Tucupita Marcano lost 95.7% of MLB bets that got him a LIFETIME ban - and went 0 for 25 on Pittsburgh parlays during his Pirates tenure, league says

There are good bets, bad bets and then there are those placed by five disgraced players facing lengthy suspensions for wagering on baseball.

San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano headlines the scandalized group after becoming the first active MLB player to get a lifetime ban since New York Giants outfielder Jimmy O'Connell in 1924.

Between October 16, 2022 and November 1 of last year, the 24-year-old Venezuelan was found to have wagered $87,319 across 387 games – a paltry sum compared to his $1.6 million in career earnings, not to mention his potential future salary.

Marcano's decision to risk his career in pursuit of a gambling edge would be understandable if he were successful, but his MLB wagers were anything but.

During his tenure in Pittsburgh, Marcano bet on the Pirates 25 times, losing all of his parlays on the team and winning just 4.3 percent of his total MLB wagers.

Other players facing suspension didn't do much better.

Oakland Athletics pitcher Michael Kelly was suspended for one year for 10 wagers totaling just $99.22 during his minor league days. In total, he came away with $28.30 in winnings, but will now miss out on the remainder of his $274,000 salary for 2024.

Perhaps more devastating is the fact that Kelly, 31, was having a solid year for the Athletics, going 3-2 with a 2.59 ERA across 28 appearances.

Philadelphia Phillies prospect José Rodríguez bet $724.09 31 across 31 baseball games between 2021 and 2022, while minor league pitchers Jay Groome and Andrew Saalfrank posted net losses of $433.54 and $272.64, respectively, by gambling on MLB games.

Rodriguez, Groome and Saalfrank have all been suspended one year.

MLB was informed in March about the alleged gambling.

Players can be declared permanently ineligible for wagering on games in which they participated. Furthermore, a one-year ban can be given to any player found wagering on a game in which they were not involved.

Pete Rose, baseball's disgraced all-time hit king, received a lifetime ban in 1989 for wagering on Cincinnati Reds games during his tenure as the team's manager. Similarly, eight members of the 1919 Chicago White Sox received lifetime bans for taking money from gamblers to throw that year's World Series to the Reds.