Tucupita Marcano Banned from MLB for Sports Gambling

Tucupita Marcano, the 24 year old second baseman for the Pittsburg Pirates, is banned for life after getting caught sports betting.

Marcano placed a total of 387 baseball bets, gambling a little over $150,000. He placed several parlay bets on the outcomes on games with only a 4.3% success rate. Consequently, Marcano is now the first ever active player banned for life because of gambling. He was on a one year deal with the Pirates with a $700,000 salary.

MLB announces Tucupita Marcano has been banned from baseball

He bet on 25 Pittsburgh Pirates games while he was assigned to the team, but he was injured during all of them and lost all those bets

He gambled more than $150K on baseball and won just 4.3 percent of his MLB bets pic.twitter.com/Gkn2HFVRWb

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) June 4, 2024

Rules Clearly Stated

Marcano was not the only athlete that faced punishment for gambling. Three Minor League players including Jay Groome, Andrew Saalfrank, and Jose Rodriguez were caught gambling. Additionally, Oakland Athletics pitcher Michael Kelly was banned for one year for betting on major MLB games. These players bets were all placed under $1000.

“We have been clear that the privilege of playing baseball comes with a responsibility to refrain from certain types of behavior that may be legal for other people,” said Commissioner Rob Manfred.

Rule 21 is posted on the wall of every clubhouse in the major league. This rule lets players know that betting on any baseball game will have certain consequences. The rule is consistently emphasized throughout the athletes’ careers as well as when they first enter the league.

Rule 21 has a strict policy on the punishment from placing bets. It includes games that players can have affect on and those that the players would not be involved in.

"This is the first lifetime ban for actual gambling..

Pete Rose accepted his lifetime ban but this is the first lifetime ban levied by MLB since 1924..

It's been a century since we've seen this"@JeffPassan #PMSLive https://t.co/1lJbDPkeHD pic.twitter.com/n1GiTOm8UV

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) June 4, 2024

Tucupita’s Playing Career

Tucupita was out due to a knee injury while placing bets. He was receiving his medical treatment at PNC Park.

“We are extremely disappointed of Tucupita’s actions and are fully supportive of Major League Baseballs’ ruling,” the pirates stated shortly after these events had occurred.

In 2023, he played in 75 games with a batting average of .233. He recorded a total of 202 at bats, 18 RBI, 16 Runs with 47 hits, and 35 strike outs.