![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/85259123007-usatsi-26621732.jpg\"\/)
![\"play\"](\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/appservices\/universal-web\/universal\/icons\/icon-play-alt-white.svg\"){kind=icon}
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
How Yankees closer Devin Williams stays calm under bright lights<\/p>\n
Devin Williams explains how he stays calm under pressure especially now that he’s the closer of the New York Yankees.<\/p>\n
Sports Pulse<\/p>\n
OK, so it\u2019s not the 1919 Chicago White Sox scandal<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Cleveland Guardians<\/a> are not being accused of throwing games.<\/p>\n Now, if you\u2019re talking about bad judgment, with two pitchers potentially betting on baseball or having an association with known gamblers, we\u2019re about to find out if they also threw away their entire baseball careers.<\/p>\n Guardians All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase<\/a>, considered one of the best relievers in the game and who certainly could have brought the Guardians a haul of prized prospects at the trade deadline<\/a>, was placed on non-disciplinary paid leave<\/a> on Monday through Aug. 31 as MLB launches an investigation of whether he violated the league’s gambling policy.<\/p>\n Clase joins his close friend, Guardians pitcher Luis Ortiz<\/a>, who was placed on paid leave July 3<\/a> after unusual gambling activity on two pitches that he threw far outside the strike zone in June this season. Gamblers wagered high amounts of money on whether those two pitches would result in a ball or hit batsmen.<\/p>\n It was during MLB\u2019s investigation with Ortiz when Clase\u2019s name suddenly surfaced. He was not under investigation at the time Ortiz was forced to take a leave of absence. Now, three weeks later, Clase is also under investigation for potentially gambling on games in which he performed, facing a lifetime ban if found guilty.<\/p>\n The Guardians said in a statement that \u201cno additional players or club personnel are expected to be impacted” by the investigation. It\u2019s certainly possible that another player or employee surfaces in the gambling investigation, but the Guardians\u2019 sentiments were echoed by MLB officials, who have no knowledge of improprieties involving players from any other team during this investigation.<\/p>\n Clase, 27, would be the highest-profile player since Pete Rose nearly 40 years ago if proven that he bet on baseball games in which he played. Rose received a lifetime ban from baseball in 1989 for gambling on Cincinnati Reds<\/a> games when he managed. Rose died last September<\/a>, but was reinstated<\/a> by commissioner Rob Manfred, making him eligible to be placed on the Hall of Fame ballot.<\/p>\n Clase is a three-time All-Star and two-time winner of the Mariano Rivera award as the American League\u2019s best reliever. He finished third in the Cy Young race last year with a 0.61 ERA, and his career 1.88 ERA is the second-lowest among relievers who have pitched at least 100 games.<\/p>\n Clase is in the fourth year of a five-year, $20 million contract. He is being paid $4.5 million this year with a guaranteed salary of $6 million in 2026 and $10 million club options in 2027 and 2028.<\/p>\n Guardians president Chris Antonetti addressed the team Monday afternoon and says that their players are well educated on the dangers of sports gambling in spring training, with signs on the clubhouse walls reminding them of the dangers and potential repercussions.<\/p>\n Certainly, no matter what the outcome of the investigation, it certainly is a gut-punch to the Guardians\u2019 postseason hopes. They are 3\u00bd games out of a wild-card berth and suddenly don\u2019t have their closer for at least the next 4\u00bd weeks.<\/p>\n \u201cTwo very good pitchers aren\u2019t going to be available to pitch for us in the near term,\u2019\u2019 Antonetti told Cleveland reporters, \u201cand so we have to assess how that impacts our thinking.\u201d<\/p>\n For now, all the Guardians know is that two pitchers are under investigation for violating baseball\u2019s No. 1 rule, with their careers in limbo if discovered that they were involved in any way with gamblers.<\/p>\n It was five years ago that Clase received an 80-game suspension for testing positive for Boldenone, a banned substance, delaying his Guardians\u2019 career before leading the American League in saves three consecutive seasons.<\/p>\n Now, if found guilty, it abruptly ends his Guardians career, and begs the question heard \u2018round baseball:<\/p>\n Who\u2019s next?<\/p>\n