The San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano, is now up against a lifetime ban from playing professional baseball, ordered by Major League Baseball. There were four more players involved who received suspension orders for one year.
According to MLB, Marcano placed 38 baseball wagers, totaling a whopping $150,000, via an authorized sportsbook. This makes him the first player to receive a lifetime ban for wagering.
Earlier, a pitcher of Oakland Athletes, Michael Kelly, faced a suspension for a year for a similar offense during his association with minor leagues. There were other players too from this level who faced the same fate. However, their wagering amounts were less than $1,000, therefore the one-year ban.
Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred says their prime focus is on maintaining the integrity and dignity attached to the game, and they will go to any lengths to protect it. They are sticklers for adhering to the rules and regulations of professional baseball, and this safeguards the interests of the game itself, as well as the players and baseball enthusiasts. In his firm resolution, there will be no breaching of rules in any way, and that is why MLB is there. He adds that wagering on professional baseball games is an absolute no-no.
Besides Marcano, the players before him who faced lifetime bans related to wagering on professional baseball events were Jimmy O’Connell and Pete Rose. The first case was in 1924, when the outfielder of the New York Giants faced a lifetime ban, and the second case was in 1989, with a similar sentencing.
