Athletes tired of the abuse
The Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) has proposed a ban on player prop bets as part of the ongoing collective bargaining negotiations with the league. The ban would include bets on prediction markets like Kalshi.
The primary reason for the proposal is the abuse players take from upset bettors who lose wagers on individual game performance by specific players. Prop bets, both before and during games, include all sorts of things like if Batter XYZ will hit a double or Pitcher ABC will strike out four hitters.
For years, athletes in all sports, both professional and collegiate, have recounted stories of receiving texts, e-mails, and messages on social media from furious bettors who blame the players for their gambling losses. Athletes have received death threats, threats against their families, and more.
Guardians scandal still echoes
There has also been great concern over prop bets in every sport for the possible risk they pose to the integrity of the game. Just this past November, Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz were indicted for allegedly rigging pitches to help co-conspirators win prop bets.
Clase, for example, intentionally threw specific pitches above or below 94.95 MPH, helping bettors win tens of thousands of dollars.
Perhaps more egregiously, both Clase and Ortiz purposely threw pitches outside of the strike zone to satisfy prop bets. In one case, a bettor placed 16 parlay bets that included Clase throwing a ball. Eight pitches were the focus of those bets; he throw a ball in seven of them and the eighth would have been, but the batter swung and missed at a pitch in the dirt.
Ortiz engaged in similar antics last season, getting paid to throw certain pitches for balls. Clase helped arrange the agreements and payments.
In addition to the desired ban on prop bets, the MLBPA also wants to modify how sports betting investigations are handled. The union wants players under investigation to be put on administrative leave. And it wants those who are suspended for violations (but, presumably, not permanently banned like Clase and Ortiz will likely be) to be able to take an unpaid 15-day minor league rehab assignment as the suspension nears an end.
