St. Louis Cardinals caught in massive MLB scandal?
ESPN's MLB insider Jeff Passan reported last week that Luis Ortiz, a pitcher for the Cleveland Guardians, was being held under investigation by the league due to a possible violation of the MLB's gambling policy, an investigation centered around two very specific pitches thrown by Ortiz that were thrown for balls and apparently set off some betting alerts.
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The Cardinals' role in the whole ordeal? Basically, the victim, as one of the pitches was thrown during the series between the Cardinals and Guardians on June 27.
Passan would explain in further detail, saying that "in both the bottom of the second inning against the Seattle Mariners on June 15 and in the top of the third inning against the Cardinals on June 27, Ortiz threw a first-pitch slider that was well outside the strike zone."
Major League Baseball has placed Ortiz on non-disciplinary paid leave through July 17.
The situation with Ortiz comes just a year after a betting scandal struck baseball's top star Shohei Ohtani during his first year with the Los Angeles Dodgers, which turned out to be a massive theft scheme at the hands of his interpreter, who was promptly fired.
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The MLB gambling policy strictly prohibits players, coaches, umpires, club and league officials, and other employees from betting on baseball games, and the penalties can be very severe.
After all, that is the whole reason that the all-time hits leader in the game isn't enshrined in Cooperstown as of now.
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