Advertisement

MLB betting season review: Guardians, Orioles were good to bettors

Pete Truszkowski
·5 min read

The MLB regular season wrapped up on Wednesday. The playoffs begin on Friday and you can get an in-depth preview of those betting lines here. However, with the regular season coming to an end, a lot of season-long bets have been graded. Which teams went over or under their season-long win totals? Which teams made bettors money this season? Let's take a look.

Which teams went over?

It's not surprising to see that of the 12 playoff teams, 10 of them went over their season-long win total. Only two non-playoff teams went over their preseason projections. Only two teams were fortunate enough to make the playoffs despite failing to go over their preseason win total. These 12 teams surpassed preseason expectations:

Which teams went under?

Only 12 teams went over their win total, which means 60% of the league went under. Only two of the teams on this list were fortunate enough to make the playoffs.

Plus money playoff bets

At the start of every season, you can bet on which teams will make the playoffs. There weren't many surprises this season. Of the 12 teams that made the playoffs, eight of them were -225 favorites or larger to qualify for the postseason. These were the four least likely teams to make the playoffs according to the preseason odds:

  • Cleveland +350 to make playoffs

  • Seattle +155 to make playoffs

  • St. Louis -110 to make playoffs

  • Philadelphia -130 to make playoffs

Of the 18 teams that missed the playoffs, 14 of them were -175 favorites or larger to miss the playoffs. These four teams were the teams oddsmakers were most surprised to see miss the postseason:

  • Chicago White Sox +300 to miss playoffs

  • Milwaukee +200 to miss playoffs

  • San Francisco +110 to miss playoffs

  • Boston -105 to miss playoffs

CLEVELAND, OH - SEPTEMBER 13: Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez (11) celebrates as he rounds the bases after Cleveland Guardians right fielder Oscar Gonzalez (39) (not pictured) hit a 2-run home run during the sixth inning of the Major League Baseball game between the Los Angeles Angels and Cleveland Guardians on September 13, 2022, at Progressive Field in Cleveland, OH. (Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The Cleveland Guardians made MLB bettors a lot of money this season. (Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) (Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Division winner odds

Of the six division winners, only three of them were favored to win their division entering the season. The Los Angeles Dodgers entered as -225 favorites to win the NL West and cashed for anyone who was bold enough to lay the juice. The Astros came through as -165 favorites to win the AL West.

The Atlanta Braves entered as +120 favorites to win the NL East, and it was an absolute sweat of a bet that wasn't decided until the final days of the season. Bettors who had the Mets at +200 to win the division must feel robbed, as the Mets blew a 10.5-game lead and lost out on the division due to a tiebreaker, despite having a 101-win season.

The Chicago White Sox entered as -200 favorites to win the AL Central, but it was the Cleveland Guardians who won the division. They were 10-to-1 to win the division during Spring Training. Milwaukee was similarly a heavy favorite to win the NL Central at -175, but they failed to get the job done. Bettors who took the St. Louis Cardinals at +230 cashed tickets.

The AL East was wide open entering the season, with the Toronto Blue Jays as a +180 favorite. However, the New York Yankees took the division and cashed at +230 for anyone who bet them prior to the season.

Most profitable and least profitable bets

Let's say for some insane reason, you bet 1 unit on every MLB team in every game of this season. Which teams made bettors the most money? And which teams were bleeding bettors dry?

Top 5

  1. Baltimore +28.2 units

  2. Cleveland +18.1 units

  3. Houston +12.4 units

  4. New York Mets +10.7 units

  5. Los Angeles Dodgers +9.4 units

Bottom 5

  1. Los Angeles Angels -22.8 units

  2. Miami -22.4 units

  3. Minnesota -17.0 units

  4. Texas -15.0 units

  5. Cincinnati -14.6 units

Current World Series odds

With the regular season in the rearview mirror, it's on to the playoffs. These are the current odds to win the World Series at BetMGM:

  1. Los Angeles (+300)

  2. Houston (+400)

  3. Atlanta (+500)

  4. NY Yankees (+500)

  5. NY Mets (+700)

  6. Toronto (15-to-1)

  7. St. Louis (18-to-1)

  8. Seattle (25-to-1)

  9. Cleveland (28-to-1)

  10. San Diego (28-to-1)

  11. Tampa Bay (28-to-1)

  12. Philadelphia (30-to-1)