 and 2023. The 24-year-old Venezuelan with 149 games of major league experience became the first active player in a century banned for life because of gambling. Oakland Athletics pitcher Michael Kelly was also suspended for one year for betting on baseball while in the minor leagues, and three minor leaguers also were banned for one year for betting on big league games: pitchers Jay Groome of San Diego and Andrew Saalfrank of Arizona, and infielder José Rodríguez of Philadelphia. Each of those four players wagered under $1,000. Saalfrank and Rodríguez played previously in the majors.
— In February 2025, umpire Pat Hoberg was fired by MLB for sharing his legal sports gambling accounts with a friend who bet on baseball games and for intentionally deleting electronic messages pertinent to the league's investigation. While MLB said the probe did not uncover evidence Hoberg personally bet on baseball or manipulated games, MLB senior vice president of on-field operations Michael Hill recommended on May 24, 2024 that Hoberg be fired. Commissioner Rob Manfred he upheld Hill's decision. Among the highest-rated umpires at judging the strike zone, Hoberg could apply for reinstatement no earlier than 2026 spring training. MLB said the friend made 141 baseball bets between April 2, 2021, and Nov. 1, 2023, totaling almost $214,000 with an overall win of nearly $35,000. That included eight bets involving games where Hoberg was working.
— In June/July 2025, MLB placed Cleveland Guardians pitchers Luis Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase on paid leave as part of a sports betting investigation. The Ortiz probe is related to in-game prop bets on two pitches thrown by the right-hander that received higher activity than usual during his starts at Seattle on June 15 and against St. Louis on June 27. The gambling activity on the pitches was flagged by a betting-integrity firm and forwarded to MLB. Clase was placed on leave more than three weeks after Ortiz. It's not clear if Clase was sidelined as part of the same investigation, and he hasn't been formally accused of wrongdoing.
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Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
MLB trade deadline winners and losers 2025: Mets and Mariners go all in, Tigers and Red Sox miss big opportunity
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New York Times
3 hours ago
- New York Times
‘It's time to go' takes on new meaning for Buster Posey, Giants at trade deadline
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USA Today
4 hours ago
- USA Today
MLB trade grades: Who won the biggest deals on deadline day?
Major League Baseball's 2025 trade deadline featured a flurry of big deals, including some genuinely stunning swaps like Carlos Correa returning to the Houston Astros and the San Diego Padres adding Mason Miller to their bullpen. The Minnesota Twins traded 10 players from their 26-man roster in the span of 24 hours, while the Arizona Diamondbacks and Baltimore Orioles were also big sellers at the July 31 deadline. In addition to the deal for Miller, the Padres got Ryan O'Hearn and Ramon Laureano from the Orioles, two of the top bats available as they seek to chase down the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West. The New York Yankees remade their bullpen with separate trades for relievers David Bednar, Camilo Doval and Jake Bird. We break down all the deals from deadline day: Carlos Correa trade grades Houston Astros receive INF Carlos Correa, $33 million; Minnesota Twins receive LHP Matt Mikulski Houston brings Correa home after a few years apart, getting the Twins to eat a huge chunk of the two-time World Series champion's salary. He'll move to third base with his one-time replacement Jeremy Peña at short and while Correa hasn't performed consistently since departing, it's a lower-risk move for the Astros in a deal that should make everyone happy. This was Minnesota's one and only chance to get out of the Correa contract. Kudos to them for seizing the opportunity, a pure salary dump that admits defeat on the once-marquee free agent signing. Mason Miller trade grades San Diego Padres receive RHP Mason Miller, LHP JP Sears; Athletics receive SS Leo De Vries, RHP Braden Nett, RHP Henry Báez and RHP Eduarniel Nuñez It's quite a coup getting both the game's most dominant closer and a guy with four years of club control remaining after this season. Miller, 26, is generally untouchable in the ninth inning and in two seasons as A's closer has nailed down 48 of 54 save opportunities, an 89% conversion rate on par with