NEW YORK (AP) -A veteran scout fired earlier this month by the Baltimore Orioles has been linked to a sports betting probe, and more scouts could soon be implicated, according to a SI.com report.
Anonymous sources told SI.com that Alan Marr’s name surfaced in a report from Major League Baseball’s investigative unit, created earlier this year in response to George Mitchell’s report on doping in baseball.
The investigative unit is working with the FBI as part of an inquiry into illegal gambling, as well as allegations that scouts have been skimming money from signing bonuses given to Latin-American players, according to the Web site.
The SI.com report said there was no indication that Marr was involved in fixing games.
Marr, a scout whose position was just below that of a scouting director, was fired last week. No reason was given at the time.
Monica Pence, a team spokeswoman, confirmed Friday that Marr was fired but said the team would not comment further.
Marr declined to comment when reached at his Sarasota, Fla., home. An e-mail seeking comment sent to Maritza Alvarez, Marr’s Miami-based lawyer, was not immediately returned.
It’s unclear whether the gambling inquiry was a response to the NBA’s scandal involving referee Tim Donaghy, who pleaded guilty last year to felony charges alleging he took cash payoffs from gamblers and bet on games himself.
MLB rules about punishing those who have been found to bet on games separate those who have a “duty to perform,” from those who don’t. For those in the first group, including players and managers, the punishment may include a lifetime ban from the game. That’s what happened to Pete Rose in 1989 for betting on baseball games with bookmakers.
For those in the second group, such as scouts, the punishment could be a one-year ban.
Marr is a well-known scout who is credited with signing Joe Nathan as an infielder out of Stony Brook University while working for the San Francisco Giants in 1995.
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