MLB Divisions Betting Lines

Major League Baseball is composed of 162 games played during the year against 30 teams from two leagues. Since 1903, MLB has been divided into two leagues, the American League (AL) and the National League (NL).

Both leagues signed a national agreement in 1903 to be combined under the MLB banner and start a championship title game known as the World Series, which has the best team of the AL face the best team from the NL.

While MLB has changed a lot over the years, with more teams and games being played now than back in 1903, it has still been a pastime sport that all Americans love and enjoy to this day.

The AL and NL have three separate divisions, each with five teams, making up the MLB divisions. The three divisions are the East, Central, and West.

These three divisions came about after the 1994 realignment of the East and West divisions.

The realignment was done to help compensate for new expansion teams coming into the league.

AL East

The AL East comprises five teams: the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, Tampa Bay Rays, and Toronto Blue Jays. The Red Sox, Yankees, and Orioles are the three oldest clubs from the AL East, as they have been around the AL since 1901.

While this division is usually very competitive, there was a time when the New York Yankees were the dominant force of the AL East every season.

AL Central

The AL Central comprises five teams, those five teams being the Cleveland Guardians, Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox, Minnesota Twins, and Kansas City Royals.

The Tigers and White Sox are the two oldest teams in the AL Central, having been in the AL since the league was established in 1901.

The AL Central came about after the 1994 realignment, seeing teams like the Royals and Guardians having successful years at the top while Twins, White Sox, and Tigers have also found occasional success.

AL West

The AL West comprises five teams, those five teams being the Seattle Mariners, Los Angeles Angels, Houston Astros, Texas Rangers, and Oakland Athletics.

The Athletics are the oldest team in the AL West and have been around under different team names since the AL was established in 1901.

Since moving to the AL West in 2013, the Astros have been one of the best teams in the AL West.

NL East

The NL East comprises five teams, with those five teams being the Atlanta Braves, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Washington Nationals, and Miami Marlins.

The Braves and Phillies are the two oldest clubs from the NL East, as they have been around since the original creation of the MLB.

While this division is usually very competitive, there was a time when the Atlanta Braves were the dominant force of the NL East every season.

NL Central

The NL Central comprises five teams, those five teams being the Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals, and Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Cubs are the oldest team in the NL Central and are one of the two charter baseball teams from when MLB was first created in 1876.

The NL Central has been competitive among three teams in that division, the Cubs, Brewers, and Cardinals.

NL West

The NL West comprises five teams, those five teams being the Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres, and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Dodgers and Giants are the two oldest teams in the NL West and have been around under different team names since their beginnings in the 1880s.

The Dodgers are one of the teams that have dominated the NL West in recent years, with the Giants also being one of the other teams that have done well in the NL West in past years.

When you bet on MLB divisions odds, you are betting on which team will win their respective division at the end of the regular season.

Each league, the AL and NL, has three divisions to bet on the division winner. MLB odds for MLB division betting usually have the previous season’s division winner as the favorite.

At the same time, the remaining teams are given MLB futures odds based on how they finished in the previous season.

While the previous year’s division winner usually gets the favorite nod, it can be challenging for a team to win back-to-back division titles in the current era of MLB.

While this can happen, it usually doesn’t unless there is a very dominant team in their division.

The Atlanta Braves are the only team that has been dominant in their division in the past, having won 14 straight division titles.

So while those MLB lines might show gamblers that a previous year’s winner is a favorite, the previous winner doesn’t usually win the division the following year.

So gamblers will need to look closer at the teams in the league to see who their MLB bet should be on when it comes to MLB futures odds on the MLB division odds.

MLB Strategy Tips

Here are some tips to look at with MLB odds on teams to win their division before the season starts:

• Is there a team that has improved their players to make a run for their division?
• Is there a team that had a chance to win last year’s division title, only to come up short?
• Did the winner from last year keep all the same players and coaches to help their chances of repeating a division title run?
• Did teams in the division improve their rosters in an attempt to stop last year’s division winner from winning it again?
• Are there any standout players called up or signed by a team to help them win their division?
• Have any pre-season trades been made that could affect a team’s chances of winning the division?

MLB futures odds on which team will win their division will move during the regular season and until it ends.

While most teams start with plus odds, those MLB odds will go down on the favorite team as they get more wins through the season.

While early betting on MLB futures odds can give gamblers better MLB lines on teams that oddsmakers don’t see as winners, it can also be risky to bet early due to not knowing how the team will play before the season starts.

For gamblers who wish to wait before betting on MLB futures odds, there can be different things to look at depending on how long one has waited before getting into an MLB bet on the division winner.

While the team with the most wins will be the favorite as the season progresses, the MLB futures odds will also eliminate any team that cannot win their division as the season wears down.

Division Winner MLB Futures Odds

Here are some tips for gamblers getting in late on the MLB futures odds on a division winner:

• Are there any injured players that will be out for an extended amount of time?
• Has the team made any trades before the trade deadline to make a push for winning the division?
• Is there a team getting on a hot streak or cold streak that could affect their chances of winning the division?
• Does the team have a solid or weak bullpen?
• Does the team have a batter or batters that are getting hot or cold as the season progresses?

These are just some of the critical things to look at before making a wager on the MLB futures odds on the MLB divisions. These tips can help the gambler have a better chance of winning an MLB bet.