Capturing a World Series ring is the ultimate goal for baseball players. The Major League Baseball season is a long, grueling 162-game season and then there’s a journey through the playoffs. The last two teams standing to compete in the World Series with just one eventual champion.
If you’ve never bet on the World Series, this page is going to get you set with everything you need to know. From a look at the World Series History to a how-to on reading the odds to tips on betting on the Fall Classic, we’ll get you in championship form.
Let’s start with a look at the current World Series Odds 2020:
World Series Odds October 2024
| TEAM | DraftKings Sportsbook | FanDuel Sportsbook |
|---|---|---|
LA Dodgers | +375 | +380 |
NY Yankees | +400 | +400 |
Houston | +800 | +800 |
Atlanta | +1300 | +1400 |
Minnesota | +1600 | +1500 |
Tampa Bay | +1800 | +1700 |
Washington | +1900 | +1800 |
NY Mets | +2000 | +2200 |
Philadelphia | +2200 | +2500 |
Chicago Cubs | +2200 | +2600 |
St. Louis | +2200 | +2600 |
Cleveland | +2500 | +2300 |
Cincinnati | +2500 | +2500 |
Oakland | +2500 | +2500 |
Chicago White Sox | +2500 | +3300 |
LA Angels | +3500 | +3500 |
Milwaukee | +3500 | +3500 |
Boston | +4000 | +4300 |
Best NJ Sportsbetting app to bet on the World Series
Let’s take a look at the best apps in the Garden State to bet on the World Series along with their current promotions.
The World Series is one of the biggest betting events of the year, which is why the top sportsbooks in the Garden State all have various promotions to join in the festivities. Let’s take a look at the current baseball promotions at the top three books:
FanDuel Sportsbook
FanDuel is currently offering a couple of fun baseball promotions:
- The MLB Run Bonus gives you a $5 bonus in site credit if you bet on a specific game (will be listed on the site)
- Seventh Inning Stretch Insurance gives you a bet refund (up to $50) if the team you bet on is leading during the seventh-inning stretch, but later loses.
You can check out even more promotions here at: FanDuel Sportsbook
DraftKings Sportsbook
Nothing currently at DraftKings.
FOX Bet
Nothing currently at FOX Bet.
How to Bet on the World Series
There are a number of ways to bet on the World Series depending on whether the event is still down the road or whether it’s finally upon us. If we’ve finally reached the World Series round, you’ll have a number of options to bet on it including:
Betting The Games – this includes the regular moneylines, totals and runlines for each game of the World Series
In-Game Betting – Once the games have started, you’ll still be able to bet on the games in-game. That means that after every pitch, hit and out, the odds will change and you can make your decisions at that point.
Props – These are a type of bet that focuses either on player or team performance. That might be something like how many hits a player will have in a game or how many runs a team might score in the contest.
While these are the main options for betting the World Series when it’s upon us, now let’s take a look at how you can bet on the World Series when it’s still months away with something called ‘World Series futures’.
What Are World Series Futures?
World Series futures are a type of bet when you predict which team will win the World Series. You’re able to place these bets at anytime throughout the season and then they are graded once the World Series champion is crowned.
Typically, World Series futures will open up once the previous year’s champ is determined and then you’re able to lock in your bet from that point on. Once the season starts, the World Series futures will shift around.
In other words, a team might be favored to win it all at the beginning of the season but if they suffer a key injury or struggle early on, their odds – and the other teams’ odds – will change accordingly.
In the next section, we’ll take a look at some specific examples to further explain.
How a World Series Futures Bet Works
To place a World Series futures bet, all you have to do is have an account at a licensed sportsbook, select the team you want to bet on and choose the amount you want to wager. When you first login to the sportsbook, the odds are going to look something like this:
Odds To Win 2020 World Series
What you’re looking at here are the teams and their odds. Of course, you’ll see all 30 teams available but in this case, we’re just using three as an example.
What these odds indicate is the amount of money you’d win if you bet $100. In other words, a $100 bet on the Yankees would pay $300 if they won the World Series while a $100 bet on the Phillies would pay $1500 and a $100 bet on the Jays would pay $5000. Sometimes you might see the odds listed in fractional form, so +300 is the same as 3/1 and +5000 is the same as 50/1.
