The trade deadline is behind us and there’s less than two months of regular season baseball left to be played. We want you to go into the 2023 MLB postseason equipped with the best odds, and that’s precisely what this guide is all about.
World Series Winner Betting Odds
World Series Odds (Courtesy of Bovada)
Atlanta Braves +310
Los Angeles Dodgers +475
Tampa Bay Rays +700
Houston Astros +750
Texas Rangers +750
Baltimore Orioles +1200
Toronto Blue Jays +1200
Philadelphia Phillies +1900
San Francisco Giants +2500
New York Yankees +2500
Minnesota Twins +2500
San Diego Padres +2800
Milwaukee Brewers +2800
Cincinnati Reds +3000
Seattle Mariners +4500
Arizona Diamondbacks +5000
Los Angeles Angels +5500
Boston Red Sox +5500
Miami Marlins +6000
Cleveland Guardians +7500
New York Mets +8000
Chicago Cubs +14000
Chicago White Sox +30000
St. Louis Cardinals +35000
Detroit Tigers +50000
Pittsburgh Pirates +60000
Colorado Rockies +250000
Washington Nationals +250000
Kansas City Royals +300000
Oakland Athletics +400000
>> See the latest MLB World series odds
As we enter the final stretch of the season, there’s a lot more clarity between the contenders and the pretenders for winning the World Series. The oddsmakers have certainly noticed and there are some clear dividing lines in the current odds to win the World Series.
The National League boasts the two teams with the best odds, the Braves (+310) and Dodgers (+475). They are the most complete teams in the National League and will likely have to go through one another to get to the fall classic. These odds reflect the strength of the two teams, but also the flaws in all of the other National league contenders.
The American league is completely up in the air as the next 5 teams with the best odds to win the World Series are all from the AL. After the trade deadline Houston (+700), Tampa Bay (+750) and Texas (+750) are all virtually tied for the best American League odds to win the World series.
While the 2023 MLB champion will most likely come from one of those top teams, baseball has a long history of unlikely champions, especially in the era of the Wild Card. There are several intriguing teams outside of the top tier that might currently be undervalued.
In this guide we will profile all of the favorites as well as some selected long shot teams who present good value. To save time, we won’t be examining any of the bottom 8 teams in the odds. The odds could be a billion to one for these teams and we wouldn’t touch it.
Now, on to the teams worth discussing!
Major League Baseball World Series Info:
- Finalists: National League champion vs. American League Champion
- Date: TBA (Sometime in late October)
- Time: TBA
- Location: TBA
- Channel: Fox
- Odds: Check here
MLB World Series History
The World Series was first played in 1903 when the American League Boston Americans (later changed to Red Sox) defeated the favored Pittsburgh Pirates of the National League. Boston won the best of 9 series, 5 games to 3, to become the first world series winners.
The victory was a boon for the upstart American League, proving they could compete with the established National league. In 1904, the National League Champion New York Giants refused to play Boston in the world series, claiming that the National was the only “real” professional baseball league.
After realizing how much money was lost by not playing the World Series, no other owner ever made that mistake again, and the World Series has been played every year since 1905,except for the 1994 season that ended in a strike and did not have a champion.
The first series was a best of nine games format, but other than the three seasons between 1919 and 1921 (also best of nine), every world series has been a best of seven games.
For a long time the World Series participants were simply the team in each league with the most wins, but in 1969 Major League baseball switched to a divisional playoff format where each league was divided into an Eastern and Western division. The winners of those divisions would play a best of 5 series to determine each league’s World Series representative.
In the years since the introduction of expanding the playoffs, the format has undergone several changes, leading up to the current 10 team playoff format.
Although they haven’t won a championship or even appeared in a World Series since 2009, the New York Yankees are the runaway leaders in most appearances (40) and wins (27).
The Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers have lost the most World Series of any team, coming up short in 14 of the 21 series in which they have appeared.
The Yankees and Dodgers have met 11 times in the World Series, and the Yankees hold an 8-3 advantage in those matchups.
If you look at recent history, the Dodgers and the Astros are dominant. Every World Series Since 2017 has featured at least one of these teams, although only 2017 featured the two teams squaring off.
In the last six World Series the Dodgers have appeared three times (winning one), and the Astros have appeared four times (winning two).
There are six current Major league franchises that have never won the World Series.
