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Betting Major League Baseball is a passion for millions of fans but the weather can make quite a difference in the MLB odds as well as the projected results.
Let’s talk about mother Nature’s influence when it comes to our MLB picks!
Climate Control
There are currently six domed stadiums in Major league Baseball and you would be wise to know where they are so that you can take that into your betting equations when games are played in those venues.
Therefore, if games are being played at Chase Field (Diamondbacks), Rogers Centre (Blue Jays), SafeCo Field (Mariners), Minute Maid Park (Astros), Miller Park (Brewers), or Marlins Stadium (Marlins) then you can be sure that Mother Nature will play no part in the outcome.
But we don’t get nearly as lucky at the other 24 ballfields across the majors and that’s when it is imperative that you scan the weather reports in those areas in which you are inclined to make a wager. Now, you can do that with one of the many tools that OddsTrader has for you.
There are all kinds of consequences that can occur in an open field park or stadium and below we will talk about the most frequent and important.
Beware of the Elements
We all know that rain can postpone or cancel a baseball game and that the total will drop precipitously if a storm is brewing. But it doesn’t have to rain to affect the run-scoring in a baseball game.
The mere presence of humidity can dampen those fly balls that would normally be long gone and hard to find into a deep fly landing harmlessly into an outfielder’s glove.
The thick air not only acts as a barrier but the moisture softens the baseball which limits the distance it will travel.
And let’s not forget about what the wind can do. If the breeze is blowing out then a fly ball pitcher can get in more trouble than normal as the wind will carry what would normally be lazy fly balls up and over the short porch of any stadium.
That will have an enormous effect not only on the total but on the side whose starting pitcher is prone to getting fly ball outs that can easily turn into home run launches.
We should also consider flyball pitchers working in the thin air of Coors Field in Colorado.
The home run totals are staggering and the totals are routinely among the highest you will see when perusing the MLB odds.
Ground ball pitchers are, generally speaking, a better bet than their fly ball contemporaries and this should always be an important aspect of your baseball betting decisions.
Venue Advantage
Consider four-time Silver Slugger Award winner and 2007 NL batting champion, Matt Holiday, who made his bones at Coors Field at the beginning of his career.
From 2004-2008 Holiday forged a phenomenal home OPS of 1.068 and a batting average of .319.
But once being shipped to St. Louis in a trade where he was a member of the Cardinals from 2009-2016, his OPS dropped to .985 and his batting average to .296 at Busch Stadium. Still, excellent numbers to be sure but far short of the stellar stats he posted at Coors Field.
Seven-time All-Stars like Holliday don’t care where they hit but he once stated, “there was a safety net knowing you were going to play half of your games at Coors Field.
“Even if I had a rough road trip, I always felt good coming home,” Holliday said. “I had this confidence that I would be able to get back on track. But I think almost everybody feels better and hits better at their home park.”
Holiday went on to say that it wasn’t only the thin air that made Coors Field a hitters’ paradise but the optics as well.
“The hitting background is very good and the lights are good … it’s just a comfortable place to hit,” he said. “Players will tell you that the visuals are different ant ballparks. At (Chicago’s) Wrigley Field, it feels like the pitcher is right on top of you, so I never felt as comfortable there.”
So, make sure to take a little extra time and review the weather at the stadiums in which you will be wagering. It’s well worth the effort and it’s also not a bad idea to find out how the starting pitchers have fared historically at those sites. After all, forewarned is forearmed in the world of sports betting.
