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I've mostly been rewriting the same talking points every time a new gambling scandal pops up. My feelings haven't changed. I think it's time to look at some realistic ways MLB can get out of the super-specific prop bet business, but this comes first:

blogs.fangraphs.com/emmanuel-cla...
But if there’s an innocent explanation for all this, I’d love to hear it, because the evidence presented in the indictment looks damning. Whether it’s enough to stick in court, I don’t know. I am, to my parents’ everlasting disappointment, not an attorney. I don’t think anyone ought to go to jail for up to 65 years for defrauding sportsbooks of less than half a million dollars, but the criminal repercussions aren’t the most important part of this case anyway. Major League Baseball is not bound by the same standard of proof as the federal government. The former is a corporation that’s interested in protecting its profits and reputation; the latter is imbued by the consent of the people with the legitimate use of force. We know this because MLB suspends and bans players for all kinds of stuff that slips through the cracks of the legal system: PEDs, on-field fights, even things as trivial as spitballs and corked bats. MLB exerts the right to punish employees, including players, for sins against the sport. Barring some shocking revelation that causes the evidence chain presented in the indictment to collapse, only one punishment fits: Lifetime banishment from organized baseball.
November 10, 2025 at 3:30 AM