Former minor league pitcher Peter Bayer has spent his life loving baseball.
And now all he wants is to be welcomed back into the sport.
Bayer finds itself in a frustrating situation that intertwines the growing world of sports betting and the gray area that surrounds it.
For the second year in a row, Major League Baseball and Commissioner Rob Manfred placed Bayer on the league’s Ineligible List. His crime of him? Placing baseball bets online when he was a minor league baseball player in 2020. However, there was no MiLB season that year; he was canceled due to the pandemic.
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During his time off and without a contract, Breyer admitted to placing a handful of sports bets; The MLB rule book says Bayer should only have been suspended for one year.
So why is he now going into his third year without being able to get involved in baseball?
A general view of the Draftkings Sportsbook sign in right field during the Major League Baseball game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Oakland Athletics on April 8, 2022 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Bayer thinks it may have to do with the fact that he spoke out against the league and some teams for refusing to pay or cut minor league salaries. He was one of MiLB’s leading advocates and finally unionized last year, something MLB fought for for years.
Could Manfred and baseball use Bayer as an example to others? They argue that Bayer has done more than just sports betting by issuing a statement that includes a vague claim of «other misconduct.»
Meanwhile, Major League Baseball continues to massively collaborate over hundreds of millions of dollars worth of online sportsbooks.
In an interview with OutKick, Bayer explained their frustrating situation that may serve as a warning to other athletes, perhaps at their own expense.
THE BAYER STORY IS LIKE THIS…
In 2020, Peter Bayer was an aspiring minor league baseball player who signed with the Oakland Athletics High-A team. It looked like Bayer was on track to move up to Double-A that season.
However, there was never a season that year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent closures. Major League Baseball eventually had a shorter season beginning on July 23 for a total of 60 games and then the playoffs. Minor League Baseball never played.
Bayer says that when Minor League Baseball canceled the season, all the players received letters that their contracts were suspended.
ENTIRE 2020 MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL SEASON CANCELED
Not only were all MiLB contracts suspended in March 2020, but the A’s were one of the few teams to announce that I wouldn’t be paying their minor leaguers after May 31.
«Unfortunately, considering all the circumstances affecting the organization at this time, we have decided not to continue your $400 weekly stipend beyond May 31,» an email from general manager David Forst said at the time. «This was a difficult decision and it comes at a time when several of our full-time employees are also being laid off or facing a pay cut for the remainder of the season. For all of this, I’m sorry.»
Bayer was a player who actively spoke against this
(Just a few weeks later, A’s owner John Fisher reversed his position and agreed to pay minor leaguers after public outcry, including from the likes of Bayer. Fisher vale an estimated $2.2 billion.)
MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS WERE STRUGGLING FINANCIALLY
Players enter the Caesars Sports Book at Caesars Palace Hotel & Casino to watch and bet on the Kansas City Chiefs vs. Philadelphia Eagles in the National Football League’s Super Bowl LVII (taking place in Glendale, Arizona) as seen on February 12, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (George Rosa/Getty Images)
a 2020 Sports Illustrated history documented that Bayer had to take various jobs, including being a DoorDash delivery driver just to try to earn some extra income. He estimated that in 2019 he made about $1,500 before taxes playing a full season at High-A.
It is important to note that during this time, Bayer and the players were collecting state unemployment because they did not have a contract. He was also not receiving health benefits from the league. To all appearances, he was fired or suspended.
«We got an email from MLB saying all minor league contracts were suspended. So I figured I’d bet some baseball on FanDuel and DraftKings.» He says that he bet on about 30 to 40 different baseball games during July and August. (MLB officially began its shortened season in July.)
He resides in Colorado, which officially launched online sports betting on May 1, 2020.
In October, the A’s officially released Bayer as part of the expected Covid-related restructuring.
The Cincinnati Reds signed Bayer just a few months later, in January 2021, but he was soon contacted by MLB to say he would be under investigation for his sports betting.
Bayer believes that because he was essentially an ordinary citizen, with no contract, no benefits and no job, he should not continue to be punished for his sports betting, any more than the MLB rule states.
MLB PUNISHES BAYER
A few weeks after the Reds signed Bayer, the Colorado Gaming Commission «tagged» Bayer’s name and informed Major League Baseball of its prior betting activity from the summer before it ended in August. MLB and the commissioner’s office informed Bayer that he was under investigation.
