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Baseball futures are bets that you place in the beginning of the MLB season and are placed on which team you think will win it's division, pennant or world series.
As we've stated in other articles, these type of bets are great if your looking to risk very little and have a chance at a nice reward (big payout.) On the flip side, the money you lay on this wager is tied up until completion of the MLB season.
You can also find futures props like player to hit the most homeruns on the season and such. These offer great entertainment for very little money.
We'll share some stategies with you that have paid off for us very well over the years. It's most likely that the team to win the future World Series is going to be a balanced one with above average pitching and a good solid batting order with very few holes that executes well. When we say executes well, we're talking about a team that has a manager that isn't afraid to lay down a sacrifice bunt with none or 1 down or a manager that isn't afraid to make an attempt to swipe a base when a speedster is on first.
We'll latch onto an obvious favorite or two that contain the above listed qualities and then take a couple shots at lesser known teams that also contain those qualities. Hey, anything can happen, that's why they play the game right?
The strategy is to come out breaking even at worst. For example, in 2007 our four teams were:
Detroit Tigers 12-1
Los Angeles Angels 9-1
New York Mets 6-1
Minnesota Twins 18-1
See how we took some favorites with Mets/Angels and then sprinkled in a couple other high paying teams that possess the qualities necessary to win a World Series? Notice we don't have the Yankees on that list? We love their hitting but their pitching is quite suspect and the reason that they likely won't win the series yet again this year despite forking out a huge bankroll to put an All-Star quality team on the field.
In summary, we took a couple favs and a couple dogs. Over time this is likely to be a breakeven proposition if you play your cards right. Yes, there is of course risk involved, but as you know it's all gambling and no balls no glory.
Related:
2008 World Series Futures
2008 American League Pennant Futures Odds
2008 National League Pennant Futures Odds
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