Hall of Famers Trevor Hoffman and Mariano Rivera. The cost? It's huge. De Vries is the most significant international signing the Padres have had this decade, no small honor, and he's consistently been challenged – and succeeded – at levels where the average player is four to five years older than him. Put simply: Not many 17-year-olds flash power and speed in stateside A ball and go on to the Arizona Fall League, as De Vries did in 2024. While Miller's controllable years mean the Padres can flip him in future seasons for either immediate help or to galvanize their system, it still stings to trade a potential (likely?) franchise player for a reliever. The deal begs one dark question: Will any of their young stars make it to Las Vegas, should they ever complete their ballpark there? It's yet another step back at the big league level for the A's in a five-year cycle of utter desiccation that hastened their move from Oakland. And it's perhaps not a coincidence that Miller was dealt months before he entered the first of four years of salary arbitration. – Gabe Lacques Camilo Doval trade grades New York Yankees receive RHP Camilo Doval; San Francisco Giants receive Jesus Rodriguez, Trystan Vrieling, Parks Harber, Carlos De La Rosa Doval is having a nice bounce-back season and is under team control through 2027, completing a complete overhaul of the Yankees' bullpen beyond 2025 after adding David Bednar and Jake Bird earlier in the day. Definitely could have gotten more for the 2023 National League saves leader if they had waited until the winter – unless he tailed off down the stretch. Griffin Jax trade grades Tampa Bay Rays receive RHP Griffin Jax; Minnesota Twins receive RHP Taj Bradley Tampa Bay officially gives up on Bradley, one of the top prospects in baseball a few years ago, after giving him a pretty shot in the rotation over the past two years. Jax hasn't looked like himself this year, but he's a proven high-leverage arm the Rays need in the AL wild-card race. Bradley is only 24 years old, under team control through 2029 and hasn't been bad by any stretch of the imaginaton. Pretty decent gamble here. Merrill Kelly trade grades Texas Rangers receive RHP Merrill Kelly; Arizona Diamondbacks receive LHP Kohl Drake, RHP David Hagaman, LHP Mitch Bratt. With Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi and now Kelly, watch out if the Rangers get into the playoffs. Kelly, who played in Korea from 2015-2018, is having the best season of his career at age 36 and brings some postseason pedigree having gone 3-1 with a 2.25 ERA in four starts across Arizona's run to the World Series in 2023. Holding a ton of trade chips this month, Arizona has been frustrated by the slow market. Having already unloaded Josh Naylor and Eugenio Suarez, the Diamondbacks get three prospects in exchange for Kelly, a free agent at the end of the season. Drake was the Rangers' No. 5 prospect and has a 3.10 ERA in 16 minor-league games this season. Ryan O'Hearn, Ramon Laureano trade grades San Diego Padres receive 1B/OF Ryan O'hearn, OF Ramon Laureano; Baltimore Orioles receive RHP Boston Bateman, INF Brandon Butterworth, INF Cobb Hightower, INF/OF Victor Figueroa, RHP Tyson Neighbors and RHP Tanner Smith. San Diego dramatically improved its lineup with the deal for two of the top bats on the market, having already acquired catcher Freddy Fermin from the Royals earlier in the day. The Padres really should push the Dodgers in the NL West over the next two months and have to be considered one of the top World Series contenders Rather than finding separate buyers, the Orioles packaged two of the top bats on the market and received six prospects in return – all of whom were just drafted in 2024. José Caballero trade grades New York Yankees receive INF/OF José Caballero; Tampa Bay Rays receive OF Everson Pereira and PTBNL or cash. Caballero, who led the AL with 44 steals in 2024 and has 34 this year, is a nice addition for a Yankees team that ranks in the middle of the pack for stolen bases. The trip to join his new teammates was an easy one with the Rays already in the Bronx, Caballero merely switching clubhouses. Tampa Bay has enough guys who can run and the roster spot was helpful as the Rays made deals on deadline day. Jake Bird trade grades New York Yankees receive RHP Jake Bird; Colorado Rockies receive 2B Roc Riggio, LHP Ben Shields. Hours after agreeing to a deal with the Pirates for closer David Bednar, the Yankees further fortified their bullpen with with the 29-year-old Bird, under team control through 2028. With a 4.73 ERA this season and even career home-road