Not only corrupt and criminal but stupid. Clase got a few thousand dollars and threw away a multimillion dollar contract.
Yes, it does seem strange that they would do this.
The average major league player makes over four million dollars a year. I know that average is distorted upwards, because of some huge contracts of mega millions for some.
But the median major league’s salary is over one million dollars a year.
A few years of major league service for a journeyman player can earn someone more than many people make in a lifetime of working other jobs.
It’s so hard to believe they would gamble, (pardon the pun) gamble on losing that payday from playing baseball to get involved in some gambling scheme.