Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Tucupita Marcano. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Tucupita Marcano, a Venezuelan infielder for the San Diego Padres, is facing a lifetime ban for betting on MLB games. Oakland A’s pitcher Michael Kelly and two Minor League players, Jay Groome and Jose Rodriguez, have been given one-year bans. This story follows the firing and criminal charges against Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for Shohei Ohtani, for stealing money from Ohtani for alleged gambling debts.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the 24-year-old bet on Pirates games last year while on the team’s injured list. Marcano has not played since July of last season due to injuries but was claimed off waivers by the Padres this past off-season.
Marcano is the first person since Pete Rose in 1989 that the MLB has banned for life for gambling.
According to ESPN, Marcano placed 387 baseball bets totaling more than $150,000 with $87,319 of that total on MLB-related wagers.
The MLB is not the first professional organization to face players gambling.
The NBA just handed out a lifetime ban this season to Jontay Porter of the Toronto Raptors for gambling, and the NFL has handed out numerous suspensions over the last couple of years due to players gambling. Most notably, a minimum of a year-long suspension to superstar wide receiver Calvin Ridley.
Information from the Associated Press and ESPN was used in this article.
