Prosecutors say Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz tipped off a gambler on what pitches they would throw, helping bettors win at least $460,000.
Opening statements began Wednesday in a Brooklyn federal courtroom in the criminal fraud trial of Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz, with prosecutors branding the pair "cheaters" who told bettors "exactly what was going to happen."
Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca Urquiola told jurors that Clase struck up a friendship with a sports betting gambler in the Dominican Republic in early 2023, bonding over shared interests in dominoes and cockfighting, which is legal there. That relationship, prosecutors say, evolved into Clase feeding his new friend information about which pitches he planned to throw in specific games. The tips allegedly let gamblers cash in on betting platforms that let customers wager on whether an individual pitch would be called a ball or a strike, netting at least $460,000.
The case has put a spotlight on the growing exposure of baseball, and pro sports generally, to gambling-related corruption. Attorneys for Clase and Ortiz pushed back in their own opening statements, arguing their clients were exploited rather than willing participants in the scheme. The trial continues.