What’s important to note with futures is that there is a great risk and reward. The risk is that your money is locked in for a long period of time and a lot can change in that span. Maybe someone gets injured or maybe a manager gets fired or maybe the team just fails to meet expectations. Regardless, your money is locked in.
On the flip side, the great reward is the payout. When you’re right on these World Series futures, you can really hit the jackpot. A good example is the 2019 season when the Washington Nationals were as high as +5500 in June. Had you placed a $100 bet at that time, you would have eventually won a whopping $5500.
One last thing to note is that there are some rules and regulations with World Series futures. Usually, there will be a stipulation that the season has to be played out without any changes or that the teams must play a certain amount of games (usually around 40 games). In other words, if a team plays 42 games and then goes bankrupt or something crazy happen, the bet is still action (or active) and you would win or lose based on what happens in the season.
World Series Betting Odds
- Los Angeles Dodgers +500
- New York Yankees +600
- Houston Astros +1200
- Tampa Bay Rays +1200
- San Diego Padres +1500
- Atlanta Braves +1600
- Chicago White Sox +1600
- Minnesota Twins +1600
- Oakland Athletics +1600
- Chicago Cubs +1800
- New York Mets +1800
- Cincinnati Reds +2000
- Cleveland Indians +2500
- Washington Nationals +2800
- St. Louis Cardinals +3300
- Milwaukee Brewers +3500
- Arizona Diamondbacks +4000
- Los Angeles Angels +4000
- Philadelphia Phillies +5000
- Boston Red Sox +6000
- Texas Rangers +6000
- Toronto Blue Jays +6600
- Colorado Rockies +8000
- San Francisco Giants +10000
- Baltimore Orioles +15000
- Detroit Tigers +15000
- Miami Marlins +25000
- Seattle Mariners +25000
- Kansas City Royals +30000
- Pittsburgh Pirates +40000
MLB Odds and Line Moves October 2024
One important factor to consider with World Series odds is that they are going to frequently change. As teams play out the season, some teams are going to win more games and appear to have a better shot at winning the title. As a result, their odds will shorten as they become more likely to win the World Series in the eyes of bettors and oddsmakers. On the other hand, teams who are not meeting expectations will see their odds lengthen as they’re viewed as less likely of winning the World Series.
A great example might be a team like the New York Yankees. In 2019, they entered the season among the favorites but they suffered a number of key injuries. As a result, their odds lengthened. Then as the team still played well and managed to overcome the injuries, their odds shortened.
This is how these futures work as teams will bounce up and down as they play better or worse. Some of the major things that might change their odds are a big injury (a player out for the year), a team exceeded expectations, momentum, a manager getting fired or big trades. As teams get eliminated, they’ll get removed from the board and you’ll no longer be able to bet them.
How the MLB Playoffs Work
The Major League Baseball playoffs are a knockout tournament where the last team standing wins the World Series. The bracket is split up with the American League teams battling it out to produce a champion on one side (the American League Pennant) and then National League does the same (battling for the National League Pennant). Then the winner of the American League faces off with the winner of the National League for the World Series.
The playoffs start off with each division winner qualifying for the playoffs along with two Wild Cards in each league. The two Wild Card teams in each league square off in a one-game showdown with the winner moving on.
After that, we have the Divisional Series, which is where the team with the best record in each league faces off with the Wild Card winner and then the two remaining teams square off. Both engage in best-of-seven series.
After that, the two winners move on to the Championship Series, which are also best-of-seven. Lastly, those two winners then clash in the World Series, which is also a best-of-seven series.
The team with the better record in each series gets home-field advantage, which means they’ll play one extra game in the series at home.
NL vs. AL World Series Wins
Entering the 2020 season, there have been 115 World Series contested with the American League claiming 66 titles with the National League winning 49. The New York Yankees have claimed the most titles of any team as they’ve won the ring 27 times. The St. Louis Cardinals are second (and the most of any National League franchise), winning the title 11 times.
