World Baseball Classic: Team USA Owns Massive Disparity In Title Bets

The World Baseball Classic has continued to live up to the hype, and it feels like the tournament’s title game between the United States and Japan on Tuesday night will be no different.

Team USA is a slight favorite at FanDuel Sportsbook (-142), but the Americans are on the receiving end of an overwhelming disparity in tickets and money.

Japan defeated Mexico on a walk-off win Monday night while the United States routed Cuba on Sunday.

Team USA, a 1.5-run favorite on the majority of sportsbooks, represents 89% of spread bets and 86% of the spread handle on BetMGM. The squad owns a similar 87% of spread bets and 88% of the spread handle at DraftKings Sportsbook, according to a release Tuesday afternoon.

As it relates to the moneyline, Mike Trout, Trea Turner and the Americans hold 75% of tickets and 76% of the moneyline handle on BetMGM. DraftKings, similarly, has Team USA for 90% of the moneyline handle and 84% of moneyline tickets.

Again, a massive disparity.

The majority of bettors also see the contest going Over 10 runs with 87% of tickets and 69% of the money on the Over at BetMGM as well as 87% of bets and 92% of the handle at DraftKings.

It’s worth noting what might be obvious to some: Those betting at American sportsbooks like BetMGM and DraftKings might be more likely to root for the home team. And for casual bettors and baseball fans, which might be a decent portion of the audience for Tuesday’s championship game, it’s more fun to root for runs than it is to root against them.