Last year, MLB players like Christian Yelich pointed out that sports betting, a major problem in baseball, is the root cause of the abuse they faced online. A year in, nothing has changed. Former Red Sox player Jeff Frye blames Rob Manfred and MLB management for this.

On June 1, he first shared Coach Yac’s post about Giants player Matt Chapman‘s harrowing experience dealing with online hate.

“Yeah, it’s bad. I got off social media… You should see my DMs. It’s people saying, ‘I hope your family dies.’ People threaten us all the time,” Chapman had said, talking to the SF Chronicle about the fans on social media during this rough stretch.

Then, Frye called out Manfred and the management in his caption, tagging DraftKings and FanDuel.

“Thank Rob Manfred and his buddies @DraftKings and @FanDuel.”

Mookie Betts had also gotten off social media because of the hate he was receiving during his slump.

Despite offensive and defensive struggles, Chapman never expected 2026 to unfold like this. He posted a batting average of .232 with just one homer in 58 games, his worst to date. What makes this even more frustrating is that the Giants are 23-36 on the season and way off any postseason spot.

Fans’ frustration stems from Chapman’s massive six-year, $151M contract. They expect him to lead the offense and the team to win. But with Chapman hitting .122 with 32 strikeouts during a brutal 23-game stretch, the fans have tipped over.

Chapman has never shied away from his responsibilities:

“All I want to do is win, and I know how bad our fans want.” But it looks like Chapman is taking the blame alone for the whole of the Giants’ offense.

The Giants’ offense has scored just 232 runs (ranked 25th) despite a batting average of .254 (ranked 4th). They have hit just 53 homers (ranked 23rd) this season. With no pop from the lineup, the Giants couldn’t score runs, and that has been the major reason they could not win games, like against the Rays, where they scored just two runs in the entire series.

With the entire team hitting a slump, the Giants cannot get the wheels turning. So calling out and abusing Chapman’s family doesn’t make sense. But this isn’t the first time we have seen something like this.

Back in 2025, Lance McCullers Jr. revealed that he received death threats directed toward both himself and family members. Liam Hendriks also discussed getting abused by fans frustrated from losing their money in gambling.

Many players reported that threats online to transfer thousands on Venmo after the team lost. And that is exactly why Frye argues that sports betting is increasing the pressure on players. One NL pitcher even revealed that fans at stadiums shout at them about the bets they have placed on the player, like “I’ve got you on the over,” and this adds unnecessary pressure on the players.

But instead of backing the players, the MLB recently doubled down on making sports betting official by partnering with Polymarket, and they already had DraftKings and FanDuel.

And all these point fingers at Manfred and the league. The players have been complaining about the consequences of this on players and their families, but MLB continues to expand its presence in the gambling world. Calling out the players is one thing, but when messages become threats against families, baseball stops being the real issue.

And it isn’t just Matt Chapman who has fallen victim to this.

Dodgers reliever receives threats after loss

After the Dodgers lost 4-3 to the Phillies on Saturday, Tanner Scott revealed that he and his family faced horrific threats online. In the game, Scott allowed three runs in the 8 inning, and the Dodgers lost the lead.

His wife, Maddie Scott, revealed that she received violent messages targeted at their newborn child.

Sharing screenshots on Instagram, she asked, “When did it stop being a game?” One user had commented, “Hope this mutt d***s soon,” beneath a photo of the couple’s child.

Another had said, “I hope you get home to your family lying in puddles of their own blood.” The screenshots quickly spread online and sparked widespread concern across the baseball community.

Former Red Sox player Jeff Frye wrote, “The NEW fans that the @MLB are targeting are the gamblers, and now these same gamblers are threatening the players,” talking about how MLB and Manfred are ruining the lives of players in the name of gambling.

Seattle Mariners pitcher Tayler Saucedo revealed he, too, has received similar threats during the 2025 season, including messages wishing violence upon him and his wife.

A previous investigation involving threats against a major league player’s family even led Texas authorities to identify an intoxicated sports bettor as the source.