{"id":391420,"date":"2025-11-20T04:17:15","date_gmt":"2025-11-20T04:17:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/391420\/"},"modified":"2025-11-20T04:17:15","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T04:17:15","slug":"rob-manfred-vows-mlb-will-cooperate-with-senate-probe-into-betting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/391420\/","title":{"rendered":"Rob Manfred vows MLB will cooperate with Senate probe into betting"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Rob Manfred said Major League Baseball will respond \u201cfully and cooperatively and on time\u201d to an inquiry from a Senate committee that requested information regarding its gambling investigations.<\/p>\n<p>Senators Ted Cruz and Maria Cantwell sent a letter to MLB on Monday amid the scandal involving a pair of Guardians pitchers, Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz, <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/11\/09\/sports\/guardians-pitchers-emmanuel-clase-luis-ortiz-indicted-in-gambling-scheme-bombshell\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">who have been indicted on charges<\/a> involving rigging pitches to profit on bets.<\/p>\n<p>The Senate committee asked for written responses and documents by Dec. 5.<\/p>\n<p>In response to the scandal, the league and its betting company partners placed caps on wagers on pitch-level markets \u2014 gamblers can no longer bet more than $200 on the outcome of individual pitches \u2014 and excluded those from parlays.<\/p>\n<p>Manfred does not envision taking further steps to ensure such a scandal is not repeated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe think the steps we\u2019ve taken in terms of limiting the size of these prop bets and prohibiting parlays off them is a really, really significant change that should reduce the incentive for anyone to be involved in an inappropriate way,\u201d Manfred said at the owners meetings in Midtown on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>The scheme, according to prosecutors, began as early as May 2023, when Clase allegedly helped coconspirator bettors win wagers regarding how hard he would throw a specific pitch.<\/p>\n<p>Clase allegedly recruited Ortiz into the plot this year, and the pair were placed on leave by MLB in July and indicted earlier this month. They have pleaded not guilty and face a maximum of 65 years in jail.<\/p>\n<p>Manfred maintained that the league\u2019s relationship with the gambling world helped identify the scheme.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe most important undertaking and really the bedrock of the relationship with the sportsbooks is the ability to monitor betting and the ability to discern inappropriate patterns,\u201d Manfred said. \u201c\u2026 We understood the prop-bet issue from the very beginning. I\u2019m glad we\u2019ve done something about it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut the rest of the program right now, I think we\u2019re generally prepared to move forward under the rules that we have now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Asked about a complete ban on prop bets, Manfred said, \u201cWe think the changes that we\u2019ve made strike the right balance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Cleveland Guardians relief pitcher Emmanuel Clase (48) reacts as he leaves the mound following the ninth inning of the Major League Baseball game between the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Guardians on July 6, 2025, at Progressive Field in Cleveland, OH.  Icon Sportswire via Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>Manfred said the league\u2019s own investigation into Clase and Ortiz is ongoing.<\/p>\n<p>Manfred sidestepped questions regarding the owners\u2019 plans and wishes as the current collective bargaining agreement is set to expire in December 2026.<\/p>\n<p>The belief is that owners will push for a salary cap. Manfred acknowledged that competitive balance has been one \u201ctopic of conversation\u201d during the meetings. <\/p>\n<p>Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred. Kirby Lee-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat I would say about the issue of competitive balance is that we have a significant segment of our fans that have been vocal about the issue of competitive balance,\u201d Manfred said, \u201cand in general we try to pay attention to our fans.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A lockout is expected. Manfred is hoping that no part of the 2027 season will be lost.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere has never been a lost game since I became involved as an employee of baseball, and it is my goal to get this next one done keeping that record intact,\u201d Manfred said. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of work to be done between now and then, but that\u2019s my goal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>MLB announced three-year media rights agreements with ESPN, NBCUniversal and Netflix that will extend through the 2028 season.<\/p>\n<p>NBC will regularly air MLB games for the first time in 26 years, and Netflix\u2019s partnership will grow from original programming to live baseball event coverage.<\/p>\n<p>MLB announced three-year media rights agreements with ESPN, NBCUniversal and Netflix that will extend through the 2028 season. Kirby Lee-Imagn Images\/File Photo<\/p>\n<p>Among the highlights:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>ESPN will distribute MLB.TV, the league\u2019s out-of-market streaming service. Starting next season, fans can purchase and watch teams\u2019 games outside of their home territory on MLB.TV through ESPN.<\/li>\n<li>NBCUniversal will air \u201cSunday Night Baseball,\u201d \u201cSunday Leadoff,\u201d and all four wild-card series of the postseason.<\/li>\n<li>Netflix will air the 2026 World Baseball Classic in Japan and will open the MLB season the next three years with a singular game \u2014 next season with the Yankees visiting the Giants. The streaming giant also will air the Home Run Derby and next year the \u201cField of Dreams\u201d game live from Dyersville, Iowa.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>That \u201cField of Dreams\u201d game will return for the first time in four years and feature the Twins and Phillies.<\/p>\n<p>The Brewers and Braves will play in the 2026 Little League Classic in Williamsport, Pa.<\/p>\n<p>The Yankees and White Sox walk onto the field through the corn stalks in the outfield at the beginning of the MLB\u2019s \u201cField of Dreams\u201d game in 2021. Charles Wenzelberg \/ New York Post<\/p>\n<p>MLB announced a six-year agreement with PitchCom, the device used by pitchers and catchers to prevent sign stealing, which will run through at least the 2031 season.<\/p>\n<p>The All-Star weekend schedule has been tweaked.<\/p>\n<p>The draft has been moved up from Sunday to Saturday, and the Futures Game has gone from Saturday to Sunday. It will be followed by a \u201cnew All-Star event that will combine former players and celebrities,\u201d Manfred said.<\/p>\n<p>MLB is \u201creally pleased with the progress\u201d that has been made on Tropicana Field, Manfred said.<\/p>\n<p>Workers repair the panels on the roof of Tropicana Field on Nov. 3, 2025, in St. Petersburg, Fla. The roof was destroyed by Hurricane Milton in 2024.  AP<\/p>\n<p>The Rays are hoping to return next season to their home, which had been wrecked by a hurricane that forced the club to play its home games last season at the Yankees\u2019 Steinbrenner Field.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey expect the roof to be dried out the first week in December, which is a really important milestone for us,\u201d Manfred said. \u201cThere\u2019s going to be new turf and padding, new flooring throughout. \u2026 All the air-quality tests have come back fine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After the family of the late Peter Seidler announced they were exploring a sale of the Padres, Manfred said he expects \u201cthere will be people who are interested in buying.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a really appealing franchise,\u201d Manfred said. \u201cThey\u2019ve done a great job building a fan base. The in-ballpark experience is probably one of our best. They\u2019ve got some great players.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rob Manfred said Major League Baseball will respond \u201cfully and cooperatively and on time\u201d to an inquiry from&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":391421,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[1282,60474,16759,21717,1266,41761,21368,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-391420","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb","8":"tag-cleveland-guardians","9":"tag-emmanuel-clase","10":"tag-gambling","11":"tag-luis-ortiz","12":"tag-mlb","13":"tag-mlb-betting","14":"tag-rob-manfred","15":"tag-sports","16":"tag-united-states","17":"tag-unitedstates","18":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115580098745336781","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/391420","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=391420"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/391420\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/391421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=391420"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=391420"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=391420"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}