The daily six-month drudgery of money lines and game totals that is baseball betting can wear on any gambler but there are other, far less intensive and much more enjoyable ways to wager on America's pastime.
Beyond World Series, pennant and division race future book odds, many innovative sports books also are offering a series of individual and team propositions for the 2009 Major League Baseball season. In fact, there are several hundred different ways to bet baseball, including a traditionally popular future book on which player will lead the Major Leagues in home runs this season.
Not surprisingly, the Phillies' Ryan Howard, who clubbed a MLB best 48 round trippers last year and has 153 home runs over the previous three seasons, opened as a solid 3/1 favorite in this category. Cardinals' slugger Albert Pujols, who hit 37 homers last year and has amassed 118 over the past three seasons, is the second choice at tepid odds of 7/1, followed by the Brewers' Ryan Braun, 8/1; Adam Dunn, 10/1, now with the Diamondbacks after clocking 40 homers in each of the past three years; the White Sox's Carlos Quentin, 10/1, who smashed 36 last year before injuring his wrist in early September; and the Yankees' Alex Rodriguez, 12/1, who will start the year on the disabled list.
The long ball always has fascinated both fans and bettors alike so it's no wonder that gamblers who fancy that prop get to choose from among a list of more than 80 players. That said, many popular propositions are far simpler and, frankly, easier to hit.
To that end, some books are offering over/under propositions on a number of offensive and defensive categories where the bettor doesn't have to pick the leader but whether the top man will go over or under a certain number.
For example, the over/under on hits is 220 1/2. Lay -120 (bet $120 to win $100) either way that the league's leader in hits goes over or under 220 1/2. The Red Sox's Dustin Pedroia and the Mariners' Ichiro Suzuki led the Majors with 213 hits each last year.
The over/under on RBIs is 145 1/2. Only Ryan Howard, with 146 last year, exceeded that number. The next closest was the Rangers' Josh Hamilton with 130.
The over/under on top batting average in the Major Leagues is .359 but you'll have to lay -180 on the "under." Take back +140 on the "over." The Braves' Chipper Jones hit .364 last year to lead the big leagues.
Willy Taveras stole 68 bases for the Rockies last season, a little above this year's total of 65 1/2 for base thefts.
The pitchers get their due with over/under props on victories, saves, strikeouts and, on the negative side, losses.
The total for victories is 21 1/2, a number exceeded by two hurlers last season, the Indians' Cliff Lee and the Diamondbacks' Brandon Webb, each with 22 wins.
The Angeles' Francisco Rodriguez, now with the Mets, set a Major League record for saves last season with 62, well above this year's over/under number of 50 1/2. Rodriguez was the only pitcher with more than 44 saves last year.
The over/under for strikeouts (Ks, if you're scoring at home) is 255 1/2, a number exceeded only by the Giants' Tim Lincecum, who notched 265 whiffs in 2008.
The over/under misery index for losses by a pitcher is 17 1/2.
In addition to propositions matching individuals, many books also have team props, including over/under regular season win totals for every franchise in the league. There's also a generic prop on whether any team wins more than 100 1/2 games or loses more than 102 1/2. Neither of those marks were hit last year as the Angeles led the Major Leagues in victories with 100 and the Nationals had the most defeats, 102.
Given the wealth of wagering opportunities, it's obvious that ambitious gamblers have the capacity to turn baseball betting into much more than a daily grind.
