The season of MLB baseball is a long one, thanks to each team playing 162 games, and its filled to the brim with opportunity. The successful baseball bettor can make an excellent profit over the course of a season. Picking winners in MLB baseball is done by a simple win or lose wager. There are no point spreads in major league baseball. Baseball bettors can utilize the run line to minimize money line amounts. So how does one win successful over the course of a MLB season? Lets take a look at a couple key ideas.

Run Line

Betting on baseball involves picking the winner on the money line. For example, if you liked the favorite and they were - $2.50, you would bet $2.50 for each $1 you want to win. Should you love the underdog and they are + 2.15, you would receive $2.15 for every dollar wagered.

Sometimes you really like a favorite, but the money is far too high. Betting on $2.00 or larger favorites is not really the way to build up your bankroll. If you just have to bet the team, consider betting them on the run line. By giving up the 1.5 runs (so your team must win by 2 or more runs), you will greatly decrease the money line. If your selection is truly a good team, compared to the opponent, they will have s very good shot of winning on the run line.

Pitchers

You must know your pitchers to win in MLB baseball long-term. Thats a concrete fact and theres no way around. In MLB Baseball, the pitcher is the dominant force. A solid pitcher can completely control the game and turn a decent team into a powerhouse for one game. Most sports bettors fail, because they name bet. This is when you bet on a team based on the name and reputation of the pitcher instead of looking at all the underlying stats related to the specific game.

Instead of betting on pitcher just because of his name, heres a short list of a couple pieces of information you want to gather and compare to the opposing pitcher.

1. What is his record against the other team (give extra weight to recent games)?

2. What is his teams record again the other team when he pitches?

3. How does he pitch at the location the game is at?

4. How many innings does he normally pitch? What about against this opponent?

5. Has the pitcher been nursing any injuries lately or is he coming back from one?

Thats five general questions you need to ask. There are more, but these are good to get started with.

Managers and Scoring

Its good to know your managers. More importantly, know what their playing strategy is. For example, does the manager love to play small ball or does he play for solid hits and home runs? If the manager does not like to play small ball and is lacking power hitters and very solid OBP (on base percentage guys), scoring will be hit and miss. Managers that love to play small ball and have a fair number of guys with a good average and OBP will score runs fairly consistently. This does not mean they will win, but you can usually count on these teams to score a few runs on any given day.

Now, lets put it together. If you have a pitcher who generally gives up 7-8 hits and 1-2 walks a game and has a low ERA going against a small ball type team with a good number of players with solid OBP numbers, what do you think will happen? That pitcher is going to, potentially, give up some runs. However, if he is facing a more hit & homer type team, he could potentially freeze them out of runs.

There are many more aspects to look at, but these three areas are critical to selecting baseball winners. Winning long-term is not just about picking winners, its also about getting good value on your wagers.