With the rise of sports betting, many wagerers have taken up the thrill of in-game betting, and the sport that’s the most natural fit for those in-game wagers – Major League Baseball – opens this Thursday.
Why is baseball the perfect sport for in-game betting? Because of the many games within the game. It’s a team sport that comes down to one-on-one matchups: batter vs. pitcher. One swing of the bat and the game could change in an instant. And the pace of play allows for plenty of opportunities for bookmakers to make new markets and for bettors to find value with more information than they had before the game started.
Plus, baseball has no clock … until now.
When the opening pitch is thrown on Thursday, it will mark the first time it has been subject to a clock. Major League Baseball has introduced a 15-second pitch clock which is designed to increase pace of play and requires pitchers to throw the ball within 15 seconds with the bases empty and 20 seconds with a man on base. If they don’t, a ball will be called. There are also new rules for the batter. Hitters have to be in the box facing the pitcher before the clock ticks down to seven seconds, or they will be tagged with an automatic strike. There’s no doubt, this will make for some interesting pitch counts and much quicker at-bats.
As a bettor, it’s important to bear in mind these changes when betting on the outcome of the next pitch or an at-bat, especially across the first few weeks of the season as the players — and fans — will be getting used to the new rules. A player like Manny Machado, for instance, could quickly strike out simply because he takes too much time to get back into the batter's box. Machado ordinarily would not be a strikeout candidate.
As the game tempo is expected to increase, bettors should also bear in mind that there will be latency between what they are seeing on the TV screen and what markets are being offered online. With a 40-second delay, those at home will need to watch their betting app — and not the actual game — in order to keep up with what is happening in real time.