Before Major League Baseball season began, you had the New York Yankees winning 100 games. Then you figured they’d win the American League Division Series (ALDS), so you placed a futures bet. Lo and behold, they did. Next, the Pinstripes conquered the American League Championship Series (ALCS) but you’re not done yet. You want to keep betting, but don’t know what other options are available to you. Easy. World Series prop bets.
Here, we’ll explore how to make this kind of baseball bet and how to understand the associated odds. Whether you’re a newbie looking to place your first postseason wager or a seasoned pro who has made bets on the World Series since the year the Expos should’ve won it, Odds Shark’s got you covered.
What is a Prop Bet?
A proposition bet is a wager made that depends on the occurrence, or non-occurrence, of an event not directly affecting the final outcome of a game. Unlike a traditional moneyline, point spread or totals bet where the number of runs, goals or points are counted, this kind of wager looks at individual player or team milestones.
You would see World Series prop bets like:
• How many runs will X score?
• Will Y throw a no-hitter?
• Will Z make an error in Game 2?
• Will the World Series end on a strikeout?
• How many total hits will Team A have?
How to Read Prop Odds
Let’s look at a past World Series where the National League was represented by the Los Angeles Dodgers and the American League had the Houston Astros. At sports betting sites, MLB proposition odds would appear as so:
What Team will Score the Most Runs?
LA -140
Houston +110
A $25 bet on the Dodgers scoring the most runs would give you a payout of $42.86 – your original $25 is returned along with your winnings of $17.86. That same bet on the Astros would give you $52.50 – your $25 comes back with your loot of $27.50.
Our Odds Calculator can help you determine how much you’d win based on the odds and how much you bet.
What’s the Difference Between a Prop and a Futures Bet?
A futures wager is a bet made in advance on events yet to happen, whereas a prop is a bet on highlights during an event. These betting types may seem similar, but a futures gamble can be made months prior to the season starting, whereas props are only released once the World Series matchup has been set.
At any online sportsbook, you’ll see future odds to win the World Series with each team given a value. It would look something like this:
Boston Red Sox +125
Chicago Cubs +400
Philadelphia Phillies +800
Toronto Blue Jays +5000
In this case, the Red Sox are favorites to win. The BoSox may be in the lead because they are the previous winners or they’ve made enough offseason moves to build a stellar roster full of five-tool players. On the other hand, the Jays’ odds are less than favorable because of possible personnel changes, injuries or a horrible record from last season.
Series-Long Bets
There will be props that will only be concluded once the best-of-seven series is complete. These would be something like:
• Boston wins in seven games +450
• Los Angeles wins in seven games +550
Betting Live During the World Series
For those looking to have even more fun betting on MLB’s most important games, live betting is available at your favorite betting site. In-play betting options are proposition bets that deal with every at-bat. For instance, you could bet on whether a player will get on base via a walk, get a hit or strike out. You could also live-bet on the pitcher and whether he will throw heat or bean his opponent “accidentally.”
Handicapping World Series Prop Bets
The great Yogi Berra once said, “In baseball, you don’t know nothing.” At Odds Shark we believe you can know some things in order to get the edge over other bettors. The former Yankee also referred to a switch-hitter as “amphibious” because he hits from both sides of the plate. With a little research, you can handicap your bets accordingly from both sides and make smart picks.
We’ve taken exotic props for these examples to show that even bets that may seem weird are easily researched and (hopefully) won.
Which manager will get ejected first?
Joe Torre -105
Felipe Alou +105
For the purpose of this example, we’ve used people who are no longer managers. You would need to look at how often they were ejected in the regular season. If a manager has a history of disagreeing with umpires and getting tossed, you could assume that they will be removed from at least one game. Torre has 66 career ejections which is why he is the favorite in this scenario.
Most Pitchers in a Game by One Team
OVER 7
UNDER 7
This is sort of like a totals bet in the sense that there is an option to choose the OVER or UNDER. During the World Series, the goal is obviously to win, and in order to do so, managers may go through their entire bullpen in one game just to secure a victory. To handicap this bet, you would look at the pitching roster and consider a hurler’s past performances. Do they have a history of going seven innings when they start? Do they fizzle out after four and need the bullpen to dig them out of a jam?
Who will be Named World Series MVP?
Roberto Clemente +250
Derek Jeter +400
Rollie Fingers +700
Sandy Koufax +900
In this example, we’ve used people who are no longer playing, from different teams, and did not appear in the same World Series. Since 1955, 28 pitchers have been given the award, and 38 have been position players. In 1981 and 2001, two MVPs were named. Position guys will generally be given lower odds since they appear in the series more than pitchers.
No matter what your bets are, we have MLB data and info you can use to handicap your World Series prop bets:
