A U.S. Senate committee wants Major League Baseball to detail exactly how it plans to stop players from manipulating aspects of games for the purposes of profiting from betting.
Amid the scandal involving Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz, Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Chairman Ted Cruz and Ranking Member Maria Cantwell authored a letter to MLB on Nov. 14. They previously sent a similar letter to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver about the Terry Rozier case.
“An isolated incident of game rigging might be dismissed as an aberration, but the emergence of manipulation across multiple leagues suggests a deeper, systemic vulnerability,” stated the senators. “These developments warrant thorough scrutiny by Congress before misconduct issues become more widespread.”
How did Clase go undetected for two years?
The unsealed indictment against the two pitchers divulged that not only did Clase and Ortiz alter certain pitches to ensure pre-arranged bets cashed, but that Clase used a cellphone during games to help coordinate the scheme. Clase allegedly first participated in the fraud more than two years ago, in spring 2023.
“This is markedly more serious than other recent sports betting incidents in MLB,” wrote the senators, referencing Tucupita Marcano’s betting on games. The lawmakers noted in Marcano’s case, there is no evidence that he manipulated his own performances. Marcano was caught out and banned for life by MLB. Cruz and Cantwell want to know how the same didn’t happen with Clase.
“How did MLB catch Marcano and ban him for life but failed to notice Clase allegedly rigging pitches for two years?” they asked. “In light of these recent developments, MLB must clearly demonstrate how it is meeting its responsibility to safeguard America’s pastime.”
The letter asserted that, while game-fixing allegations are not new to baseball, MLB and American sports generally are facing “a new integrity crisis.”
What are you gonna do about it, baseball?
In light of the details of the scandal, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred reached an accord with the league’s partner sportsbooks to place new restrictions on pitch-level prop bets, citing a desire to protect sporting integrity and discourage future incidents.
Cruz and Cantwell want more answers than that. The senators requested written responses to several questions, as well as supporting documents, by Dec. 5. They want to know:
- How and when was MLB made aware of suspicious betting and game manipulation activity by Clase or Ortiz
- The policies and procedures MLB implements related to gambling or game rigging by players, coaches, employees or owners
- The details and documentation of all investigations into such personnel for violating MLB rules relating to gambling or game rigging since Jan. 1, 2020, including the findings and resulting actions taken
- The details of any communications between MLB and any sportsbook or integrity monitoring firm regarding suspicious or flagged sports wagers placed on MLB games or by MLB personnel
- The extent to which MLB has already addressed and will further address alleged instances of gambling and game rigging, including how it may revise its policies or enforcement around gambling and its rules relating to cellphone use during games, and how it plans to ensure MLB personnel do not have ties to organized crime
