How to get ready to bet MLB spring training.
Key Points
– There is money to be made when you bet on MLB spring training.
– Find value before you bet MLB spring training.
Getting Ready to Bet MLB Spring Training
Baseball bettors find spring training to be an exciting time of year. Baseball’s preseason is far more intense than those of other sports because they take it much more seriously. That’s good news for bettors since it’s more attractive for people to bet MLB spring training.
There is a big difference, though, in betting on spring training and the MLB regular season. If you try and place bets in March the same way you do in August, you are going to run into some serious issues.
If you want to have success when you bet MLB spring training, here’s a list of things you should consider first.
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The Best Aren’t Always the Best
The top teams in MLB aren’t always the best spring training teams. MLB teams that are on track to have successful seasons occasionally aren’t all that strong in the spring. There are also teams that do extremely well in the spring but falter during the regular season.
There have been times when success in the spring does translate into regular season success. In 2010, the San Francisco Giants had the best record in the Cactus League in spring training. The Giants went on to win the World Series. The team the Giants beat – the Texas Rangers – were actually the worst team in the Grapefruit League during the spring.
The bottom line is this. Don’t put too much stock into how a team performed the year before. Don’t put too much into how a team is projected to do during the regular season. Those things will have little bearing on what will transpire in spring training.
Offseason Changes Take Time When You Bet MLB Spring Training
Changes can take a while to become permanent. During the offseason, baseball teams will sometimes completely restructure their rosters. A team could sign a number of new players that would make their outlook the next season seem extremely favorable.
However, chemistry is a crucial component in baseball. It might take some time for new players to warm up to one another. It may take a while for them to get used to playing with one another.
Therefore, a change that appears to have a lot of potential for success might not be effective until later in the MLB season. These new additions may prove to be outstanding moves, but not until later in a season. That’s okay for the teams involved, but not so much when you bet the MLB spring training.
Veterans Hate the Spring
MLB veterans hate spring training. The baseball season is incredibly long. Teams play 162 regular season contests for the chance to potentially play 22 more postseason games.
Players will play almost every day for more than six months. Before that all starts, players must complete around 30 spring training games. That’s a game a day for a month. What motivates teams and players is one of the biggest betting mistakes to avoid.
It is not surprising that many seasoned players are not overly enthusiastic about games in March. The likelihood that a club will be at ease in the spring increases with the number of MLB veterans it has, provided those veterans aren’t competing for starting positions.
Competition for Jobs Creates Success
Success can be fueled by competition for positions. This is the opposite of the last point. When teams have younger players at positions where they are fighting for a starting job, that competition creates more success in spring training.
When you bet MLB spring training, you will look for these types of teams to back. It could be veteran players too. They may have landed with a new team and have to battle with a couple players for the opportunity to start during the regular season.
Players fighting for a job will work extremely hard during spring training. That will affect how many of the exhibition games turn out.
Bet MLB Spring Training – Pitching
Starting pitchers are far less significant in the spring. In the regular season, starting pitchers make up the majority of most bettors’ strategy. Starting pitchers will only throw a few innings, especially early in the spring. They are typically not at their best either.
Understanding this can help you choose MLB exhibition games to bet on.
Scheduling Doesn’t Matter
The spring training playing schedule doesn’t matter. During the regular season, bettors spend a lot of time considering how the schedule will affect things. Bettors look at things such as how long a road trip will be, whether clubs will have days off, and so forth.
In the spring, This just isn’t relevant. Most teams play every day, so rest doesn’t really matter. Fatigue is not an issue because it is still very early in the season and rosters are very deep. Plus, travel isn’t an issue. All of the ballparks in Arizona’s Cactus League, for example, are accessible by car within an hour.
Be Patient
There will always be betting opportunities in spring training. The most important thing to keep in mind is that you must be a patient baseball handicapper. The spring could be a good time to work on your money management skills and when to adjust your betting unit size.
There are plenty of regular season games to come, so there is no need to wipe out the bank account before you really need to. Bet MLB spring training when there is value. When there isn’t, skip it. Don’t force yourself into less than ideal circumstances.