While the Cardinals have the most World Series wins of an NL franchise, the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants are tied for having played in the World Series the most times of any NL team as they’ve both appeared in the World Series 20 times. The Yankees lead the AL with 40 World Series appearances.
There are five franchises that have never won a title and that’s the Texas Rangers, Milwaukee Brewers, Colorado Rockies, Tampa Bay Rays and Seattle Mariners. The only franchise that has not even made it to the World Series even once is the Mariners.
In total, there are five franchise that have never lost in the World Series and they are the Toronto Blue Jays (2-0), Miami Marlins (2-0), Arizona Diamondbacks (1-0), Washington Nationals (1-0) and Los Angeles Angels (1-0). The Jays are also the only franchise outside of the United States to have won the title. Meanwhile, the Houston Astros are the only team to play in the World Series from both leagues.
The most frequent World Series matchup that we’ve see is the Dodgers and Yankees, who have squared off in the Fall Classic 11 times. The Yankees have dominated that series 8-3. The second-most frequent matchup we’ve see is the Yankees-San Francisco Giants followed by the Yankees and Cardinals.
All-Time MLB World Series Champions
|
Team |
Wins |
Seasons |
|
New York Yankees |
27 |
1921, 1922, 1923, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1932, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1981, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2009 |
|
St. Louis Cardinals |
11 |
1926, 1928, 1930, 1931, 1934, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1946, 1964, 1967, 1968, 1982, 1985, 1987, 2004, 2006, 2011, 2013 |
|
Philadelphia / Kansas City / Oakland Athletics |
9 |
1905, 1910, 1911, 1913, 1914, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1988, 1989, 1990 |
|
Boston Red Sox |
9 |
1903, 1912, 1915, 1916, 1918, 1946, 1967, 1975, 1986, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2018 |
|
New York / San Francisco Giants |
8 |
1905, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1917, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1933, 1936, 1937, 1951, 1954, 1962, 1989, 2002, 2010, 2012, 2014 |
|
Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers |
6 |
1916, 1920, 1941, 1947, 1949, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1959, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1974, 1977, 1978, 1981, 1988, 2017, 2018 |
|
Cincinnati Reds |
5 |
1919, 1939, 1940, 1961, 1970, 1972, 1975, 1976, 1990 |
|
Pittsburgh Pirates |
5 |
1903, 1909, 1925, 1927, 1960, 1971, 1979 |
|
Detroit Tigers |
4 |
1907, 1908, 1909, 1934, 1935, 1940, 1945, 1968, 1984, 2006, 2012 |
|
Chicago Cubs |
3 |
1906, 1907, 1908, 1910, 1918, 1929, 1932, 1935, 1938, 1945, 2016 |
|
Boston / Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves |
3 |
1914, 1948, 1957, 1958, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1999 |
|
St. Louis Browns / Baltimore Orioles |
3 |
1944, 1966, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1979, 1983 |
|
Washington Senators / Minnesota Twins |
3 |
1924, 1925, 1933, 1965, 1987, 1991 |
|
Chicago White Sox |
3 |
1906, 1917, 1919, 1959, 2005 |
|
Philadelphia Phillies |
2 |
1915, 1950, 1980, 1983, 1993, 2008, 2009 |
|
Cleveland Indians |
2 |
1920, 1948, 1954, 1995, 1997, 2016 |
|
New York Mets |
2 |
1969, 1973, 1986, 2000, 2015 |
|
Kansas City Royals |
2 |
1980, 1985, 2014, 2015 |
|
Toronto Blue Jays |
2 |
1992, 1993 |
|
Miami Marlins |
2 |
1997, 2003 |
|
Houston Astros |
1 |
2005, 2017, 2019 |
|
Arizona Diamondbacks |
1 |
2001 |
|
Los Angeles Angels |
1 |
2002 |
|
Montreal Expos / Washington Nationals |
1 |
2019 |
|
San Diego Padres |
0 |
1984, 1998 |
|
Washington Senators / Texas Rangers |
0 |
2010, 2011 |
|
Seattle Pilots / Milwaukee Brewers |
0 |
1982 |
|
Colorado Rockies |
0 |
2007 |
|
Tampa Bay Rays |
0 |
2008 |
World Series Betting Tips
1. Note Previous Meetings
One of the first things you’ll want to take a look at is previous meetings between the teams. If there happened to be a few interleague matchups between the two finalists, that can tip you off to see how the teams perform against each other. Take note of how pitchers fared, how they played in each stadium and what were the scorelines. The past matchups could be a predictor of what we might see in the future.
