The Cleveland Indians are making history and devoted gamblers could be making millions of dollars supporting the Tribe during the win streak with the right timing.
A bettor who had placed a $100 on the Indians to win against the Boston Red Sox way back on Aug. 24 when the streak began, and kept rolling over the winnings during the streak would be $2.7 million richer after the Tribe picked up win No. 22 on Thursday night.
Of course, not every person can be as committed to the kitty as our imaginary bettor. It takes stones and a strong stomach to roll over your winnings when you get into triple digits. The far more common practice is to stick with a fixed amount or unit to bet on each game. A sports bettor who wagered $100 on the Indians in each game of their win streak would be up $1373.40 or 13.73 units.
Surprisingly, Cleveland’s win streak is not the most profitable run for baseball bettors following the more traditional wagering method. Here’s a quick look at the longest winning streaks in baseball this century and just how profitable they were for bettors.
6. 2000 Atlanta Braves
Win streak length: 15 games
Winnings for $100 per game bettor: $894.79
Winnings for roll over bettor: $103,182.45
The Braves were a brand name in the year 2000 and oddsmakers were pricing them accordingly. Atlanta boasted Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine in the rotation, and Chipper Jones, Andruw Jones and Andres Galarraga in the batting lineup. Reads like a who’s who list of NL All-Stars from Triple Play 2000 for PlayStation.
Atlanta was favored in every game and priced at -200 or higher in seven of those 15 games during the win streak.
5. 2001 Seattle Mariners
Win streak length: 15 games
Winnings for $100 per game bettor: $895.61
Winnings for roll over bettor: $103,208.86
There was no A-Rod, Griffey Jr. or Randy Johnson on the roster in 2001, but Seattle won 116 regular season games thanks in large part to some rookie named Ichiro.
The Cinderella M’s would have made a lot more money for bettors had their 15-game run happened at the beginning of April instead of the end of May. By the time the streak began, Seattle was already first in the AL standings with a 32-12 record.
Oddsmakers had wised up to the Mariners’ magical year by the time the streak started and made them favorites in all 15 contests.
4. 2004 Houston Astros
Win streak length: 12 games
Winnings for $100 per game bettor: $932.98
Winnings for roll over bettor: $72,461.34
The Astros finished second in the NL Central, but made it to the NLCS before bowing out to the St. Louis Cardinals in 2004 thanks in large part to their two-headed monster at the top of their pitching rotation. Roger Clemens produced one of his finest seasons of his career, and Roy Oswalt was in his prime and dealing.
The win streak would have been more profitable were if not for the short odds bookies gave when either of those two aces took the bump.
3. 2002 Oakland Athletics
Win streak length: 20 games
Winnings for $100 per game bettor: $959.99
Winnings for roll over bettor: $238,478.18
They may have coined the term “Moneyball”, but the 2002 A’s didn’t have a lot of betting value for their supporters. Starting pitchers Tim Hudson, Barry Zito and Mark Mulder all had ERAs under 3.50 in the middle of the steroid era. Sportsbooks attached pricey tags any one from the trio took the hill.
Michael Lewis and Brad Pitt want you to believe Scott Hatteberg was the hero of this team, but Miguel Tejada, Eric Chavez and Jermaine Dye were pretty good players too.
2. 2017 Cleveland Indians
Win streak length: 22 games
Winnings for $100 per game bettor: $1374.40
Winnings for roll over bettor: $2,772,573.78
Oh what a difference a month makes. The Dodgers were the talk of the league at the beginning of August with analysts asking if the club would break the single season wins record. Cleveland, meanwhile, was petering along with a slight lead in the AL Central.
Now the Indians are World Series favorites and just a few games back of the Dodgers for the best record in the big leagues.
Cleveland took advantage of a soft portion of its schedule and racked up wins against the Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers. Oddsmakers made the Indians a -420 favorite earlier this week – a number you rarely ever see in baseball moneyline odds.
1. 2004 Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Win streak length: 12 games
Winnings for $100 per game bettor: $1452.42
Winnings for roll over bettor: $1,129,228.07
The win streak the 2004 Rays produced has to be an anomaly. Every other team on this list made it to the postseason. The Rays finished fourth in their division at 70-91. They did have a 12-game winning streak – but they also had a 12-game losing streak and two six-game skids in the same season.
That’s why this win streak was the best one for sports bettors. In 12 games, the Rays won as much money for roll over bettors as the Indians did in 19 games.
Oddsmakers made Tampa Bay an underdog in all but four games of that win streak. Even crazier – 11 of the Rays’ 12 victories came against National League clubs. Tampa Bay went 15-3 in interleague play and 55-88 the rest of the season.
FUBAR is the proper term here.
