MLB BASEBALL BETTING

Overview of MLB Baseball

With thirty teams playing 162 games a year, baseball may offer more potentially profitable betting opportunities than any other sport. Baseball betting is a favorite of serious handicappers due to the abundant statistics available on virtually every aspect of the game and the every day schedule makes popular among more casual players as well. From April to October there are opportunities to bet on baseball every day of the week, with many games scheduled in the afternoon.

MLB Baseball provides unrivaled opportunities for the sharp sports betting enthusiast due not only to the sheer number of games played every year but also by offering a variety of ways to bet on every game. The most commonly seen type of baseball odds is a moneyline play on the winner of the game. The specific baseball betting lines vary widely from day to day due to the won/loss record of the teams involved in each game, the starting pitching matchup, the recent form of the teams and other situational factors. For example, some teams hit left handed pitching better than others and such factors are factored into the MLB baseball betting odds by a given sportsbook as well as taken into account by handicappers.

Another popular baseball betting proposition is the over/under totals wager. This is similar to totals plays found in other sports, with the player choosing to go ‘over’ or ‘under’ a number of runs specified by the sports book. Baseball totals are a particular favorite of sharp players, who consider factors such as the pitching matchup, weather, ballpark configuration and even the relative humidity at game time.

While the moneyline and over/under total are the most common options for players to bet on baseball, most sportsbooks have added other types of wagers as well. Run lines are available at most sportsbooks where bettors can either play or take a certain number of runs (usually +/- 1.5) in the same manner as a pointspread football wager. More and more sportsbooks are offering baseball odds on the ‘first half’ of the game, with the result of the first 4 ½ innings of play determining the outcome of the bet. The thinking behind this type of play is that it allows the player to focus on the starting pitching matchup without worrying about a poor bullpen performance resulting in a losing bet. Other baseball betting propositions include plays on the outcome of each regular season series and a baseball equivalent of hockey’s ‘Grand Salami’ with betting ‘Over’ or ‘Under’ the total number of runs and/or home runs scored on a given day’s action.