World Baseball Classic Betting
Written July 22, 2008 by Jack Jones
Doc is giving our free information on world baseball classic betting to go along with some free MLB picks right here on this page.
When the United States’ starting nine take the field against Mexico on March 7 in Pool B’s draw of the World Baseball Classic at Phoenix, the winner of Pool A will have already been decided at the Tokyo Dome. But just because the USA won’t get into the action for another full week, don’t let that stop you from point-and-clicking a well-placed win market wager on your favorite team to win their pool in the WBC and move on to the second round of international baseball competition. World Baseball Classic betting is offered at all major online sportsbooks.
Like World Cup betting, there are a number of ways you can win money at World Baseball Classic betting. Popular among WBC futures wagering is win market pool bets where you can back your favorite team and get fairly decent odds to win their pool in the first round.
The first annual WBC is comprised of 16 teams divided into four groups (A-D) of four teams. Each group plays a round-robin style tournament within their own group, or as we like to say in March, within their own bracket. The team with the most wins in their group will win the pool and the top two teams in each pool will move on to the second round.
The 16 countries selected are considered the best baseball nations in the world with the USA, Japan and Dominican Republic among the most respected (and the favorites to win it all this year). These 16 teams were chosen because they best articulated the WBC’s aim of global representation as well as bringing a high-level of competition organizers hope the countries will add to this international table. The teams were put into either Pool A, B, C and D for competitive balance and geography.
Don’t ask me how Australia is on the same competitive level as, say, Italy, Dominican Republic and Venezuela? Good thing geography was considered otherwise the Aussies would have had to play in Tokyo. But for me, one the best parts about the WBC, other than betting, is discovering the nationalities of my favorite MLB players.
Before you play in the pool that is WBC, make sure you understand the rules in the event of a tie to win the individual pool. Ties records are broken down in this order: The team that defeated the other tied team head-to-head in Round 1 shall be ranked higher in the pool standings for Round 1. The tied teams shall be ranked in the standings for that Round according to fewest runs allowed divided by the number of innings (including partial innings) played in defense in the games in that Round between the teams tied.
Meaning if we break it down into an algebraic formula you still won’t be able to figure it out after a couple of PBRs.
The tied teams shall be ranked in the standings according to fewest earned runs allowed divided by the number of innings (including partial innings) played in defense in the games in that Round between the teams tied. The tied teams shall be ranked in the standings according to highest batting average in games in that Round between the teams tied. Got it? Good. Now let’s bet.
World Baseball Classic Betting Odds for Pools:
World Baseball Classic Betting - Pool A
3/03/06 - 11:00 AM
Baring catastrophe you’ll win your Pool A bet if you back Team Japan at -$2.65. I say catastrophe because if you think we like baseball in this country, it is an obsession on the four islands of Japan. It would be akin the Men’s USA Olympic basketball team not winning Gold, but like 100 times worse since we don’t really care about Olympic basketball in this country. For host nation Japan it would be bad enough losing to China (the Japanese didn’t lose the 1937 Japan-China war and I don’t think they’ll start losing on their home soil either), but imagine what will happen on Honshu if Japan loses to Chinese-Taipei? I wonder if they’ll light chopsticks in the streets. While it is fun to imagine, it is highly unlikely that Japan will lose to China or Chinese-Taipei.
If any team in Pool A will give Japan a hard time it is like to be the Korean squad. As good as the Japanese are at pitching, the Koreans are at hitting. Remember that in the 2000 Sydney Olympics the Koreans beat the Japanese for the Bronze medal. This prevented Japan from winning a medal for the first time since Baseball became an Olympic sport. Japan has had this game circled ever since they knew they’d be playing Korea. When these two teams play each other on March 5 it is likely the winner of this game will win Pool A. For our purposes, we’ll use the old baseball maxim that good pitching beats good hitting and give the lean to Japan in the game.
