It’s common knowledge that, in the offseason for a given sport, most betting lines are limited to the most basic futures.
And unless there’s some serious offseason intrigue surrounding a star player’s next move (i.e. relocation via trade, free agency, retirement, etc.), you’ll usually have to settle for a simple championship line.
These are, of course, popular in their own right, but in most cases, the pickings are slim until at least a week or two before the preseason gets underway in earnest.
However, there’s an interesting quirk that crops up (very) occasionally, and it’s actually on display right now.
You see, this morning at 12:01 AM, Major League Baseball locked out its players. The prior CBA expired last night at 11:59 PM, and after 60 seconds of legal limbo, everything MLB came to a grinding halt.
What happened during that Witching Minute™ is anyone’s guess, but as of right now, the Majors is seeing its first work stoppage in 25 years.
Now here’s the neat part: With such a stoppage, you might think there’d be considerably less baseball to bet on. But ironically, there’s actually more baseball to bet on!
That’s because the best legal sportsbook sites are starting to supplement their regular 2022 World Series futures with MLB lockout odds.
(Just don’t call them MLB strike odds, as lockouts are basically the exact opposite of strikes. Strikes are initiated by players, whereas lockouts are initiated by the league itself.)
Of course, the 2021 MLB lockout is still pretty much brand new, so there aren’t that many lines up for the thing just yet.
In fact, neither Bovada nor MyBookie have posted a single wager addressing the fiasco, and BetOnline only has the following MLB odds active as of right now:
2021 MLB Lockout Odds
Will 2022 MLB season start on March 31?
- No -200
- Yes +150
Now, this line’s actually a bit more interesting than it seems at first pitch.
It’s obviously predicated on the MLB work stoppage, but it’s not quite as simple as that.
Given the state of things in the US politically (which, incidentally, you can also bet on) – and given the fact that the 2020 and 2021 MLB seasons saw countless disruptions due to COVID-19 – it’s conceivable that the coronavirus could also play a part in these odds.
In fact, because the MLB and the MLBPA have three whole months to work out their differences and ink a new collective bargaining agreement, we’d say that COVID® – especially given the new Omicron Variant™ – has an even better chance of delaying the season than the lockout does.
Interestingly, it should be noted that the lockout also prevents teams from building their rosters out for the duration.
That means no trades, no free agency signings (Max Scherzer got his deal done right in the nick of time), no planning, no scheduling, no nothing.
For sports bettors, that’s a huge wild card, and it means that putting money on the next World Series here and now is – at best – even riskier than such futures usually are.
Outside of those primetime players who’ve already joined their new teams or reupped with their old ones, there’s no telling what your favorite ball club’s going to look like by the time the new year rolls around.
World Series 2022 – Winner
Via BetOnline Sportsbook
- Los Angeles Dodgers +650
- Houston Astros +900
- New York Mets +900
- Atlanta Braves +950
- New York Yankees +1200
- San Diego Padres +1400
- Tampa Bay Rays +1400
- Chicago White Sox +1600
- Toronto Blue Jays +1600
- Boston Red Sox +1800
- Seattle Mariners +1800
- Los Angeles Angels +2000
- Milwaukee Brewers +2000
- San Francisco Giants +2200
- Louis Cardinals +2200
- Detroit Tigers +3300
- Philadelphia Phillies +3500
- Texas Rangers +4000
- Cincinnati Reds +5000
- Minnesota Twins +6000
- Cleveland Guardians +6600
- Miami Marlins +6600
- Oakland Athletics +6600
- Chicago Cubs +10000
- Colorado Rockies +10000
- Kansas City Royals +10000
- Washington Nationals +10000
- Arizona Diamondbacks +25000
- Baltimore Orioles +25000
- Pittsburgh Pirates +25000
Are you really confident in any of these teams right now? Is Freddie Freeman coming back to the defending champs? Will the Mets really be contenders? What’s going on with Shohei Ohtani?
Honestly, if we had to bet, we’d probably pick the Cleveland Indians. Or rather, the Cleveland Guardians.
It makes sense that they’d win the World Series in their first season coming off a controversial and utterly milquetoast name change, doesn’t it?
But seriously, why was “Guardians” even chosen? It’s the most generic, meaningless drivel ever. Even “Tennessee Titans” is dripping in history and tradition compared to this nonsense.
Clearly, they should have gone with “Cleveland Engines” or “Cleveland Cleavers.”
Oh, well. There’s always next time.
