What Are The MLB Standings Today
The MLB is broken up into two conferences — American League and National League. Within each conference, there are three separate divisions — West, Central, and East. You can find up-to-the-minute MLB standings in the table below.
Per league, divisions winners automatically earn a postseason spot. After them, the top two remaining teams in terms of win-loss record duke it out in a one-game wildcard round to earn the fourth and final playoff seed.
Keep these standings top of mind at all times, especially as the season is winding down. That way, you’ll know what’s at stake for every game, whether that’s playoff or MLB draft positioning. Also, keep in eye on recent record, say a team’s last 10 games. This is how you spot MLB betting trends ahead of time.
MLB Betting Tips
How to bet on MLB is a complicated topic. Matter of fact, it's really complicated. There are just so many variables at play every single game. Boling it down to an exact science is, frankly, impossible. Nonetheless, we still have MLB betting tips for you.
The key for you will be to create an MLB betting system. In other words, a set of rules you follow more often than not (exceptions can apply here and there). While creating this MLB betting strategy, you might want to keep these pointers in mind. We learned it the hard way (losing money) so you don't have to suffer the same fate:
Leverage MLB Betting Stats
No sport is more data-driven than baseball. None. "Sabermetrics" as it's called has completely changed the landscape of the game — how teams build rosters, how individual players are evaluated, and yes, how to bet MLB.
Bookies have always used advanced algorithms to set betting lines. If you want to outsmart those computer models, you'll effectively have to "fight fire with fire" and use all the MLB betting stats at your disposal.
Explaining baseball sabermetrics could be its own college course. No, really. We'd provide a Cliff Notes summary, but that would be a disservice to how complex it all is. So our advice is to study up and become an expert at sabermetrics. If you do, you'll have an upper hand when gambling on MLB.
Go Against The Grain
Compared to the NBA or NFL, the MLB is unique in that the best teams lose quite often. For example, a team that finishes with exactly 100 wins is one of the best in the entire league. If that's the case, they also lost 62 games for a total win percentage of about 62 percent.
This means blindly betting on the favorite is even more hazardous than doing so with other sports. But the thing is, casual bettors still do this. It's why bookmakers will put more lopsided odds with teams like the Red Sox, Yankees, or Dodgers, because the everyday bettor just looks at their payroll and assumes they should win.
Avoid this trap at all costs. When the public is all betting one way, that's the perfect time to purposely fade them and wager the opposite way. With all the heavy action on the favorite, bookies will inflate odds to try to balance out the bets on both sides. It usually doesn't work out and you'll get tremendous value out of the underdog.
Consider Other Factors
Perhaps no other league is affected by external factors as much as the MLB. For instance, in the majors, there's "hitter-friendly parks" and there's "pitcher-friendly parks." How exactly the ballpark is built dictates heavily who has the advantage.
Similarly, the weather also makes a noticeable impact on offensive output. If there's a heavy breeze blowing out, balls will carry further, meaning more homers and runs. Of course, the opposite applies if the wind is blowing inward.
Likewise, pay attention to the home plate umpire that's calling strikes and balls. Most of which have their own reputation. Some umpires are known to favor the home crowd while others have a tighter strike zone, for instance.
When making MLB betting predictions, each of the above outside factors should be weighed in. No, it's not more important than, say, who the starting pitchers are, but you would be smart not to overlook these all-important variables.
Manage Your Bankroll
This can apply to any type of sports betting, but it's especially crucial whilst MLB wagering given how long the season is. If you don't manage your funds correctly, you run the risk of blowing up your account before the season even ends — thus missing out on MLB playoff betting.
That's why we advise you to start small. Look, the beginning of the season is a complete crapshoot anyway. By the MLB All-Star break, teams and players have found their footing. This is when you can up the ante on your wagers since you'll have a better idea of what to expect.
That's all we have for MLB betting advice, folks. But at the end of day, the best way to learn how to bet on MLB games is by doing it yourself. If you're ready to take a swing, one of the below sportsbooks can assist you.
