As the gambling investigations into Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz continue, the state might be cracking down on the kind of bets that raised suspicions in the first place. Ohio regulators are drafting a rule to ban some micro-bets, including MLB first pitches, per ESPN’s David Purdum.
Matt Schuler, the executive director of the Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC), told Purdum the organization is reviewing the types of micro-bets currently allowed in the state. If drafted, the rule would likely take a while to go through and would have to be approved by the Commission and the Ohio legislature before taking effect.
Ortiz, who was placed on leave July 3, had two pitches from June flagged after a large amount was placed on micro-bets related to the first pitch of the inning. Both of the suspicious pitches took place on the initial pitch of the inning, and both pitches were significantly outside the strike zone.
The review is being done at the request of Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, who sent out a a news release July 31 that called on the OCCC to remove certain types of bets. DeWine’s primary issue was with micro prop bets, which he called “highly specific events within games that are completely controlled by one player.”
“The harm to athletes and the integrity of the game is clear, and the benefits are not worth the harm. The prop betting experiment in this country has failed badly,” DeWine said in the release.
For the investigation into Ortiz, there were two specific pitches flagged, with one on June 15 and another on June 27. In both incidents, an unusual amount of money was placed on Ortiz either throwing a ball or hitting a batter on the first pitch of the inning, with both pitches hitting the dirt well outside the zone.
Per Purdum, MLB has had ongoing conversations about how to approach micro-bets. During the MLB All-Star break, league commissioner Rob Manfred told reporters he considers some bets “unnecessary and particularly vulnerable.”
Clase was placed on leave July 28 in connection with a sports betting investigation, though the exact nature of that connection is still unknown. Ortiz was originally set to return from leave July 17, before his leave was extended to Aug. 31, the same as Clase. Both players have had their lockers cleared by the team in the meantime.
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