Stretching from the promise of spring through the dog days of summer to the start of autumn, baseball betting can become a laborious, near-daily grind of cash and cunning. No wonder even the most hardened and focused of gamblers may sometimes surrender to the urge to stray from that discipline to pursue an alternate means of profit through proposition betting.
Prop bets don't just provide the gambler the opportunity to get better odds than are usually associated with regular season match-ups; they can be fun, too. We learned from a TV commercial that "chicks dig the long ball," so it should come as little surprise that the most popular future book wager is on which player will hit the most home runs in 2010.
The favorite this year is Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard at odds of 7/2. Howard clubbed 45 homers in 2009, giving him 198 over the past four seasons, an average of just under 50 home runs per year.
The Cardinals' Albert Pujols and the Brewers' Prince Fielder are co-second choices, each at odds of 5/1. Pujols led the Major Leagues with 47 home runs last year. Pujols has 364 homers in his first nine seasons, two fewer than Hank Aaron had in 11 full seasons. Fielder hit 46 homers last year, four shy of his career best of 50 in 2007.
Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez is offered at odds of 7/1 to lead the big leagues in round-trippers this season. A-Rod hit 30 homers in 2009, his lowest total since 1997, but played in only 124 games due to a hip injury. Prior to last year, Rodriguez had hit at least 35 home runs in 10 consecutive seasons.
After Howard, Pujols, Fielder and Rodriguez, it's double or triple digits on anyone else leading MLB in home runs. Adam Dunn, who hit 38 home runs for the Nationals last year after moving over from Cincinnati, is 16/1, the same price as Tampa Bay's Carlos Pena, who hit 39 last year.
Ryan Braun, who hit 32 home runs last year batting in front of Prince Fielder, is tendered at odds of 18/1 to lead the Majors in homers 2010.
No sport is more steeped in statistics than baseball, a fact that hasn't gone unnoticed by sportsbooks operators who also are offering propositions on which first baseman and which third baseman will hit the most homers this season.
Howard (5/2), Pujols (3/1) and Fielder (7/2) dominate the first sack position while A-Rod (2/1) is a solid favorite over Evan Longoria (11/4), who hit 33 home runs for the Rays, to lead hot corner players in HRs this season.
There's also a baseball betting proposition on which player will lead the Major Leagues in batting average in 2010. The Twins' Joe Mauer, who led the big leagues with a .365 mark last season, is the 6/5 favorite. Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki, a career .333 hitter who hit .352 last year and has hit as high as .372, in 2004, is the second choice at odds of 5/2. You can get 7/2 that Florida's Hanley Ramirez, a .342 hitter in 2009, leads the Majors in average and sportsbooks have Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, who hit .334 last year, listed at 5/1.
Match-ups are another popular form of baseball betting proposition. For example, you can bet whether Mauer or Jeter have more hits this season. Lay 5 1/2 hits and -110 on Jeter or take +5 1/2 hits and lay -120 on Mauer. Jeter beat Mauer, 212 to 189 hits last year.
You have to lay -2 1/2 home runs but get +120 that Pujols hits more home runs than A-Rod or take +2 1/2 homers but lay -150 on Rodriguez getting more homers.
An interesting pitching match-up asks the bettor to decide whether Yankees CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett, +1 1/2 wins, -110, or the Red Sox's Josh Beckett and Jon Lester, -1 1/2 wins, -120, will have more victories this year. Many sportsbooks have dozens more player match-ups like these.
If you're looking for team propositions, lay -150 that the Yankees have the edge in their 19-game season series with the Red Sox or take +130 on Boston. There also are over/under prices for regular season wins for all 30 teams, as well as many more baseball betting propositions to spice up the long diamond campaign.
