On Sports Betting: Baseball ‘Game of the Year’ Helps Dispel Myths of the Game

Baseball is boring. Baseball is too slow. Nobody watches baseball anymore.

Arguably true in all cases.

But then there was the New York Yankees at Minnesota Twins game on Tuesday, which was proclaimed the game of the year by the New York Times and the game of the season by other media outlets. The Yankees rallied from a 8-2 deficit in that game, and there were several lead changes in the late innings. The game finally ended with a “Sports Center”-trademarked highlight catch by the Yankees’ Aaron Hicks to preserve a 14-12 victory in 10 innings.

Yankees bettors had to wait 5 hours and 3 minutes for the game to be completed (baseball is too long) before they could their cash tickets at -117, but “over” 10 runs was never seriously in doubt. Just imagine the flip-flopping numbers on in-game wagering apps.

The Triple A game at the Las Vegas Ballpark on the same day between the Las Vegas Aviators and the division-leading El Paso Chihuahuas had fewer runs scored and at 3 hours, 18 minutes was at least a full-length movie shorter than the Yankees-Twins marathon. Aviators bettors cashed at -110 when the home team won, 9-6, but the total at 15.5 was very much in doubt throughout the game before coming in “under.”

In an evening game the same day in the WNBA, with the Las Vegas Aces hosting the Seattle Storm, the Aces put up one their more convincing wins of the season. With Dearica Hamby subbing for the injured A’ja Wilson, the Aces won, 79-62, and also covered -5. (That always reminds us of the popular phrase, occasionally seen on T-shirts and other paraphernalia around Las Vegas, “Good teams win. Great teams cover.”) The total came in “under” 153.5.

On Wednesday, the Yankees followed up the game the year/season with an otherwise normal 10-7 win over the Twins to conclude the series. This time bettors had to wait 3 hours, 24 minute to cash winning tickets on the Yankees at -113. And it was easily another “over.”

So the final two Yankees-Twins games kept bettors in suspense for a combined 8 hours, 27 minutes.

Baseball is too long. Watching some games is about as exciting as watching Sunday morning talk shows.

Meanwhile over at the Las Vegas Ballpark, the Aviators hosted the Chihuahuas for the second game of the series. We always lean toward a strong road team in the second game of a series after the home team wins the first. And the division-leading Chihuahua, at about -115, did not disappoint, winning 5-3. Oddsmakers ratcheted the total down to 15 for the second game, but it was a fairly easy “under.”

And the Yankees-Red Sox combined for 22 runs in game won by the Red Sox, 19-3. With the Red Sox leading 7-2 at the end of the second inning, Vegas Insider noted that “over” 11 looked like a fairly safe bet. And it was. We can only imagine what the computer servers were putting up for the in-game wagers. Only 3 hours, 28 minutes to complete the game, fairly short for the long-running Yankees-Red Sox rivalry games.

“Over” bettors finally got to cash a ticket in the third game of the Aviators-Chihuahuas series when the visitors from El Paso pounded out a 15-9 victory.

By Saturday, we were mildly curious what the betting number for the WNBA All-Star Game at Mandalay Bay Events Center would be. But the better question was, “if” there would be a betting number. In fact, there was not. A website called LegitGamblingSites.com put it this way: “Sportsbooks are offering markets on upcoming WNBA contests. Just not the 2019 All-Star Game on Saturday afternoon. Want to hear the funny part? The game is in Las Vegas.” In case you had merely a rooting interest, the West beat the East, 129-126.

Nonplussed and ready for some action on the weekend, we played “over” 12 in the Yankees-Red Sox game, presuming that the barrage of hits and runs by the two teams would continue. We weren’t disappointed. The Red Sox won, 9-5.

Elsewhere:

— In UFC 240 on Saturday, Max Holloway, -400, won the featherweight championship by unanimous decision over Frankie Edgar, +300. Favorites cashed in nine of 11 fights, according to Vegas Insider.

— Brad Koepka, listed as 8-1, outlasted other golfers in the 2019 FedEx St. Jude Invitational finishing Sunday at -16. He was listed as 8-1 so if you have his name on a ticket, you can buy lunch next time we see you around.

— The NASCAR Monster Energy circuit returned to Pocono Raceway on Sunday. Denny Hamlin, running on a low fuel tank, finished first on the tri-oval. In fact, he had enough fuel to do a victory lap and a burnout. He paid about 10-1.

What’s next?

— The Aces return to action on Tuesday against the Dallas Wings. Expect to the Aces to be big favorites over the Wings, who are 0-9 on the road.

— The Aviators, after six straight games vs. the Chihuahuas, host the New Orleans Baby Cakes on Tuesday.

— Week 1 of the NFL preseason kicks off Thursday with the Denver Broncos at the Atlanta Falcons in the Hall of Fame game in Canton, Ohio. The Falcons are currently -2.5 and the total is 34.

— The Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook has wins totals out for the 2019-2020 NBA season, according to Vegas Insider. The ever-popular Golden State Warriors are 48.5. The Los Angeles Lakers are 49.5.

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