by Cameron Moore (8th)

Wow. It was rumored for months, but it has finally been proven true.

Cleveland Guardians pitcher Luis Ortiz and two-time reliever of the year Emmanuel Clase were indicted (in-dai-tid) Monday for conspiracy and bribery schemes linked to intentionally throwing bad pitches to cash out tens, even hundreds of thousands of dollars in the betting markets, throwing the league in its ugliest betting scandal since Pete Rose’s infamous ban from the sport.

Both players are facing 65 years in prison for charges of wire fraud conspiracy, honest services wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, and the conspiracy to influence sporting events by bribery. There is also no doubt that Major League Baseball will look into the scandal, and likely ban both of these players for life. But, how did they do it, and what is next for Major League Baseball and sports betting in general?

Clase is considered the orchestrator of the operation. As early as May 2023, he threw certain pitches as balls in order to benefit betters, who would place parlays on the first pitches of innings. Clase would inform these betters that he would throw a ball on the first pitch of the innings he pitched in, so that they could place these bets knowing that they could win.

This is honestly very similar to the Houston Astros cheating scandal back in 2017. Yes, that operation was team-related, but they were executed similarly. They both use very obvious cues seen/heard on broadcasts in order to benefit themselves. However, Clase’s scheme is even dumber. The Guardians didn’t win a World Series, Clase and partner-in-crime (literally) Luis Ortiz are a lot easier to punish than an entire baseball team, and this plan was not for the success of the team. It was for money.

I don’t understand why Clase and Ortiz did this. Clase especially.

Clase has been paid over $12 million over his career, and was supposed to make about $6 million this year. Ortiz had a salary of $782,600 this year, so he also has no excuse to throw away his career for what is basically pocket change to these guys. It’s disgusting.

What is next for Major League Baseball?

Major League Baseball and the entire sports betting industry are now in murky waters following this scandal. US Congress reportedly sent a message to MLB commissioner Rob Manfred warning him of a “new integrity crisis” that is expected in all American professional sports. Here is an excerpt from the letter:

"How did MLB catch [Tucupito Marcano, former MLB player] and ban him for life but failed to notice Clase allegedly rigging pitches for two years?" the letter states. "The integrity of the game is paramount. MLB has every interest in ensuring baseball is free from influence and manipulation. ... But in light of these recent developments, MLB must clearly demonstrate how it is meeting its responsibility to safeguard America's pastime."

It is honestly disgusting how MLB let this slip through the cracks. They have already put on a big fix by banning prop bets from being included in parlays, as well as putting a maximum wager of $200. However, it honestly baffles me that these regulations weren’t put in earlier.Additionally, it’s important to mention that Clase was one of the best closers in baseball over the past few years. The letter is basically trying to question if MLB knew about it and masked it in order to protect one of their stars. 

What does this mean for the future of sports and sports-betting?

I’m going to be honest, I don’t really know what this means for the future. However, there are a couple of possible outcomes that I think could come out of this scandal.

1. The integrity of the game will be questioned.

This scandal comes at a time when suspicions about sports-betting are at a high. Just a few years after sports betting was legalized, there may already be questions about how much this platform impacts actual games. 

We are not even two years out from Jontay Porter’s infamous ban for life from the NBA, just a couple months out from the arrests of Terry Rozier and many others, also in the NBA, and now the Clase and Ortiz scandal in MLB. A few more large scandals could cloud the integrity of American professional and even collegiate sports. Once fans think someone is rigging a game, even if they are not, that is when sports in the US could enter a death spiral.

2. Sports betting will be further restricted, or even banned.

It was a May 14, 2018 Supreme Court decision that opened the door for legalized sports betting in the United States. Not even 8 years later, public opinion is starting to turn sour, and big changes may be on the horizon.

I don’t think sports betting in America will be banned. Rather, I think prop bets could soon be on the chopping block. Clase used individual pitch prop bets to rack up some extra Benjamins. The truth is that there are very few sports where the actions of one player could dictate the entire outcome of a game. If I was on a basketball team, and I had bet on myself to perform poorly, I could stand back and not take a single shot. However, the other four guys on court in my jersey would still be trying their hardest, possibly even winning the game. Team bets (I don’t know the technical term) are much harder to influence than prop bets.

So, my opinion? Just ban prop bets. Easy.

So, there it is. This article sums up everything that you need to know about Major League Baseball’s betting scandal, and what it means for the future of the US sports landscape. Let’s just hope the sports we all know and love doesn’t get messed up by dumb multi-million dollar athletes betting on themselves for a few thousand.