Orioles, Indians, And Nationals Still Defying Betting Odds

Before each Major League Baseball season, Las Vegas sports books post odds for each team winning the World Series. Three of the longest odds this year belonged to the Washington Nationals, Baltimore Orioles, and Cleveland Indians. After one month, all three teams are giving underdog bettors something to get excited about.

The Orioles have been the biggest surprise in baseball so far early on, posting a 19-11 record, good enough for first place in the American League. Coming into the season, odds makers had Baltimore listed as the last choice to win the division.

Baltimore has won on the strength of their young starting pitching, and timely hitting offensively. The Orioles showed they could play with the division favorites this past week when they took five out of six games from the Red Sox and Yankees. Baltimore had World Series odds of over 50/1 when the season began.

Cleveland is another American League team that is showing they can beat the odds. To many gamblers, the Indians leading their division is not as shocking due to Cleveland's early season success last year. The Indians were in first place through the All-Star break last year, prompting the team to make a trade deadline move to pick up Ubaldo Jimenez.

This season, it has been the young Indians, such as Jason Kipnis, that have led the charge. Grady Sizemore is expected back from injury within a month, and Cleveland will have the task of holding off the Detroit Tigers for the division lead. The Tigers were the preseason pick of most analysts to win the AL Central.

In the National League, a similar Cinderella story is unfolding. The Nationals are on top of a division that has Atlanta, Florida, and Philadelphia, three favorites to win the National League crown. The Nationals, like the Orioles, have a stable of young arms, and they also recently called up phenom Bryce Harper. Stephen Strasburg, the phenom of a couple of years ago, anchors the pitching staff.

Other teams with long odds that are within five games of their division lead include Oakland, the Chicago White Sox, Houston, and the New York Mets.

Betting favorites Boston, the Yankees, Angels, and Phillies all find themselves either in last place, or closer to last than first in their respective divisions.

May 9, 2012
Posted By Vincent Tapoglia III
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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