The projected starters for Sadaharu Oh’s (the world’s baseball home run leader with 868) squad feature Ichiro Suzuki (RF), Munenori Kawasaki (SS), Norichika Aoki (CF), Nobuhiko Matsunaka (DH), Takahiro Arai (1B), Akinori Iwamura (3B), Kazuhiro Wada (LF), Ryoji Aikawa (C), Tsuyoshi Nishioka (2B). This classic line up of starters is known 1-9 for their ability to play small-ball; busting out infield singles; stealing bases; hit-and-run, and bunting are the hallmarks of this Japanese team. While on the mound, Japan’s three likely Starters for Pool A are: 1. Koji Uehara (vs. China) 2. Daisuke Matsuzaka (vs. Chinese Taipei) 3. Shunsuke Watanabe (vs. Korea). The starting three pitchers are celebrated in Japan for their control and their ability to their opponents from scoring runs.
However, most notably absent from the Japan squad this year is Hideki “Godzilla” Matsui. However, Pool A does not feature the strongest competition in the world (save for Korea who might get an upset win over the Japanese) so his bat while missed, won’t be as detrimental to the team as it might be in the later rounds against the powerhouses of the World Baseball Classic.
Pick! Japan -$2.65
JAPAN -$2.65
CHINESE TAIPEI +$4.00
KOREA +$5.00
CHINA +$7.00
World Baseball Classic Betting - Pool B
3/03/06 - 11:00 AM
A quick glance at Pool B might be a bit deceiving if you automatically give the United States the win without considering the team from the Great White North. Some might say, “Take off hoser, eh?” I look at Canada as being quite dangerous in this pool and if any team has the baseball ability to beat the United States it is either Canada or Mexico.
Canada boasts its strongest team ever in an international baseball competition and has a very realistic chance of moving onto Round 2 and perhaps even winning a pool that includes the United States, Mexico and South Africa. Don’t ask me, but given the criteria of the WBC Pools somehow South Africa got thrown in the mix in Pool B and is a prohibitive underdog to win this pool at +8000 on the moneyline. Another interesting prop bet is whether South Africa wins one game.
Ernie Whitt’s team will be led by left-handed pitchers Jeff Francis, Adam Loewen and Erik Bedard with outfielders Jason Bay and Matt Stairs and infielder Corey Koskie as the meat of the batting line-up. One Canadian that won’t play is retired MLB player Larry Walker. The five-time All-Star and 1997 National League MVP says his playing days are over so Walker will work for Team Canada on the bench as a coach.
Now that Nomar Garciaparra has dropped out of the WBC for Team Mexico one thing is sure, at least the entire world won’t get extremely irritated with Ramon Garciaparra’s son’s five minute OCD display at the plate when preparing to bat. All joking aside, while the USA should win this Pool, it is up to Mexico or Canada to advance to round 2 with the USA. Mexico has just as good a shot to be that team as Canada.
Mexico has some very good MLB pitchers with Esteban Loaiza, Rodrigo Lopez, Luis Ayala and Ricardo Rincon as well as the head case Oliver Perez. And while the Mexican roster does not have the All-Star cache like the US or the Dominican Republic, they contain enough experienced players to take their competition to the limit and perhaps even steal a game.
But it is not quite realistic to pick Canada or Mexico to beat team USA. In fact, when looking at the USA roster it is hard to believe that this roster will lose to any country in the world. Team USA GM Tom Watson couldn’t have really hoped for a much better line-up starting March 7. The pitching staff goes without saying as incredibly deep and is led by ageless Roger Clemens, C.C. Sabathia, and Dontrell Willis.
The starting three for Team USA have a great supporting cast led by Chad Cordero, Brian Fuentes, Todd Jones, Brad Lidge, Joe Nathan, Jake Peavy, Scot Shields, Huston Street, Mike Timlin, Billy Wagner and Dan Wheeler. Playing the infield for Team USA are MLB stars and future Hall-of-Famers Derek Jeter, Chipper Jones, Derrek Lee, Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Chase Utley and Michael Young. While in the outfield Vernon Wells is likely to sit-out due to injury so it will be up to Johnny Damon, Jeff Francoeur, Ken Griffey Jr., Matt Holliday and Randy Winn to shag fly balls.
‘Nuff said?
