Betting on the sport of baseball can be one of the more difficult sports to bet on as the best team is not always going to end up winning the game. There is an old saying that says you are going to lose 50 games and win 50 games, but the other 62 games are going to tell us what a team is. Now with the ability to bet online, we can use all the information that is available to us to make the most informed wagers.
Knowing that NFL betting is right around the corner as the MLB season is winding down. So it is important to be on the lookout for some good odds as we have a chance to increase our bankroll here with baseball before that season starts.
Know the Umpire Crews
The umpires can be more critical than the players on the field at certain points as the strike zone can really affect how a game is going to go. If an umpire calls strikes more consistently and expands the zone or vice versa, that is going to affect our wagers.
We have data to dive into how each game is affected by the umpire behind the plate. One example of this is between 2005-2021, the home team won 60 percent of the games that umpire Lance Barksdale was behind the plate. They are supposed to be the unbiased part of the game, but it is better to know what to expect going in.
Focus on Betting Underdogs in Non-Divisional Games
This is strictly a data-based decision, but as long as you win money you are going to like it. We have data going back to 2005 to back up this point but since 2005, if you were to bet on a road underdog in a game against a non-divisional opponent (Athletics vs Yankees), you would have lost an incredible 645.7 units.
This could be a lot of things as you could say the home team had the better roster, underdogs are underdogs for a reason, or with the unbalanced schedule these teams do not know each other as well and that means talent will prevail.
Pitching, Pitching, Pitching
Hitting and scoring runs are difficult to do and that is why pitching is so important in these games. As the late Earl Weaver once stated, “momentum is the next day’s starting pitcher” meaning that it all depends on who is on the mound.
Baseball is a sport of the haves and the have-nots in terms of this a team like the Houston Astros have done a great job at developing pitchers and making sure they do not allow many runs while other teams like the Los Angeles Angels have not been able to do that as of yet.
Having not only good starting pitching, but good bullpens are critical as that means your offense does not need to be as crisp in order to win games. There are issues that pop up and make the under a more reliable, albeit not as exciting, wager but pitching is critical and that’s why no team ever feels they have enough of it.
Conclusion
The sports world has a lot of different things that make it unique but baseball has the fact there is no time clock on it and that makes it beautiful. There are databases that house all of these statistics so it’s not like you even need to keep track, you just need to know where they are kept in order ot make sure you can bet online.
Betting on baseball can feel a little difficult but once you get used to the minutia of how it all goes, you are in the driver’s seat. Betting online makes it a little easier as you are able to see everything right in front of you and make sure all the information lines up with what you want to do. The online sportsbook you choose is also critical to your success as well as the odds are going to be slightly altered depending on which one you decide to use.
What are some tips that you use to make sure that you are making a profit betting on baseball games?