Betting on Baseball
Baseball has been called “The Great American Pastime” as it is as much of a tradition of Americana as Superman, Mom, and apple pie (yum – we like apple pie). In essence, the game has brought about a devoted enthusiasm that few games can match.
Since Baseball is such a popular game (second to only Football in America), it’s only natural that betting on baseball is big business in Las Vegas and other places sports gambling is legal. And big business it is.
Baseball is almost always bet with a moneyline (as opposed to Football and/or Basketball, which uses a point spread.) However, with smaller ballparks and an emphasis on offense, we have seen several smaller venues offer point spread type betting. However, most major sports books use the moneyline style of wagering. This means if the Yankees and the Red Sox are playing, they might have a moneyline of Yankees -140, Red Sox+$120. This means to win $100 on the Yankees, you have to bet $140. But bet $100 on the Red Sox, and you’ll win $120 (plus your $100 back, of course).
However, betting the winner is not the only type of bet available. There are bets on who will get the first hit, how long the starting pitcher will pitch, who will bunt first, who will score the first run, who will make the most errors, who will hit the first homer, and so on. Also, the innings structure of Baseball makes it so there can be bets on which inning will generate the most runs, how many innings will have no runs, which inning the first home run will be hit, and so on. Generally, if you can dream it, a sports book somewhere likely has a bet on it.
Lastly, the moneyline in baseball can change wildly from one game to the next. The Yankees may have been the favorites last night, but tonight, Boston is favored. Why is that? Due to the dominance of good pitchers in baseball, the starter for the game has a huge impact on the line (much like the goalie does in hockey). These are good things to know, and why baseball betters follow pitchers so closely. The pitchers are really that big a deal.
Baseball is a great game, and it’s fun to bet too, especially some of them more exotic bets (we like which inning a home run will be hit.) So put down a few dollars and cheer your team to victory.
