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The baseball season ended in a World Series victory for the Los Angeles Dodgers in early November, but it concluded weeks earlier for hundreds of other MLB players. Since the end of the regular season, many players have opted to take a break and unwind. Ryne Stanek, a relief pitcher for the New York Mets, should be doing the same. He had an incredibly difficult season. The veteran pitcher struggled mightily, but he recently revealed that the only thing worse than his ERA was the behavior of fans off the field.

Stanek admitted that he received death threats from sports bettors who were angry when he ruined their parlays. Sports betting has been in the news a lot recently. NBA players and coaches, as well as two MLB pitchers, were indicted in betting schemes. Stanek believes the popularity of betting has made his job significantly harder.

Ryne Stanek has been involved with pro baseball long enough to remember a time when sports betting was illegal. While it often occurred, it happened discreetly, and people generally kept it quiet. Now, it’s legal and easily available. Accessibility has made professional sports more popular, resulting in huge spikes in viewership and citizen interest. While there have been benefits garnered from the legalization of sports betting, Stanek says most players have not benefited.

In a chat with the New York Post, Stanek revealed that he received death threats “all the time” during the 2025 season. As Stanek battled to keep his ERA in check, fans slid into his DMs with death threats. He said some angry fans even wished death upon his family. He insists it is all because his poor performance cost them their “parlays.” Stanek says bettors want to make the players responsible for their poor financial decisions.

Stanek isn’t the only one dealing with this, either. The Post spoke to stars from other sports, many of whom have also received pretty harsh words from angry fans and gamblers. Graham Gano, an NFL kicker, says angry fans have wished he would get cancer. NBA and NFL players have been subject to racism when they ruin bets, too. Fans have always taken their frustration out on players, but there seems to be an uptick in cases since gambling became legal.

There have been recent arrests, too

Ryne Stanek’s thoughts on sports betting and its impact on the game are especially timely. There have been several major arrests pertaining to sports betting in recent weeks. Two MLB pitchers are in hot water after they were found to be accepting bribes and rigging pitches. Luis Leandro Ortiz Ribera, a pitcher for the Cleveland Guardians, was arrested in Boston this month and charged with wire fraud and a host of conspiracy charges for his role in a rigging scheme that helped defraud legal betting sites. Emmanuel Clase, a closer for the Guardians, was also indicted. According to Forbes, he’s stayed out of the country and out of police custody thus far.

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The MLB pitchers join several individuals from the NBA who were also indicted. In a separate incident, Chauncey Billups and Terry Rozier were arrested for their parts in a gambling scheme. Billups, a respected NBA coach, and Rozier, a Miami Heat point guard, are both facing jail time. The arrests highlight what Stanek has been saying about gambling and its impact on the world of sports.

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