The Padres, Rangers, and Rays are all 0-2 in their appearances. The Rockies and Brewers both lost in their single appearances, and the Seattle Mariners have never appeared in a World Series, which makes it very challenging to win one. Some would say impossible.
Check out other MLB betting opportunities:
2023 MLB World Series Betting Guide
The top four teams on the list of favorites have all been to at least one World Series in the last three years. These teams are all battle tested and will be used to the pressure of the playoffs.
They are joined by the Texas Rangers, who spent big in the offseason and made a splash at the trade deadline by adding Max Scherzer to their staff. He will be counted on to provide leadership for a team that hasn’t enjoyed the same level of recent success as the other elite teams.
So let’s take a closer look at the favorites to win the 2023 MLB World Series.
Atlanta Braves (+310)
The Braves have looked and played like champions all year and that is reflected in their (+310) odds to win it all. They’ve been led by Ronald Acuna Jr. who is showing us what he can do when he’s fully healthy. He’s well on the way to winning his first Most Valuable Player trophy this season with the potential of an historic 40 HR/70 steal season.
This team doesn’t seem to have any flaws, with talent and depth in the lineup and the starting rotation, as well as a playoff caliber bullpen. Of course they were similarly dominant last year, before getting booted from the divisional round by the Phillies. Will the Braves learn from their surprising playoff exit last season?
We think the sting of last season’s early playoff exit will propel the Braves to the World Series. And while we don’t normally think the favorite is of great value, the opportunity to triple your wager on the best team in baseball seems like a pretty good deal to us.
Los Angeles Dodgers (+475)
It’s hard to believe that this Dodgers team only has one title over the last decade. A great front office with deep pockets has seen a lot of success but only made it to the summit once. Last season’s team won 111 regular season games but limped out of the playoffs losing to the 89-win Padres 3-1 in the divisional round.
This season, the boys in blue haven’t enjoyed their usual pitching domination, but a team full of veterans has found ways to win, and these odds are a credit to the organization and the trust that they will always find ways to compete.
The Dodgers look to finally be taking control in the NL West. Their sites are aimed higher than that, but for the Dodgers World Championship dreams to come true they need some of their injured pitchers to get healthy and hope that Clayton Kershaw has enough gas left in the tank for one more playoff run.
>> Place your bets for the Dodgers at BetOnline
Tampa Bay Rays (+700)
It’s astounding when you consider how much the Rays achieve every year with a payroll that’s less than what the Mets pay their starting pitchers. Even now that they are playing for other teams.
That more with less strategy is impressive, but the financial restrictions on Tampa Bay make it hard to see them going all the way. They’ve been a regular in the playoffs and even made it to the fall classic twice, but while some of the competition loaded up at the trade deadline, the Rays will try to make due with unknown call ups.
To be fair, Tampa Bay September call ups are usually 6’8” flamethrowing relief pitchers who are nearly unhittable, so we can’t blame them. But we are talking about winning the whole thing here and we think there are some more likely candidates in the AL (all of whom currently have better odds!)
Houston Astros (+750)
The Astros are attempting to be the first team to win back to back World Series since the Yankees won 3 in a row in 1998-2000. Houston has a roster that is good enough to repeat. Especially after replacing free agent defector Justin Verlander with… himself in a trade deadline deal with the Mets.
This team was a World Series contender before they reacquired Verlander. Now they have a hall of fame ace to lead the staff and take the ball in the biggest moments. It will also take some pressure off of the other pitchers, which may result in better performances from them.
We consider this team our favorite to represent the AL in the World Series. They have the talent and experience on the field and now that Dusty Baker has finally won his first title as a manager, perhaps the rest will come easy. This wager is great value and unlikely to stay where it is for very long.
>> Bet on the Houston Astros at Bovada
Texas Rangers (+750)
The Rangers are very similar to Houston, and not just when it comes to the Odds. Both teams have deep lineups and pitching staffs that overcame losing their ace (Jacob Degrom out for the season) to fight for the AL West. Both teams made big additions at the trade deadline to replenish their loss (the Rangers traded for Max Scherzer).
The one difference between the teams is playoff experience. Houston has been making deep runs into the playoffs since 2017 (many of those without the help of cheating, presumably). Texas doesn’t have that kind of experience, at least in the field.
