Updated: 2024
Baseball is incredibly popular in the United States and Canada, but its popularity has grown around the world over the past several decades. One of the best things about baseball as a betting sport is that it takes place throughout the year, meaning that you don’t have to wait months for the season to start.
The British can be credited with introducing baseball to the United States during the 18th century and the game is loosely based on a very early form of rounders. Be careful, some of the rules are different, so understanding one might not mean that you understand the other.
Naturally, the sport of baseball has spread around the world, and you can now bet on games that are played in the United States, Canada, Japan, China and a variety of other countries. This opens up a whole world of different betting options, some of which come with more predictable results than others.
Placing Baseball Bets
Placing baseball bets is quite easy when you understand the sport, but it can be difficult when you don’t. When you are working out how to win money betting on baseball, there are a few different factors that you need to be aware of, including:
The Sport
If you weren’t raised around baseball and the sport is new to you, then you should spend some time learning about the sport and how it is played before you can start working out how you can bet on it. The teams involved in baseball are quite small, and each team only consists of nine players.
There are two different roles on the baseball field, offense and defense. When a team is playing offence, they are hitting the ball and then trying to run between the bases to score as many points as possible. When a team is playing defense, they have to pitch the ball and cover the field, just like players do in rounders.
One of the main roles on the baseball pitch belongs to that of the pitcher. The pitcher has to try and ensure that the person batting misses the ball as if the player misses the ball three times their innings is over. If they hit the ball, then the fielders can also try to catch it before it bounces to have the same effect.
The scoreboard is updated throughout the game, and the winner is the team with the highest score at the end of the game. When you look on websites for results, you will usually see the scores listed under “R”, which counts the total number of runs that the team has got.
Understanding Baseball Bets
When you first start looking into sports betting, and in this case baseball betting, you might find yourself asking the question, “How do baseball betting lines work?” We understand that they can be quite confusing to start with. As specialists, we would advise that you start by looking at the three basic baseball setting types before you try to go any further. They include:
1. Money Line Betting
If you are new to the sport, then we would highly recommend that you start with “Money Line” betting. Money Line betting simply involves betting on who you think will win the game.
Naturally, we would highly recommend that you research both of the teams involved before you place this type of bet, as that research could give you a lean over the bookmaker. Make sure that you look at the starting pitcher’s statistics, and the statistics of any other second choice pitchers, as they could really sway the outcome of the game. The pitcher has an important role to play, so you should pay close attention to it.
We would also recommend that you look at the statistics for each of the batters on the pitch. Where do they stand against the competition? There are a lot of statistics for you to take into consideration, but some of the most important ones include their weighted on-base average and their on-base percentage.
Once you think you know which team will win, you can place your bets and wait to see how the game ends.
2. Run Line Betting
We would recommend avoiding “Run Line” betting until you truly understand the sport and some of the statistics that are involved. There are a lot of different calculations that you can do to try and work out the probability involved in Run Line betting, but they are quite advanced.
3. Totals Betting
Totals betting in baseball is pretty much the same as Totals betting in every other sport. It covers the total number of points that are scored during a game. Luckily, you don’t have to make a guess out of the blue.
The bookmaker that you choose will set a number and you simply have to decide whether more or fewer runs will be made. Just like with Money Line betting, you can really try to analyze a team’s statistics to work out whether or not it will be a high or a low scoring game.
Placing Baseball Bets Online
Can I bet on baseball online? This is a question that we often get asked, and we are more than happy to report that you can. Online, you can bet on baseball events around the world, from the giant leagues in North America to relatively unknown leagues in Ireland. Some of the main types of baseball that you can bet on include:
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is perhaps the most popular baseball league in the world, encompassing more than two dozen teams from the United States and Canada. Thousands of Major League Baseball games are played each season, and the seasons involved are quite long, starting in April and ending in November. Naturally, this means that plenty of different betting opportunities are available. The three main areas of Major League Baseball to look at are:
The World Series
No event in baseball is as illustrious and celebrated as the World Series. At the World Series, Pennant Winners go head-to-head to try and win one of the most famous trophies in the sport.
Pennant Winners
The playoffs are one of the most celebrated baseball periods, where the best teams from the Divisional Championships are put against each other. This knockout competition decides who the National League champions are.
Divisional Championships
The Divisional Championships are the ones to watch, given that each of the teams involved play more than a hundred games each. Naturally, this gives you the opportunity to focus on specific teams and learn their habits, so that you can place smarter bets.
Nippon Professional Baseball
If you want to try taking a look at baseball on a more international scale, then you should take a quick look at the Nippon Professional Baseball League. Baseball has become ridiculously popular in Japan and it has a ridiculous following. Betting on Japanese baseball is now popular around the world, and a lot of Japanese players actually feature in Major League Baseball.