He was first placed on an «Investigative/Restricted List», which prevented him from signing or being a part of any MLB organization in 2021. He was able to reapply after the subsequent World Series that year.
He was then placed on the «Ineligible List» by MLB, which would once again not allow him to be a part of baseball in any capacity for the 2022 season.
Then, three weeks ago, Commissioner Manfred once again put him on the Ineligible List, making it a total of 3 seasons in which Bayer hasn’t been able to play baseball.
BAYER BELIEVES THAT IT IS BEING AN EXAMPLE OF
Under MLB’s own rules, it seems Bayer should only have been on the ineligible list for one year, not the two or more that are already happening.
‘In Rule 21(D), MLB states that:
«Any player, referee, official or employee of the Club or the League, who bets any sum on
any baseball game in connection with which the bettor is not required to perform, shall be declared
ineligible for one year.»
THE STRANGE REASONING OF THE MLB
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred speaks during the Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony at the Clark Sports Center on July 24, 2022 in Cooperstown, New York. (Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
In a statement, MLB and the Commissioner’s Office said: «After a thorough investigation, it was determined that Mr. Bayer repeatedly bet on baseball in violation of Major League Baseball Rule 21 and MLB’s policy on sports betting and participated in in other misconduct that was not in the best interest of baseball. Therefore, he was placed on the ineligible list, where he remains.»
The «on other misconduct» part is interesting.
OutKick has reviewed a card first obtained by the athletic sent to Bayer by Commissioner Manfred on April 11, 2022, alleging that, in addition to the sports betting allegations, Bayer threatened a state gaming regulator that it would «take this to the media,» and allegedly denied placing bets to an MLB executive. Bayer admitted to OutKick that he wrote an email to the regulator suggesting he would escalate the situation by presenting it to the press, but denied threatening him. He also says that he never lied to the MLB Executive; in fact, he says that he did the opposite. Bayer said he admitted to the executive in an email that he had gambled during that suspended season and apologized for «making a mistake.»
After receiving the April 11 letter from MLB, Bayer and his attorney met with Major League Baseball multiple times via Zoom to clarify some of the alleged violations. Bayer said that regarding the sports betting situation, MLB did not disclose information about his betting claims to him or his attorney. [MLB claims Bayer wagered 100’s of bets, which Bayer denies. There also is a dispute over how much was wagered. Bayer and his attorney asked MLB to provide this evidence, which they never did.]
Interestingly, when the Commissioner finally released the official finding of Ineligible for Bayer two weeks later, on April 25, he made no mention of any of the individual charges, instead turning them into more vague and broad «other misconduct.»
That’s what Bayer has a problem with. He believes «other misconduct» is now based on MLB trying to make an example of him due to vocal criticism of him trying to win more rights for MiLB players and eventually a union. OutKick contacted MLB multiple times but received no response.
WHY IS MLB TREATING BAYER DIFFERENTLY?
«I was in front, in the front line of all those things [more player’s rights] during years. Was working with MiLB advocates who eventually got the MLBPA to help represent MiLB athletes on behalf of the Players Association,» Bayer told OutKick.
And it worked. After Bayer and others began receiving more attention for criticizing the MLB, the league raised minor league salaries in 2021, with Class A players getting nearly a $200 weekly raise.
In 2022, the Major League Baseball Players Association officially unionized Minor league baseball players, which is exactly what Bayer had been fighting for.
He says that he is now paying the price of not being able to return to baseball, despite serving the punishment in the official rule book.
«What I did possibly gave them a reason to say ‘We’ve had enough of this guy…’ because they can honestly do whatever they want,» Bayer said.
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BAYER JUST WANTS TO GET ITS REPUTATION BACK
Bayer said it fully understands and had no problem with the one-year suspension. “I told them that if the clause said so, I would serve the one-year suspension, similar to what happened. to [NFL player] Calvin Ridley.»
He also admitted to being at fault for not clearly understanding what the unusual and once-in-a-lifetime scenario of MiLB canceling an entire season meant.
«But now they won’t let me back in the game,» Bayer explained.
Now he is fighting for his reputation and to somehow be allowed to return to the sport in some capacity, even if he is not an active player.