What they do have is Bruce Bochy, who won three championships as manager of the San Francisco Giants. If you think Bochy is good enough to provide an edge we wouldn’t blame you, but we need to see it first to believe it.
World Series Winner: The Next Tier
While these teams might not be favored, they aren’t that far behind the leaders. Each of these teams can make an argument why they could win it all.They may not be convincing arguments, but they wouldn’t be insane. We’re sorry we can’t give a more ringing endorsement, but we see flaws in all of these teams, read on…
Baltimore Orioles (+1200)
When the season started the Tampa Bay Rays charged out in front of the AL East so far that the division title looked like a foregone conclusion. But a couple of dips in performance allowed the Rays to be overtaken by Baltimore, who have finally started to reap the benefits of their impressive farm system.
Even the Orioles must be surprised at how quickly the young talent has adjusted to the big leagues and Baltimore has been too consistent for it to be a fluke. The O’s didn’t make any big splashes at the trade deadline, but they have more help on the farm and could get some real contributions from their September callups.
We like their odds for winning the division more than their World Series Odds because, like Texas, we need to see Baltimore do something in the pressure of October before we can endorse them.
Toronto Blue Jays (+1200)
This was supposed to be the year where the Blue Jays take the next step. Perhaps the team was confused in which direction, because they seem to have taken a step back, especially on offense where they have a number of players underproducing (looking at you Vlad Jr.).
The recent injury to Bo Bichette is also concerning to us, as he was one of the Jays most productive hitters. There’s nothing about this team that makes us think they can provide enough consistent high level baseball to make a deep playoff run.
Philadelphia Phillies (+1900)
The Phillies were also supposed to take the next step after their surprising run to the World Series last year. The team added Trea Turner to what was already a formidable lineup, and it seemed like a return to the World Series was a real possibility.
A number of injuries derailed the Phillies early on and while they’ve climbed back into playoff position, very few players are performing to their abilities. Bryce Harper and Trea Turner in particular have been well below expectations.
There is talent here and they proved they can go on a run during the playoffs last year, but we don’t think they can catch lightning in a bottle twice.
World Series Winner: Long Shots
While we really don’t think any of these teams WILL end up as World Champions, the baseball playoffs are unpredictable and history tells us that one or more teams from this far down the list can sneak into, and even WIN a World Series.
That said, we aren’t going to profile the following 5 teams despite the fact that they technically still have a chance at the playoffs. Let’s just say none of the teams as currently constructed have enough talent to win it all. We respect your right to disagree and if we end up being wrong, send us your winning betting slip with a “told you so”, we won’t get mad.
Milwaukee Brewers +2800
Seattle Mariners +4500
Boston Red Sox +5500
Cleveland Guardians +7500
New York Mets +8000
New York Yankees (+2500)
We actually considered putting the Yankees in our “not worth profiling” list, but we felt like New York baseball fans have had it tough this season, and so we couldn’t leave both teams out.
The best thing we can say about the Yankees is that they didn’t sell at the Trade deadline?
Although maybe they should have? These odds should be much higher and are only this low because there are a good number of Yankees fans who are …..overly optimistic? Let’s just say we aren’t, when it comes to the Bronx Bombers chances.
>> If you’re rooting for the Yankees, bet on them to win the World Series at MyStake
Minnesota Twins (+2500)
For a long time this year it looked as if the Twins and Guardians were trying to hand the division title to the other team, like a hot potato. Neither team has gotten more than a few games over .500 at any point and both have hovered around that mark.
It seems however that the Guardians have thrown in the towel and the Twins are likely to emerge as the AL Central division champs, even if by default. Thus we feel obligated to include them in our previews, but honestly we like the Yankees as a pick better than the Twins. And we don’t like the Yankees as a pick.
San Francisco Giants (+2500)
After losing Carlos Rodon to the Yankees in free agency and then failing to reel in Aaron Judge, the expectations had to be pretty low in San Francisco. Sometimes low expectations can be great as they remove the pressure.
That seems to be the case for the Giants who look to be in position to grab a wild card spot if not a division title.
The playoffs would be a pleasant surprise for the Giants, but this is where the low expectations might leave them satisfied just making the playoffs. Also they aren’t as good as most of the other NL playoff teams.
