There are many different angles sports bettors must consider when wagering on Major League Baseball. Starting pitchers, hot or cold lineups, which umpire is calling balls and strikes, and yes, even which ballpark games are being played in.
That’s because just like when we rate which stadiums top the list as must-visit ballparks for seamheads, when it comes to MLB betting, not all parks are created equal. Some are hitting havens while others have deep dimensions pitchers dream of.
Here are some MLB betting tips for which ballparks can impact your baseball wagers the most.
Coors Field, Colorado Rockies
Any discussion about an MLB ballpark's impact on games has to begin with Coors Field in Denver, Colorado. At 5,200 feet above sea level, the Rockies home field sits at the highest elevation of any big league park.
The stadium was constructed with some of the deepest dimensions in baseball to compensate for that thin air, but that hasn’t mattered. ESPN’s Park Factor has ranked Coors Field as the friendliest or second friendliest to hitters in each of the past 10 seasons.
So, it should be no surprise that Coors Field is also the home to some elevated totals. The Rockies regularly play in home games with Over/Unders in the 12.5 range and sometimes that number reaches as high as 14.5 depending on the pitchers and opponent.
But have those high totals done enough to nerf that Rocky Mountain air? Well, since 2011 (the last 10 seasons), the Rockies have been the third most profitable Over team at home in baseball, going above the number 52.4 percent of the time. We've seen a shift, however, over the last five years. Since 2016, the Rockies have cashed just 46.1 percent of Over bets at home – the fifth-worst mark in the Majors.
So, while Coors Field is home to some sky-high totals, you can’t just be betting Overs blindly.
Wrigley Field, Chicago Cubs
It’s not called the Windy City for nothing. Winds blowing in and out of Wrigley Field at 15-20 miles per hour happen quite regularly. So, it's a novice mistake to bet a Cubs home game total before checking to see which way the winds are blowing. In fact, veteran baseball bettors know that the Cubs’ home totals are some of the latest lines to hit the MLB betting board on a daily basis.
Savvy bettors jump on those totals quickly, as it changes a total as much as a whole run depending on the direction of the wind. But be forewarned, oddsmakers have countered that wind with sharp lines. Combine that with the Cubs' success over the last five years and Wrigley has become the best Under park in the majors.
The Under is 200-158-14 at Wrigley Field since 2016, cashing 55.9 percent of the time. But it’s not just the wind off Lake Michigan that keeps scoring low at Wrigley, the dimensions play a role as well.
The outfield walls remain basically untouched since 1937, and while center field and the power alleys are not super deep, the foul poles are the deepest in MLB. Something to consider now that pull hitting is commonplace in baseball.
But with the winds changing when it comes to the Cubs’ product on the field, will we see a swing in total results as well?
Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati Reds
Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, Ohio has long been lauded as a hitter-friendly ballpark since opening in 2003, but the rate at which players are hitting dingers there over the last couple of years has been incredible.
More home runs have been hit at Great American Ball Park since it opened in 2003 than any other park in baseball, while the stadium has ranked in the Top 10 in home run park factor in each of the past 10 seasons and in the Top 5 seven times. That includes being the best home run park in 2018 and during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.
With some of the coziest dimensions in baseball, GABP is 328 feet down the left field line and 325 to right. The gaps are 379 in left and 370 in right, with dead center at 404 feet. But have those smaller dimensions and all those dingers meant more Overs?
Well, since 2011 the Reds have ranked sixth when it comes to cashing Overs at GABP, coming in at 51.5 percent, and since 2016 that number has bumped up to 52.1 percent, ranking fourth in MLB over that span.
Where can I bet on MLB?
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