PICK! USA -2000
USA -2000
CANADA +1000
MEXICO +1000
SOUTH AFRICA +8000
World Baseball Classic Betting - Pool C
3/03/06 - 11:00 AM
Unfortunately for Team Panama, Yankees closer Mariano Rivera will not play in the WBC because according to the All-Star pitcher he will not be in shape to pitch in early March. The good news for Panama is that 2005 All-Star Carlos Lee will take the field for Panama. However, he’ll need a lot of help to beat Pool C powerhouses Puerto Rico and Cuba.
The best part of the WBC for Team Netherlands is that they left the wintry canals and windmills behind for two weeks of extra training camp and the welcome warmth and sunshine of Florida. While it is tempting to ignore Netherlands’ chances of progressing into the second round, don’t. Netherlands has played well in international baseball competition with two international championships to their credit in 2003 and 2005. The Dutch will even field a few stars as well. All things considered, though, the WBC will be much more competitive than regular international competition which features remarkably less MLB veterans.
Manager Robert Eenhoorn’s squad is not huge underdogs to win the Pool, but at 7/1 I think “the man” is baiting you to play Netherlands. Perhaps part of the reason for the relatively short odds are two starting pitchers you may have heard about as Danny Haren and Mark Mulder have the ability to keep games close and win tight ones as long as MLB vets Shea Hillenbrand and Andruw Jones can drive home a few runs.
Host country Puerto Rico will field an awesome lineup that features 27 MLB veterans that includes Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez, Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado when they take the field on Tuesday March 7 at Hiram Bithorn Stadium against Panama. Also included in the lineup for Puerto Rico are familiar superstars like Bernie Williams and Javier Lopez (who will play first base rather than catch). Puerto Rico will play Netherlands on Wednesday and will end their round-robin play against Cuba, with the winner of the game most likely the team that will win Pool C and the loser will most likely move to Round 2 as the runner-up in Pool C.
As good as Puerto Rico is on offense, like with Canada and Korea, there is considerable drop-off on the mound. Slated to start for Puerto Rico against Panama is right hand pitcher Javier Vazquez, followed in the rotation by Seattle pitcher Joel Pinero against Netherlands and Dicky Gonzalez against Cuba. If I was Puerto Rico manager Jose Oquendo (remember ESPN’s tribute to the MLB journeyman to get him into the Hall of Fame?), I would reverse their pitching rotation so that their best pitcher, Vazquez, will meet their toughest opponent, Cuba. But then I wasn’t asked for my input and by the time Puerto Rico takes the field lineups and rotations could change.
This is why I think Cuba will be Puerto Rico’s toughest opponent-and why I have Cuba in my bracket to make it the finals-even though they don’t have the Marquee players of the Dominican Republic, Venezuela and the United States. Cuba baseball is in mid-season form now, and has taken a hiatus from their season while the WBC (much like the NHL during the winter Olympics) takes place. Cuba, unlike the USA and Japan, automatically included their All-Star squads on their provisional roster (which was then pared down to 30 players). Cuba also plays in a one-and-done format so they know how not to give away games and, like the NY Yankees in MLB, Cuba has one of the most dominant closers that you have never heard of in Pedro Luis Lazo. Essentially the very young and very talented Cuban team will be very tough to beat in close games where they have a lead.
Initially Cuba was going to be banned from playing in the WBC due to the US Treasury Department’s economic embargo against the Communist country. Since the Cuban players are not going make any money from this other than the $100 per diem that all the WBC players get, Cuba’s application was finally accepted.
PICK! Cuba +$1.85
PUERTO RICO -$1.10
CUBA +$1.85
PANAMA +$5.50
NETHERLANDS +$7.00
World Baseball Classic Betting - Pool D
3/03/06 - 11:00 AM
Australia emerges as one of the lesser-known international teams that will look to make their mark on the international stage of the World Baseball Classic. But it won’t be easy for the team from Down Under who managed to win a silver medal in the 2004 summer Olympics at Athens.
