One word keeps coming back about the bizarre story of Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz being arrested for allegedly throwing pitches out of the strike zone intentionally so bettors could profit on their misfires.

That word is “Why?”

Ortiz was placed on non-disciplinary paid leave on July 3. The same thing happened to Clase, the Guardians’ All-Star closer, on July 28. Neither pitched for Cleveland again in 2025 while Major League Baseball and federal authorities conducted an investigation that lasted more than three months.

There are 30 teams in Major League Baseball. Each team has 13 pitchers for a total of 390 pitchers.

Why were only two pitchers investigated, and why did they both pitch for the Guardians?

According to the indictment unsealed on Nov. 9 (perhaps not uncoincidentally on a day when most of the nation’s sports attention was centered on the NFL), Clase allegedly began intentionally throwing the first pitch of his relief outings for a ball in May 2023. Bettors can wager whether a pitch will be a ball or hit the batter using prop bets.

The indictment alleges Clase brought Ortiz into the scheme during the 2025 season. According to the indictment, Clase and Ortiz helped bettors win at least $450,000. Each pitcher allegedly received kickbacks for their participation in the scheme.

That gets us back to “Why?”

Even if Clase got half of that $450,000 as a kickback, why risk his entire baseball future for what amounts to chump change compared to what his future earnings could be? Someone must have convinced Clase and Ortiz that they would not be caught.

Ortiz was projected to make $820,000 in 2026. Clase is under contract for $6.4 million to the Guardians next season. The Guardians hold club options on him of $10 million for 2027 and 2028.

Clase and Ortiz were indicted on charges of wire fraud conspiracy, honest services wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy and conspiracy to influence sporting events by bribery.  Each player faces more than 60 years in prison if convicted on all counts in separate trials

“The defendants deprived the Cleveland Guardians and Major League Baseball of their honest services,” Joseph Nocella Jr., the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a statement. “They defrauded the online betting platforms where the bets were placed. And they betrayed America’s pastime. Integrity, honesty and fair play are part of the DNA of professional sports. When corruption infiltrates the sport, it brings disgrace not only to the participants but damages the public trust in an institution that is vital and dear to all of us.”

Clase was banished three days before the MLB trade deadline. The Guardians were nine games behind the first-place Tigers in the AL Central on July 28. Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti could have traded Clase for a bountiful return, but not after MLB punished him — and the Guardians — in stunning fashion.

Clase made $4.9 million in 2025. “Made,” not “earned,” is the correct word because the Guardians had to continue paying him and Ortiz even while they were banished.

And — this is ridiculous — there is a chance the Guardians might still be on the hook for Clase’s 2026 salary even if he cannot pitch for them next season. The issue has to be resolved between MLB and the players’ union once Clase’s legal issues are settled.

Clase allegedly communicated with bettors via text messages from his cell phone while sitting in the Guardians’ bullpen before he was about to pitch.

Ortiz pleaded not guilty in Brooklyn federal court on Nov. 12. He was released on a $500,000 bond with GPS monitoring. Clase pleaded not guilty on Nov. 13 in the same court and was released on $600,000 bond with GPS monitoring. Both are due back in court on Dec. 2. Both are prohibited from gambling as part of their bond condition. Each player had to surrender his passport.

Clase and Ortiz are from the Dominican Republic. In a story published in Forbes, Clase in an interview with a Spanish-speaking reporter said his texts sent from the bullpen were about fighting roosters he owns.

This excerpt is from the Forbes story:

“Journalist Luis Hernandez, a close friend of Emmanuel Clase and native of Río San Juan (in the DR), clarified that the baseball player personally explained to him that the phone calls he made about his fighting roosters were possibly misinterpreted by federal authorities as conversations linked to sports betting,” MLB insider Hector Gomez explained in a translated post on X, formerly Twitter. “According to Hernández, Clase directly told him that his messages and calls about ‘the rooster play’ were possibly mistakenly taken ‘as coded calls’ related to sports betting.”

Especially if Clase is convicted, every past failure will be called into question.

Clase was invincible in the 2024 regular season; he gave up five earned runs and two home runs across 74 appearances over the entire season. The playoffs came around and he looked like a batting practice pitcher. He was charged with eight earned runs and gave up three home runs in eight innings over seven playoff performances in 2024

What Ortiz and Clase are accused of doing is a black eye for all of baseball.

I didn’t know that

… until I read my Snapple bottle cap.

The average raindrop weighs about 0.0001 ounces — less than an eyelash. An eyelash weighs about .000003 ounces. … Jellyfish do not have brains. They have a nerve net that helps them be aware of their environment. … The Khmer alphabet of Cambodia has 74 letters, making it the longest alphabet in the world. … The unicorn is the national animal of Scotland. … The first sailing boats were built by Egyptians around 3000 B.C. … A duck cannot walk without bobbing its head.