splits away from Coors Field, Bird doesn't have quite the upside as other relievers on the market this week, but the Yankees acquire a reliable – and cheap – arm to the middle relief corps. Colorado is in a race to avoid the worst record in MLB history, but decided to trade its best relief pitcher who currently costs just about nothing. They'll save a few million in Bird's arbitration years, but dealing the right-hander was definitely not somethign the Rockies needed to do. Jesús Sánchez trade grades Houston Astros receive OF Jesús Sánchez; Miami Marlins receive RHP Ryan Gusto, INF Chase Jaworsky, OF Esmil Valencia The AL West leaders needed outfield help and find it in the 27-year-old, already a veteran of six seasons. Sánchez presumably will step into the strong side of a left field platoon in Houston, which had been giving regular outfield starts to Taylor Trammell. Doesn't look like a huge move now, but can't you picture Sánchez lacing an RBI double at Daikin Park in October? Good move from a fiscal perspective with the outfielder making $4.5 million and scheduled for an annual raise through 2027. Phil Maton trade grades Texas Rangers receive RHP Phil Maton; St. Louis Cardinals receive LHP Mason Molina, RHP Skylar Hales, international slot money. Texas bolsters its bullpen with the veteran right-hander who has enjoyed a fine 2025 season as a high-leverage arm in St. Louis. Two prospects and the international money is a nice return as they've fallen out of contention. Cedric Mullins trade grades New York Mets receive OF Cedric Mullins; Baltimore Orioles receive RHP Raimon Gomez, RHP Anthony Nuñez, RHP Chandler Marsh. Adding Mullins is nice for the Mets, giving them a plus defender in center field to phase out the glove-first Tyrone Taylor. He's a rental but with his power-speed combination, Mullins could be a huge contributor down the stretch as New York tries to fight off Philadelphia for first place in the NL East. Mullins' time with the Orioles ends 10 years after the club drafted him in the 13th round. It's certainly not the way Baltimore wanted to say goodbye to their longtime outfielder, but the Orioles got two of the Mets' top 30 prospects in Nunez (No. 14) and Gomez (No. 30). David Bednar trade grades Yankees receive RHP David Bednar; Pittsburgh Pirates receive C/1B Rafael Flores, C/1B Edgleen Perez, OF Brian Sanchez. The Bombers bolster their bullpen for the stretch run and beyond, landing the two-time All-Star reliever who will be under team control through 2026. The 30-year-old's addition is huge considering Devin Williams and Luke Weaver are free agents at the end of the season. Holding one of the last relievers remaining on the market in the hours leading up to the deadline, you might have expected the Pirates to get more in this deal for a controllable All-Star. Flores ranks as the Yankees' No. 8 prospect according to but he's already 24 years old and has struggled since his promotion to Class AAA (.677 OPS in 10 games). Perez is 19 years old and has had a tough season in Class A (.209 average in 301 AB) but scouts hope his bat will catch up with his glove behind the plate. Harrison Bader trade grades Philadelphia Phillies receive OF Harrison Bader; Minnesota Twins receive OF Hendry Mendez, RHP Geremy Villoria. Philadelphia gives up basically nothing to get one of the game's better defensive center fielders, who should provide some pop for an outfield that desperately needs some. Bader has an .809 OPS in 31 career postseason games. Might as well get a couple of projects in exhange for a rental outfielder. The 21-year-old Mendez ranked as the Phillies' 12th-best prospect and has an .808 OPS in 85 Class AA games this season. Signed as an international free agent this past winter, Villoria is just 16 years and old and recently made his pro debut with 19 strikeouts through five starts. Kyle Finnegan trade grades Detroit Tigers receive Kyle Finnegan; Washington Nationals receive RHP Josh Randall, RHP R.J. Sale Finnegan isn't Mason Miller or Jhoan Duran or Ryan Helsley, but the 33-year-old is a great addition to Detroit's bullpen as a veteran with ninth-inning experience, saving 86 games over the past three seasons for the middling Nationals. An All-Star in 2024, Finnegan has only given up three home runs in 34 games this season and could take some save chances from Will Vest, who has 2.53 ERA in 16 saves for the Tigers in 2025. The least-sexy closer on the market, Finnegan netted the Nationals a pair of pitchers with Randall ranking as Detroit's No. 15 prospect, according to Shane Bieber trade grades Toronto Blue Jays