MLB odds will have favorites and underdogs and most gamblers like to bet the favorites. It is interesting to note that even though baseball odds are based on money lines, instead of the pointspread used in football and basketball, the public still loves to play too many favorites. There are many reasons why this happens but it all comes down to, at the end, a lack of value that the public has when betting odds.
MLB favorites are easy to play. To the public, if a team is favored in baseball odds, that must mean, according to them, that they are the superior team. This, of course, demonstrates a complete lack of knowledge on the part of the gambling public to understand MLB value and how the lines are made.
The best team is not always favored on the baseball odds board. Instead, the more popular of the two teams in a matchup is made the favorite on the MLB board. Remember, the baseball odds makers are trying to set lines that appeal to both sides of a matchup. Therefore, they are going to charge more in MLB odds on the more popular team in a matchup, trying to entice action on the lesser choice of the public, even if that lesser choice is, in reality, the better team.
Along those same lines of the public mistakenly thinking that the favorite is always the better team in MLB odds, the favorite appeals to the baseball betting public’s comfort zone. They are simply not comfortable laying out money in MLB odds on dog teams that they consider to be at a disadvantage.
The chalk factor is really heavy in MLB lines because there is no pointspread where a gambler might think that he can win a bet on a dog because they are getting points. In MLB lines , everything is “straight up” which makes the public very nervous about taking the plus MLB odds on dogs.
As you look at baseball betting this season be aware that favorites are popular but they are oftentimes overpriced.