Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher cleared of game fixing allegations
By Cory Buck
Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Jeff Locke was cleared by the MLB of game-fixing allegations stirred up by an old jealous friend from high school. Said friend texted reporters, telling them Locke threw games in 2012, but Locke was cleared of any and all potential charges.
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Trib-Live Sports writes that Anthony Barr, an old high school friend of Locke’s “sent text messages claiming Locke intentionally was throwing games during the 2012 season.”
“Everything came back 100 percent clean,” Locke said in response, once the investigation concluded.
“My best friend is pitching today. His name is Jeff Locke. He will not have a good day,” said one text from Barr. Another text read: “Tell your biggest people that pirates game today is fixed. My friend will be throwing this game.”
But when Barr was confronted by an investigator, he quickly shrugged them off as ‘something stupid’. Presumably the bettors who got those texts won’t be as amused when they found out Barr’s text was a joke. Locke may not have found the whole thing funny, but he quickly shrugged off the whole mess.
“It wasn’t that big of a deal to me at the time,” Locke said. “Obviously, it turns into a much bigger deal when everything becomes public. But when I heard about it, I had just made the team and everything was going fine. It was never a distraction for me.
Locke is slated to start next on Saturday at Washington when the Pirates face the Nationals. The team currently sits a game and a half behind division-leading Milwaukee.