receive RHP Shane Bieber; Cleveland Guardians receive RHP Khai Stephen. Toronto is going for it! Bieber, the 2020 Cy Young winner, still hasn't pitched in the majors since undergoing Tommy John surgery early in 2023 and hit some speedbumps in his rehab but the Blue Jays get a high-upside starter who is under team control through next year. Bieber has a $16 million team option (with a $4 million buyout) for 2026, which could end up looking like a steal. Bieber gets traded before making his Cleveland return, a huge bummer for fans 30-year-old right-hander who was drafted by the organization in 2016. A second-round pick last year, Stephen was considered one of the Blue Jays' top five prospects and is 9-1 with a 2.06 ERA in 91 ⅔ innings across three levels this season, currently in Class AA. Unfortunate that the Guardians had to let him go, but a nice return in the one-for-one swap. Paul Sewald trade grades Detroit Tigers receive RHP Paul Sewald; Cleveland Guardians receive player to be named later. Sewald is injured and expected to return in September, so this is a move the Tigers are making for October. The 35-year-old had a 4.70 ERA in 18 games this season, but his underlying numbers look better than that with a 4.07 FIP, 1.174 WHIP and 4.5 strikeouts per walk. PTBNL for an injured reliever? Why not. Eugenio Suárez trade grades Seattle Mariners receive 3B Eugenio Suarez; Arizona Diamondbacks receive 1B Tyler Locklear, RHP Juan Burgos and RHP Hunter Cranton. They got the top hitter available and it's telling that the Mariners liked Suárez enough to bring him back after less than two years apart – despite his struggles in Seattle. That puts a ton of pressure on the slugger who is a free agent after the season. Mariners third basemen have totaled just five home runs and 35 RBIs this season, bottom-five in the majors in both categories, so it's a move they had to make. Pretty good return, plucking three of Seattle's top 20 prospects in Locklear (No. 9), Cranton (16) and Burgos (17). Locklear, 24, will likely find himself getting a run-out in Arizona's lineup sooner rather than later. The first baseman made his big-league debut last season and has nothing left to prove in the minors (.316/.401/.552, 19 HR, 82 RBis in Class AAA). Jhoan Duran trade grades Philadelphia Phillies receive RHP Jhoan Duran; Minnesota Twins receive C Eduardo Tait, RHP Mick Abel Dave Dombrowski seized on his opportunity to get 2½ years of one of the best relievers in baseball in exchange for just a pair of prospects. It's a huge addition for the Phillies, with Duran presumably assuming the ninth-inning role and taking a ton of pressure off the club's other high-leverage guys. Philadelphia has the 27-year-old flamethrower under team control through 2027. It's hard to believe that this is the best return the Twins could have gotten for the most desirable reliever on the market. That said, Tait is only 18 years old and rising fast on prospect boards, while Abel is a good candidate for a post-hype bounce back. Ke'Bryan Hayes trade grades Cincinnati Reds receive 3B Ke'Bryan Hayes; Pittsburgh Pirates receive LHP Taylor Rogers, SS Sammy Stafura Surprising move for Cincinnati, which is buying fairly low on Hayes, who remains one of the best defensive third basemen in the game. Maybe Hayes will benefit from a move to Great American Ball Park, one of MLB's most hitter-friendly parks? It's certainly a lower-risk move for the Reds taking on the remainder of Hayes' salary – $30 million from 2026-2029 plus a $6 million buyout for 2030 – but third base isn't usually a position that you're willing to sacrifice offense at. Cincinnati manager Terry Francona said Hayes "might be the best defender in baseball," but wasn't as bullish on his new third baseman's bat. "We know where the hitting has been," Francona said. "Sometimes a change of scenery − I don't want to get too far ahead because I've barely talked to him but he seems excited and we're excited to have him and see where it goes." It's naive to believe the Pirates will seriously reinvest the Hayes savings into winning games in the years to come, but the club cleared itself of a long-term deal with a guy who didn't turn out to be what they expected. Credit where it's due for Pittsburgh investing in Hayes with an eight-year, $70 million extension back in 2022 – and maybe they're giving up too early on the 28-year-old at a low annual cost – but the deal nets $36 million in savings after the 2025 season. That said, the Pirates probably could have gotten a better return this winter. The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
