In fairness to Rob Manfred, Boston Red Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito knows that baseball’s commissioner can only do so much about irate sports bettors.
That doesn’t mean that Giolito, a 10-year vet pitching for his fourth team since the start of 2023, can’t at least vent. Speaking on the “Baseball Isn’t Boring” podcast this week, Giolito revealed that he and Manfred had a frank conversation regarding bettors using social media to threaten players and their families.
“The threats when a player doesn’t perform well — threats to their family, threats to their life — it’s getting very tiring,” Giolito said. “I worry for guys that are maybe new to the league and aren’t ready for something like that.”
Giolito said that he asked Manfred, “Is it going to take a player getting assaulted in front of their apartment building by some disgruntled guy that lost a bet for real action to be taken?”
In response, Giolito said that he felt Manfred was “taken aback” by that question.
Giolito added that his girlfriend has received “a lot of nasty s--t” for his performances. The 31-year-old owns a 3.97 ERA after allowing five runs in four innings against the Phillies on Wednesday night.
It's a @BBisntBoring on the Go: Lucas Giolito talked to Rob Manfred today about the growing problem with gambling-induced threats in MLB
— Rob Bradford (@bradfo) July 22, 2025
Listen: https://t.co/GozwBKiDi2 pic.twitter.com/QY6mLjfzyX
Most sportsbooks offer users the chance to wager on everything from traditional spreads and moneyline (which team will win outright) to prop bets involving RBIs, total outs, and stolen bases. Bettors can even predict the outcome of an at-bat; for example, those betting on a Toronto Blue Jays-Detroit Tigers game can bet on how Vladimir Guerrero will fare in his first plate appearance.
“I’m getting messages after every game,” Giolito explained, “even games where I pitch well, where they’re mad at me because I hit the strikeout over instead of being under, or I was under instead of being over like prop bets – all these crazy things.”
Bettors continue threatening Major League Baseball players
Giolito is the latest MLB player to speak out against angry bettors. Houston Astros pitcher Lance McCullers and Red Sox reliever Liam Hendriks each reported receiving death threats in May; Houston police later announced that they identified an overseas bettor who, while inebriated, threatened McCullers over social media.
New York Yankees lefty Carlos Rodón recently told The Athletic that he tries to ignore the death threats. However, his wife, Ashley, posted several hateful messages that she received following a June loss to the Red Sox.
Giolito said that he specifically cited social media in his conversation with Manfred. Numerous players leaguewide have acknowledged that they have deleted or restricted their social media profiles to limit the angry social media users.
“[People] put hundreds of dollars on it and they don’t have a lot of money, but they’re gambling it anyways because it’s a disease,” Giolito said. “They freak out.”