AACCTTIIOONN It’s a big ballpark
Baseball bets range from all season to right now
HERE
in Las Vegas (and now in New Jersey), there are four clear-cut favorites to win the American League pennant.
Let’s assume you want to bet $100 on your choice to reach the World Series. Using William Hill odds as of Thursday afternoon, you would win:
Yankees $190 (plus your original $100 bet) Astros $190+$100 Red Sox $325+100 Indians $450+100 The fun part of betting this baseball future is you’re going to have action all the way into the playoffs, because those four teams appear to be October locks. But that is not the only way to back a team.
Home runs are the sexy stat of this era, and the American League is completely dominant. From the National League, only Washington’s Bryce Harper cracks the current top 10 in home runs.
What will your $100 get you on the likely home-run kings? Mike Trout $350+$100 Giancarlo Stanton $450+$100
J.D. Martínez $450+$100
Aaron Judge $700+$100 Stanton’s most dramatic moment so far as a Yankee came Wednesday night when he smashed a walk-off home run against Seattle. The boos turned to cheers for Stanton, who is tied for second-favorite in the home-run race after slugging 59 a year ago. Going into the Thursday, he trailed Trout 23-18.
Speaking of Trout, he is the favorite to win the AL MVP (-300 at William Hill). Besides home runs, the Angels outfielder went into Thursday with the AL lead in runs (60), OBP (.469), slugging percentage (.689), OPS (1.158) and walks (64). But he has company among the MVP favorites. There are two Red Sox players in the hunt — Mookie Betts at 3/1 and J.D. Martínez at 7/2.
GET ‘IN’ THE GAME
The growth industry in sports betting is in-game wagering. The odds change constantly, and they can make a heavy favorite a more attractive bet.
Let’s say a team is a –300 because it has a huge edge with the starting pitchers. The bookies tell you the most important factor in putting odds out on a game is the starters. But in those circumstances, laying $300 is not a way to make money. You’ll be swimming upstream after a couple of $300 losses. But with in-game wagering, you can look for better payoff.
Take Monday when Houston closed a –300 favorite against Tampa Bay, looking for its 12th straight win. In that situation the best advice we could give was to pass on the pregame and hope the underdog scored first. In this instance, that is exactly what the Rays did, plating two in the top of the first. The spread dropped in-game on Houston to even money. Bettors who struck at that point were rewarded with a ninth-inning, 5-4 win.
The point of all this is that there are many ways to enjoy baseball season outside of the daily grind. Remember, cashing tickets is what it’s all about. Good luck.