The betting lines for baseball games are typically different than football or basketball. You’ll see point spreads for those sports, but the most common bet in baseball is the moneyline. You just need your team to win, but will find higher odds on better teams.
Dodgers -220
Padres +200
In this example, you’d have to bet $220 on the favored Dodgers to win $100. However, a $100 bet on the underdog Padres would win $200.
Like most other sports, you’ll find totals offered for baseball. You can bet the over or under on total runs scored by both teams.
Another common bet is on the run line. That does incorporate a point spread, which is typically 1.5 runs with the odds changing.
Dodgers -1.5 -130
Padres +1.5 +110
Using the example from the first section, the Dodgers’ odds come way down but now they have to win by 2 or more runs.
Sportsbooks will offer proposition bets, or “props,” on big games. Props are famously associated with Super Bowl betting.
Like all other sports, futures bets are quite popular in baseball. You can bet your favorite team to win the championship throughout the season, with odds changing as their fortunes rise or fall.
Another popular bet is win totals. Oddsmakers set a win total for each team, and you can bet on whether that team will go over or under that win total.
You can also bet on props like who will win MVP, or over/under on how many home runs or hits certain players will have in a season.