Here at NetBet, we’ve got a whole load of great markets for sports betting, and we offer some of the best Baseball odds around. We don’t just take bets on individual matches, we offer online betting on plenty of deeper markets on our UK betting site. If you want to place any sport bet, here’s a quick guide on how exactly you should go about it.
What is Baseball?
Baseball is a classic bat-and-ball game played by two teams of nine, each taking turns to bat and field. The aim of the batting team is to score runs by hitting the ball into the space in the field, before advancing round each of the bases. Alternatively, a home run is when a player manages to hit the ball over the outfield fence, allowing them to complete an uncontested circuit of the bases. The fielding team’s objective is to get three of the opposition players out, either by touching a base with ball in hand before the batter gets there, or through the pitcher’s ability to strike the batter out. Each team has nine batting innings and the team with the most accumulated runs at the end is victorious.
Baseball might be considered the national sport of the USA, but it is also hugely popular across the globe. You will find passionate fans and quality baseball in Central and South America, the Caribbean and East Asia, especially in Japan. The world’s most renowned baseball league is the MLB (Major League Baseball), with teams across the USA competing for a spot in the esteemed World Series. The New York Yankees are the most decorated team in MLB history with 27 World Series wins, but the competition is now as open as it has ever been, with eight different victors in the last eight years.
History of Baseball
Like so many of the sports we love today, the history of baseball remains constantly debated. Whilst it was originally thought that Civil War hero Abner Doubleday was responsible for the sport’s creation, more recent research suggests that baseball was actually just an adaptation of two British games, rounders and cricket, brought to North America by British immigrants. Various forms of the game were being played across the continent in the late 18th and early 19th century, but it was the New York Knickerbocker Club that codified the first set of rules in 1845. The first official baseball game played in the USA followed shortly after, when the New York Nine hammered the Knickerbockers 23-1 in 1846.
Baseball’s popularity skyrocketed in the decades that followed, particularly in New York, leading American journalists to dub the sport as the national pastime. The National Association of Base Ball Players, the game’s first governing body, was established in 1857 as leagues began to pop up all around the country. The two leagues we associate with MLB today are the National League (NL), formed in 1876, and the American League (AL), created in 1901. Just a couple of years later, an agreement was put in place merging the interests of the NL and AL, and thus the National Association of Professional Base Ball Leagues was created. With it came the first ever World Series, contested by NL champions Pittsburgh Pirates and AL champions Boston Americans, the latter of which won the series 5-3.
The Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Athletics emerged as the dominant early forces in MLB, winning seven of nine World Series between 1910-1918. However, this would soon change, and the New York Yankees established themselves as the powerhouse in American baseball. The Yankees are one of the most well known and richest sports clubs in the world, and they have won 27 of their 40 appearances in the World Series. It has been over a decade since they last lifted the Commissioner’s Trophy, but they are almost certain to retake their position at the summit of MLB sooner rather than later.
How do I bet on Baseball?
Here at NetBet, we have a wide variety of markets available for this season’s MLB schedule, including postseason betting options.
These are:-
- Outright – Bet on any team to win a game or predict the World Series champion.
- Conference winner – Place a bet on the team which will win either the American League or National League.
- Division winner – Bet on which team will win the Central, East and West divisions of both the AL and NL.
- Awards – Predict the outcome of a number of end of season awards, including Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player.
- Longest win streak – Bet on which team will go on the longest winning streak in the regular season.
- Run line – This is another name for spread betting in baseball. A team must either win or avoid defeat by a certain number of runs for your bet to be successful.
- Total runs – Bet on whether each team will score over or under a certain number of runs.
- Winning margin – Predict who will win the match and how many runs they will win by.
- Moneyline/Total runs – Bet on a team to win a match and decide if they will score over or under a certain number of runs.
- Race to – Bet on which team will achieve a specified goal first, eg. race to four runs or race to six runs.
However, there aren’t just these 10 to choose from. Occasionally, we might choose to Boost a price which you can find at our Promotions page.
When you choose NetBet Sport, you can enjoy a whole range of top quality sports and markets. Whatever you choose, always remember to bet responsibly. Here at NetBet, player wellbeing is our number one priority – check out our Responsible Gambling tips and tools page for more information.