A breakdown of Tucupita Marcano’s reckless betting habits

MLB

By Jon Heyman

The banned Tucupita Marcano’s baseball betting was so reckless he even bet against his Pirates team, so maybe a temporary insanity defense is his best hope when he applies for reinstatement in a few years.

Marcano was called a “nice” young man and “good” teammate by multiple people interviewed, and, appropriately, he readily admitted his transgressions when confronted by MLB. So there’s some sympathy here for the utilityman who received a lifetime ban for betting on baseball while a big leaguer.

Though his case for reinstatement may seem less sympathetic than that of three-time PED offender Jenrry Mejia, the recent proliferation of betting may provide a down-the-road opening for a case about apparent addiction. (Mejia was reinstated after 2 ¹/₂ years.)

This is not to say the ultimate penalty for breaking baseball’s cardinal rule was unjust. It wasn’t.

There’s no way to claim ignorance of Rule 21, which is hung in every clubhouse. Plus, if you’ve heard of Pete Rose, you know. Marcano’s best bet is to claim he temporarily lost his mind. For instance …

1. Of his $150,000 bet on baseball, $87,000 was on MLB games. That means $63,000 was bet on the Korean pro league and the like, things he presumably knows little about.

2. He not only bet on faraway baseball leagues, he apparently bet on obscure sports. While on the IL, he had time, but presumably not enough, to turn himself into a cricket expert.

3. He bet at PNC Park (when he was getting treatment for a knee injury).

4. MLB allows legal bets on other sports.

5. He bet with an MLB partner, believed to be FanDuel, and it’s not like his name wouldn’t stand out.

6. He not only bet on Pirates games, sources say he sometimes bet for the Pirates and sometimes against them. And straight from MLB’s press release, it says, “almost all of Marcano’s bets were on which Club (the Pirates or their opponent) would win the game or whether there would be more or less than a certain number of runs scored in the game.”

7. He lost 96 percent of bets. Though it isn’t as bad as it seems since he bet parlays, it certainly shows no special advantage, or even knowledge. Sources say he lost money.

MLB wrote there’s no evidence any outcome was “compromised, influenced or manipulated in any way.” So in a way, that makes this even crazier for a 24-year-old with a promising career ahead.