Major League Baseball on Monday announced that it stands by the decision to fire umpire Pat Hoberg following an investigation into his involvement with a sports betting account.

The league fired Hoberg in May 2024 after it found the umpire was sharing a legal sports gambling account with his friend, who is a professional poker player. The friend wasn’t identified by name, but the account was used to bet on baseball, which violates MLB policy, according to the league’s statement.

Hoberg appealed the termination and called on a third-party investigation. 

After another review that found no evidence that Hoberg directly or indirectly placed any bets on baseball, nor any evidence of game manipulation, MLB Commissioner Robert Manfred Jr. said he stood by the decision to fire the umpire because Hoberg failed to “maintain the integrity of the game of baseball.”

Although there was no evidence Hoberg bet on baseball, his friend did so 141 times between 2021 and 2023, including eight bets on five games that Hoberg umpired or was responsible for replay reviews, investigators said.

Hoberg and the friend also deleted their Telegram messages that detailed bets and the ledger, investigators found. Hoberg claimed he was “embarrassed by the frequency and volume” of his betting activity, which included bets on football, basketball hockey and golf.

It was the umpire’s “poor judgment” in sharing the gambling account with someone who did bet on baseball, as well as his deletion of messages, that warranted termination, Manfred Jr. said.

Hoberg, who had been an MLB umpire since 2014, according to Retrosheet, said he takes full responsibility for the errors in judgment.

“Those errors will always be a source of shame and embarrassment to me,” Hoberg said in a statement through the Major League Umpires Association, adding that he has never bet on baseball and he never provided any information to anyone for the purpose of betting on baseball.

“I apologize to Major League Baseball and the entire baseball community for my mistakes. I vow to learn from them and to be a better version of myself moving forward,” he said.

Hoberg will be able to apply for reinstatement as an umpire after the start of spring training in 2026, in accordance with league policy.