The World Series of Major League Baseball, often known as “The Fall Classic” in the United States, is the finale of a 162-game season and a one-month playoff.
MLB betting lovers will discover all the information they need to wager on the World Series, including the best online betting sites, things to consider when wagering on a World Series champion, free expert tips and trends, the current odds, and a wealth of information on the most recent World Series.
Bets placed on the World Series
The World Series of Major League Baseball, often known as “The Fall Classic” in the United States, is the finale of a 162-game season and a one-month playoff. Before and during the World Series, bookies accept wagers on who will win the championship, individual games, run totals, and a variety of proposition wagers.
The Path to World Series
30 teams compete in two leagues, the American League and the National League, with each league split into three divisions of five teams. In each league, the three division winners and the two non-division winners with the best records (termed wild cards) qualify for the postseason. The playoff seeding within each league is determined by the division winners with the best overall record.
The two wild-card teams from each conference compete in a one-game play-in to advance to the Division Series.
In each league, the victor of the wild-card game faces the division champion with the best record in a best-of-5 series, while the other two division champions also compete in a best-of-5 series.
In the League Championship Series, the champions of the two American League Division Series and the champions of the two National League Division Series each compete in a best-of-seven series for the opportunity to play in the World Series.
Boston Americans and Pittsburgh Pirates participated in the inaugural World Series in 1903. Mid-to-late October features a best-of-seven series between the American League and National League champions.
Until to 2003, the World Series home-field advantage alternated between the two leagues. From 2003 to 2016, however, the winner of the July All-Star Game had the upper hand. Beginning in 2017, the team with the greatest overall record earns home-field advantage.
Wagering on World Series Odds
World Series wagering is comparable to MLB wagering during the regular season. Bettors can choose a side to win the series, wager on individual games, and wager on enticing proposition wagers.
MLB money lines are based on positive and negative numbers and represent how much a bettor must wager in order to win $100 or how much a $100 wager would win. Negative numbers represent the amount that must be wagered to win $100. For example, if the money line for Boston is -190, you must wager $190 to win $100.
Positive numbers represent the amount won from a $100 wager. Hence, if Arizona has a money line of +140, a $100 wager would result in a payout of $140. To calculate how much you would earn with a particular wager amount, simply scale the figure up or down appropriately.
Totals betting involves wagering on the total number of runs scored by both teams in a particular game. If the over/under for this game is set at 8.0, you would wager on whether the teams will score more or less than 8.0 combined runs.
Predictions for the World Series and Betting Advice
Bettors frequently consider both historical trends and individual matchups when formulating a baseball betting strategy. Consider whether a team had an easier time in its last series and is consequently well-rested.
If a club rapidly wins its previous series, it can “set its pitching rotation” and have its top pitchers available for Games 1-3. Yet, if a club must play seven games to win its previous series, its third- or fourth-best starter could face the opposing team’s greatest pitcher.
Individual game wagering bettors can also examine how pitchers have historically performed against the opponent and how that pitcher has performed in the postseason. The regular season champion does not necessarily win the World Series. In fact, between 2008 and 2017, just three teams with the best record won the championship.
Sometimes, bettors favor wild-card clubs because they played crucial games until the very end of the season. From 2008 to 2017, wild-card clubs have won the championship twice.
Recent World Series champions have been fairly evenly split between favorites and underdogs, but note the following trend: In all three Game Sevens played between 2014 and 2017, the host team lost each time.
World Series Prop Bets: Advice
Like to most big tournaments, there are numerous prop bets available for individuals seeking entertainment.
The wagering on the World Series Most Valuable Player may be the most popular prop bet. Because position players appear more frequently than pitchers, their MVP probabilities tend to be lower. Only two pitchers have earned the honor from 2004 to 2017. There’s a reason why the odds are longer.
In the past, some of the more unusual prop bets have included whether manager gets dismissed first, whether a player flips his bat after hitting a home run, who gets hit by a pitch first, and the total number of players beaned in the World Series.
Bettors can also wager on Series-long proposition wagers, such as total hits or home runs by particular players or teams, player-versus-player wagers throughout a series, and single-game proposition wagers. The options are numerous.