Remember when sports betting was frowned upon in MLB? Pepperidge Farms remembers…
Gone are the days when Pete Rose gambling on the game was a cardinal sin. Now, there are gambling kiosks at the ballpark, the advertisements everywhere during a broadcast. And it is set to become even worse as Major League Baseball is reportedly looking to create a separate broadcast for gambling analysis on literally every moment, with the ability to wager on it all.
Rob Manfred spits in the face of the MLB Commissioner’s Office
There is a great deal of irony in Rob Manfred pushing for sports gambling to become more prevalent. The Commissioner’s Office was created, in large part, due to the Black Sox scandal. It had stood as a bulwark against gambling for decades, even banishing Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle for working for a casino after their playing days. Sports gambling and baseball were never to mix again.
At least, that was the case for nearly a century. One of the multitude of questionable decisions Manfred made was to shatter that barrier between the league and gambling interests. While this may have to do with their unbridled pursuit of placing a team in Las Vegas, it is sickening. Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis must be spinning like a rotisserie chicken in his grave.
But it is clear that the two will join together in some unholy alliance. Major League Baseball feels as though tying their interests with gambling is the best way to grow the sport. Maybe that will be the case, but there is a lot of potential for this decision to blow up in their faces. If that happens, Manfred’s legacy will be that he destroyed the game.
Major League Baseball is reportedly looking at a broadcast geared towards gambling. MLB’s future is becoming tied to sports betting.
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