The sport of baseball has its popularity in the United States of America. However, its popularity has grown recently all around the world. There are many people that are watching MLB. Many people make bets on this sport as well.
If you want to bet on MLB, then there are a number of things that you have to learn first. You will get to learn many of the betting aspects of MLB in this article. We will also show you a variety of different steps that you can use in order to create a solid betting strategy. This article has the Major League Baseball league in mind. However, you can use a big part of this information here for general baseball.
Stats are almost everything
Contents
The most successful MLB bettors use the data of the sport in order to make their bets. Finding this data is easy online – check the MLB website for more information. You can learn more about critical and how you can use them. These two things are very important for MLB betting. You should take notice of the following things:
WHIP and ERA of the starting pitchers
If there is one category of players that you should be mindful of – it’s starting pitchers – they are very important. The same logic can be applied to MLB. The starting pitchers have the power of influence to win and lose games single-handedly. So, this is the main reason as to why the bookies wait for a confirmation of the lineups before they announce the odds for the game.
There are a number of stats that you should consider when you bet on MLB – but there are two of them that are the most important. The first stat is called ERA, or earned run average. This stat gives us information on the total number of runs that the pitcher makes in nine innings. The way to calculate this stat is like this: the number of runs should get divided by the number of innings. And then the result of this should be multiplied by 9.
The other critical statistic is WHIP, or walks and hits per inning pitched. You can use this stat in combination with ERA in order to see what the pitcher’s performance is like. If these stats are low, then it means that the performance of the pitcher is good. And vice-versa.
In most cases, you will still need to take in the entire picture. You should compare the last five games of the pitcher with the average of the pitcher in the long term. The reasoning for this is that even very bad pitchers have some good periods. The opposite is true as well.
Most important team statistics
The first thing you need to do is check the pitchers – after this, you need to do some analysis on team data. Also, you’ll need to check out the performance of the opponents.
The attacking side can be covered with the stat of average runs scored. The way to calculate this stat is by seeing the runs that the team has made and then divide that number with the amount of games that the team has played. So, this’ll get you an insight into the team’s overall efficiency. There are many teams that perform badly when it comes to the batting stats – however the same teams can make a solid number of runs. What’s important here is the end result – you need to check out the average runs in order to make proper assessments.
You’ll also want to take a look at the walks per game. The way to calculate them is very much like the runs per game stat. The end result will be affected by how probable it is to place the runners on the bases often enough.
The defensive team stats are also very important if you wish to see the entire picture. You need to combine the average walks allowed and the average runs allowed. The way to measure them is like the attacking stats. You need to take a deeper look at these stats and see how they may influence the course of an MLB game.
Most important team statistics
The first thing you need to do is check the pitchers – after this, you need to do some analysis on team data and check out the performance of the opponents.
The offensive side can be covered with the stat of average runs scored. The way to calculate this stat is by seeing the runs that the team has made and then divide that number with the number of games that the team has played. So, this will give you an insight into the team’s overall efficiency. There are teams that perform badly when it comes to the batting stats – but the same teams can make a solid number of runs. What’s important here is the end result – you need to check out the average runs in order to make proper assessments.
You’ll also want to take a look at the walks per game. The way to calculate them is very much like the runs per game stat. The end result will be affected by the ability to place the runners on the bases often enough.
The defensive team stats are also very important if you wish to get the full picture. You need to combine the average walks allowed and the average runs allowed. The way to measure them is like the offensive stats. You need to take a deeper look at both these stats and see how they may influence the course of an MLB game.
Importance of the Home plate Umpire
By now you should know how to learn more information about the critical players, as well as for the overall teams. Most gamblers would stop here, but there is one element that they would miss out on if they do this. This important element is the referee. You should try to see the past preferences of various MLB referees.
The strike zones vary for different umpires – and this fact can be of critical importance. When the strike zones are tighter, then the MLB games frequently go over the total. But if the strike zones are wider, then the pitchers will have better control and bigger influence.
You need to take a look at the umpires and their various stats. Check the over/under line data, the average runs per game, and the average percentage of strikes. You should have by now enough information to learn all you need about the referee’s particular style.
Other factors that come into play
The importance of knowing various stats cannot be overstated when it comes to MLB betting. But there are a few other factors that you also need to keep in mind.
Checking the team news
This rule goes for every team sport, including baseball. You need to check out the news of the team in order to learn more about potential suspensions or injuries. There may be missing players in the lineup – you should really think if there is someone to adequately replace them. You need to see the replacements and analyze the team’s performance without the standard lineup in the past. It’s not just about the players that aren’t playing – it’s about how big an influence they have on the team’s performance.
The importance of confidence
The importance of the team’s confidence levels cannot be understated either. Check out the streak of the teams – is it a losing or a winning streak? You need to bet on the teams that have winning streaks and avoid betting on teams that struggle – this is the general rule. There are many people that surprisingly ignore this advice, however.
The mistake of betting on the favourite too often
The best performing teams in MLB usually can’t win in more than 55-65% of the games they play. The game of baseball is such that even the biggest underdog can take the game against the heavy favorite. So, you should keep this in mind if you wish to bet on the biggest favorites at low odds for a prolonged period of time. This may turn out to be a non-winning strategy due to the volatility of this sport.
Where can you bet on MLB?
The biggest bookies give you an opportunity to bet on MLB events. The best bookies in terms of high odds are Bet365, William Hill, and Ladbrokes.
In conclusion
These were some of the critically important stats and aspects of betting in MLB. If you follow the advice from above it doesn’t mean that you will start to always win. But the various stats can help you build a solid strategy down the line. If you add general sports-betting rules, then you will improve the solidity of your strategy. You need to manage your bankroll and seek out the biggest bonuses and the highest odds. You also need to take in a lot of information on the events. This can take some effort and time – but if you want to win consistently over long periods of time, this is the right course of action.