While many countries competing in the WBC will feature MLB All-Stars with talent to spare, Australia will rely upon the ancient (36) Milwaukee Brewers slugger Dave Nilsson and the brains of Red Sox scout turned Aussie Manager Jon Deeble to win in an extremely tough Pool D. While dreams come true sometimes, it is not realistic to expect an Australian team that will rely on the arm of right-handed-pitcher Damian Moss, who pitched for the Braves, Giants, Orioles and Devil Rays from 2001-04, to beat at least two of the three teams in Pool D; Dominican Republic, Venezuela and Italy, to move on to Round 2. Australia also has the distinction of bringing ten catchers to the WBC — the most of any WBC country.
Italy, by contrast, will bring five catchers to the WBC, but one of them is our favorite ex-mustache and newly minted Padre, Mike Piazza. The fact that the only action Piazza will see is DH’ing (is that a word?) rather than crouching, brings Italy’s total number of catchers down to four. But lets face it folks, Italy is another team that is just happy to be here. It is hard to imagine Italy getting past Australia let alone Dominican Republic and Venezuela.
Speaking of the two teams that will move onto Round 2 from Pool D, to the casual baseball observer, the Dominican Republic looks to have Pool D in the bag. According to the oddsmakers, that is the case as well as they are installed at a -$2.25 favorite to win. And why shouldn’t they? Their roster is a veritable who’s-who of MLB domination. In fact, the lineup features a murderer’s row of home run hitters who will likely record a combined 300 home runs this MLB season. And isn’t it great that when Alex Rodriguez declines an invitation to play for his country that there is Miguel Tejada to take his place. The same holds true with MBMR (Manny Being Manny Ramirez). Will he play? Won’t he play? In a phrase, when you have Moises Alou, Vladimir Guerrero, Jose Guillen and Wily Mo Pena, who the hell cares? Yeah this team is loaded like Lou Reed when he played with the Velvet Underground.
As I mentioned previously, though, if the Dominican Republic has a weakness, and remember weakness is a relative term, it is pitching. While I am cognizant of Pedro Martinez and Bartolo Colon, I am not necessarily hanging Dominican Republic’s hopes on their arms. Certainly their offensive and defensive prowess is second to none, but to win the classic they’ll have to back it up with consistent pitching. There is no doubt in my mind that Dominican Republic moves on to Round 2, but I am not sure it will be as the winner of Pool D.
Former MLB player Luis Sojo will manage the Venezuelan team as they are my pick to win the inaugural WBC so it would stand that I like them to win Pool D as well. And it is easy to see why as they bring, perhaps, the best all-around pitching staff of any country in the WBC. I know some will argue that how can I like this staff over Team USA, but I’ll take Johan Santana, Freddy Garcia, Francisco Rodriguez, Gustavo Chacin, Carlos Zambrano and Victor Zambrano, thank you very much. Of course, how they perform on the world stage might be substantially different than I imagine, I think these MLB veterans know how to win big games — even if they have not all won World Series rings in MLB.
Sojo’s fine pitching squad will be caught by Ramon Hernandez, Henry Blanco, Victor Martinez and Alex Delgado. The infield will include Edgardo Alfonzo, Alex Cabrera Miguel Cairo, Jose Castillo, Alex Gonzalez, Luis Gonzalez, Carlos Guillen, Omar Infante, Cesar Izturis, Cesar Jimenez, Jose Lopez, Victor Moreno, Tomas Perez, Roberto Petagine, Luis Rodriguez, Marco Scutaro and Omar Vizquel. In the outfield Venezuela will play Bobby Abreu, Tony Alvarez, Miguel Cabrera, Endy Chavez, Franklin Gutierrez, Richard Hidalgo, Magglio Ordonez, Robert Perez, Alex Ramirez and Juan Rivera .
Last month, Venezuela won the Caribbean Series title - their first since 1989 - which included Caribbean powerhouse Dominican Republic. This win could well have a positive effect on the Venezuelan team as they will be brimming with confidence that they can dominate their pool — including the Dominican Republic.
PICK! Venezuela +$1.65
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC -225
VENEZUELA +165
ITALY +5000
AUSTRALIA +2500