2. Consider Pitching
As the saying goes, “pitching wins championships”. That’s because a stellar pitching staff tends to best stellar hitting more often than not. That means you’ll want to examine which team has the better starting rotation, bullpen and closer.
Some of the most important stats to track to evaluate pitching includes team ERA, opponent batting average, Walks & Hits Per Inning (WHIP), holds and saves. Take a look at where the teams rank in each category to get an idea of how good their pitching staffs are.
3. Home-Field Advantage
Home-field advantage can tip the scales just enough of the World Series. The teams will each get to host three games in the first six contests of the World Series but Game 7 is hosted by the team with the better record. General speaking, teams play slightly better at home than on the road and that can factor greatly when it’s Game 7 and everything is on the line.
4. Momentum
Keep an eye on momentum going into the World Series because the trajectory of the teams is very important. For example, in the 2019 World Series, the Washington Nationals had plenty of momentum on their side. They started the year 37-40 but finished on a 56-29 run. They then won eight of their first 10 playoff games.
Although a team’s record is their entire body of work, sometimes it doesn’t paint a full picture as to what momentum the team has. Drill down to see if either team is on a roll and with momentum, because that can indicate great confidence and team chemistry.
5. Injuries
One very important factor to keep in mind is injuries. A typical basically season is 162 games and a team will have to win at least eight more times in the playoffs to get to the World Series (possibly nine). That means that by the time the Fall Classic rolls around, there could be all sorts of bumps and bruises.
Take a look at the injury reports to see if any key players are missing. Beyond that, try to track any nagging injuries that players are fighting through. Sometimes they are healthy enough to play but are being limited by various ailments. That can sap their strength, speed or potential and tip the scales one way or another.
New York Yankees: World Series of Baseball History
The Yankees lead Major League Baseball in both World Series wins (27) and appearances (40). No other team is close as the St. Louis Cardinals are second in wins (11) and two other teams are tied for second in appearances (20).
The Yankees don’t have the best World Series winning percentage, though. The Toronto Blue Jays (2-0) and Miami Marlins (2-0) have never lost while the Pittsburgh Pirates have a .714 winning percentage (5-2).
The last Yankees championship came in 2009.
MLB World Series Odds 2020 FAQ
Are the New York Yankees contenders to win the World Series?
The New York Yankees entered the 2020 season as the favorites to win the American League and were second in line in terms of the odds to win the World Series.
How many times have the New York Yankees made the World Series?
The New York Yankees have collected a total of 40 American League pennants, which means they’ve played in the World Series 40 times. They have won the World Series in 27 of those 40 appearances. The 27 wins is by far the most of any franchise as the St. Louis Cardinals are second with 11 titles.
Where can I bet on the World Series?
You can bet on the World Series at any legal, licensed sportsbook in the state of New Jersey. Just make sure that you are at least 21 years of age and are a resident of the Garden State.
What types of bets can I make on MLB?
There is a huge variety of bets that you can place on Major League Baseball, including mondylines (team to win outright), runlines (spread), totals (over-under), props and more.
Where is the World Series in 2020?
The 2020 World Series will be played in the two stadiums of the American League champion and the National League champion. The team with the better of the two records will host a maximum of four of the seven games in the series while the team with the worse record will get to host a maximum of three.
Which MLB team has the best chance of winning?
The Los Angeles Dodgers entered the 2020 season as the favorite to win the World Series. They were closely trailed by the New York Yankees and the Houston Astros.
What is the significance of the 1919 World Series?
The 1919 World Series is notable because several Chicago White Sox players conspired with gamblers to throw the World Series games. The White Sox were heavily favored to win the World Series but bets mysteriously kept pouring in on the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds ended up winning the series and after the investigation was concluded in 2021, eight members of the White Sox were banned from the sport.