After further investigation, Major League Baseball has banned Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano, since it was found out that he has placed hundreds of bets on baseball, many of which included games involving the Pittsburgh Pirates, his former team.
MLB announced Marcano's lifetime ban Tuesday, saying that an investigation showed he violated Rule 21(d)(2), which highlights that betting on the sport in anyway is not permitted. Notable offenders most famously include the all-time hits leader Pete Rose (1989) and NY Giants player Jimmy O'Connell (1923-24).
Between Oct. 16, 2022 and Nov. 1, 2023, Marcano was found to have bet a total of $150,000, including $87,319 on MLB; each bet averaged $378. Then the total amount of MLB bets were 231 and of those 25 were bets on Pirates games.
If you are curious how much Marcano won, he had a winning percentage of 4.3%. That is to say, unlike Rose, Marcano reportedly did not appear in any games that he bet on, which is because his season ended early when he underwent surgery.
Now for the specifics of the regulations involving Rule 21, a player, or coach or umpire, is not allowed to bet on baseball, but if they do bet on a team they are not affiliated with, then it is only a one-year suspension. Then on the other hand, if a player bets on a game in which they are subject to participate in, it is indeed a lifetime ban.
There was a list of minor league players that were investigated by the MLB for sports betting, and they all were suspended for one year. However in Marcano's case it was more serious and violated the part of the rule that says no betting on your own organization, for there could be insider information that one could use to their advantage.
Throughout Marcano's three-year MLB career, the Venezuelan utility infielder batted .217, with five home runs, 34 RBI's, and 41 runs.
