MLB Betting Trends: Preparing for the 2007 Season

Gamblers that bet baseball on a regular basis rely a great deal on trends and statistics to make their wagers. Betting on baseball is a long grind that last over six months and has many ups and downs, which is why many baseball bettors use trends as a large part of their handicapping.

Some baseball bettors use trend handicapping in certain major areas such as teams that continuously struggle at a particular location year after year.

For example, if a team continually struggles on West Coast road trips against the Angels and Mariners that trend may very well continue. One trend that has been money in the bank nearly every season is to go against the Atlanta Braves in the playoffs. The Braves win the National League East nearly every year and then flop in the playoffs. There are many trends when it comes to betting baseball and it is a matter of identifying the ones that have stood the test of time.

When you begin your baseball betting handicapping you should look at team vs. team trends that go back at least a few years. Going back any more than 3-5 years is probably too much since the turnover on MLB rosters is pretty high. You can however, count on some trends remaining the same though. Teams like Kansas City and Pittsburgh are going to continue to struggle because they have poor ownership and the economics of baseball make it very tough for small market teams to compete against their counterparts in bigger markets. You can study trends more in depth by looking at how a particular pitcher has done in the past versus a team. These statistics are readily available in matchup reports that come out every day.

The sad part of Major League Baseball is that "money" teams have a built in advantage. Teams like New York and Boston can spend nearly without limit and that makes it difficult for smaller market teams to compete. You can look at betting on those teams but beware the prices are high and just because a team has money doesn't mean they will spend it wisely.

Trends that may be more useful are those that concentrate more on lefty/righty statistics, day/night breakdowns, and home/road statistics. Some teams continually struggle in certain situations and you can really call these trends because they happen over and over again. To take advantage of these trends you just need to do a little research that will point out advantageous situations for one team or another.
Trend betting in baseball will always be popular. Baseball is the one sport where statistics are published to the extreme and the astute gambler may be able to take advantage of them.

So remember as we head toward the beginning of the 2007 MLB season, using trends and statistics, along with some good 'ol-fashioned common sense, makes for excellent wagers - and more importantly, even better returns.