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Amid baseball's biggest gambling scandal since Pete Rose's banishment from the game in 1989, former Boston Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon has opened up about efforts by the Commissioner's office to deter players from placing bets on baseball.
In some cases, Major League Baseball tapped known mobsters and FBI informants to speak with players about the dangers of gambling.
'They brought some of the mob members in,' Papelbon told Audacy's Baseball Isn't Boring podcast on Thursday. 'Gambling is such a big deal. They've brought former FBI informants with the mob with gambling rings in the mob to come talk in spring training about, 'Don't get sucked into gambling. Stay clean. Don't get into that world because once you get into it, you're done.'
'That's how serious this is, man. We're trying to keep the game clean. Once the game gets infiltrated, it's done.'
Papelbon's revelation comes as Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani is being investigated by Major League Baseball over suspicious wire transfers from his bank account to an illegal California sportsbook.
Ex-Boston Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon has opened up about efforts by the Commissioner's office to deter players from placing bets on baseball
Ohtani is being investigated over suspicious wire transfers from his bank account to bookies
Ohtani has denied gambling on baseball and is accusing his now-fired translator, Ippei Mizuhara, of stealing millions to cover his own gambling losses.
Baseball is notoriously rigid about gambling infractions.
Then-commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis set the
