Giants stars detail how disgruntled MLB players harass players originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
The recent rise in sports betting has had an adverse effect on many Giants players, with some detailing malicious messages they receive from disgruntled players after their bets fail to pay.
During an exclusive interview with Bob Nightengale of USA Today, relief pitcher Tyler Rogers revealed that he had to change his Venmo settings to private due to fans requesting money after a bad outing that resulted in a losing bet.
“I had to make my Venmo private because I would ruin a game or something, and people would find me on Venmo and send me requests,” Rogers told Nightengale. “Hey, you cost me $1,500. You better pay me back.”
Rogers isn’t the only San Francisco player who has had to deal with an onslaught of Venmo requests from outraged players, as third baseman Matt Chapman shared that she has dealt with similar harassment.
“(The game) definitely bothers people a lot more than it used to,” Chapman told Nightengale. “The fans used to say normal things like, ‘You’re a bum.’ Now that they have all that money with us, the fans will talk a lot of dirty words to us. There will even be Venmo fans asking me for money. I had to change my Venmo.
Logan Webb is in his sixth season in the MLB and the ace of the giants He has certainly noticed an increase in the vitriol he receives from fans upset over lost bets since he debuted in 2019.
“People are really passionate about teams, and now that you add money to them, it’s bigger than ever,” Webb told Nightengale. “My first year there wasn’t much playing. It was just, ‘Oh, you suck.’ You shouldn’t be on the team. Just things like that.
“Now you’re understanding, ‘You’ve just cost me money.’ They say some (messy) (expletive). I understand a lot of that with strikeouts. ‘Hey, I have money with you for punchouts. Are you going to give it? I always look up and say, “Probably not.” There are times when things get quite serious.”
Hopefully, as more players speak out about their experiences, this type of harassment can be curbed in the future.