San Diego Padres (+2800)
How are the Padres here when they are several games out of the playoffs with a number of teams to pass? Probably because, despite their record they are still the most talented team in the National League.
These are “potential” odds, as in “if this team can sneak into the playoffs they have the POTENTIAL to win it all. While we agree that this is true, we’d like it a lot better if the odds were closer to (+7500). Not enough reward currently for this risk.
>>Bet on the Padres to win at Sportsbetting.ag
Cincinnati Reds (+3000)
The Reds winning the World Series would be like a Disney Movie, except less plausible. A team that many people predicted to finish last place in the NL Central is currently Leading the Division.
Cincinnati, like Baltimore, is being led by a youth movement, including human highlight reel Elly De La Cruz. The young players have even invigorated Joey Votto, who’s power seems to have returned.
We are going to enjoy watching this team for the next several years, and it would be great to see them make a magical run through the playoffs, but as anyone who has seen a Disney movie can tell you: That stuff doesn’t happen in real life.
Arizona Diamondbacks (+5000)
Yet another fun young team making waves are the Arizona Diamondbacks. Corbin Carroll looks like a lock for NL Rookie of the year (it would be the first for the Diamondbacks organization).
Arizona was leading the NL West for a time this season, but as often happens with young, overachieving teams the grind of the season looks to be taking its toll on the D’Backs.
It’s been a great year for Arizona but we see them fading out of the playoffs altogether.
Los Angeles Angels (+5500)
So this is it for the Angels. If they don’t make the playoffs (and probably even if they do) they will be saying goodbye to generational talent Shohei Otani after this season. In a last ditch effort the team made some trade deadline additions and unquestionably improved the roster.
Why didn’t they do this earlier? Perhaps they were hoping to create an amazing story where the team pulls together to live up to their potential with an unbelievable playoff run, culminating in one of the biggest underdog World Series winners ever?
Scroll back a couple of teams to see what we think of these types of stories. Look, if you are going to pick a long shot, we say go LOOOOOONG and we have a better selection for you.
Miami Marlins (+6000)
This is another team we considered relegating to the “not good enough” pile, but these are the Miami (Formerly Florida) Marlins. A team that has made the playoffs as a wild card before winning it all TWICE!
Who’s to say it can’t happen three times? We are, but we know that wagering can be a superstitious business and we wanted to be sure to mention that fact on the off chance that the Marlins do it again. And unlike the Padres or Angels, it actually looks like the Marlins will BE in the playoffs, which helps.
Chicago Cubs (+14000)
We aren’t sure why the Cubs are getting such good odds (for the bettor). They are closer to the playoffs than some other teams we’ve profiled. They have an excellent run differential, which often is a better indicator of how good a team is. Chicago even made a few improvements to the roster, just days after it looked like they were going to be sellers.
Again, we aren’t saying the Cubs are gonna win it all, but they are in a very winnable division with plenty of time to make up their deficit. There weren’t expectations for the Cubs at all this season, much like with the Reds, but the Cubs have an older roster that might be better prepared for a playoff run.
These odds look very tasty currently, especially relative to the other teams on the list. And it’s only been a few years since the Cubs were Champions, so there’s no curses or anything to worry about!.
See other MLB betting guides:
Expert Strategy for Betting On Baseball
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The World Series is American sport’s oldest championship series and one of the oldest title competitions in the world.
Giants of the game like Babe Ruth and Willie Mays have starred in the World Series, helping to establish their legacies on the sport’s biggest stage.
With more teams eligible for the playoffs than ever, it truly is “anyone’s game” when it comes to reaching the World Series.
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We doubt you needed another excuse to bet on the World SeriesAwards, but Bovada provided you with one anyway.
The Best Places to Bet on The World Series winner
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Why Bet on the MLB World Series Winner?
Baseball plays more regular season games than any other sport, but only 7 games that matter, The World Series.
While some big market teams may dominate in terms of payroll, the expanded playoffs have given more teams than ever a chance to win baseball’s biggest prize. Many wild card teams have won the World Series, and last year’s runner up, the Philadelphia Phillies, had the fewest wins of any National League playoff teams.
Here are some reasons why betting on the World Series online represents unique value:
- Great odds: Once the season is underway, you may not get odds close to what’s being offered. A hot start could take your team from +1400 to +400 in a week or two.
- One third of teams make the playoffs: And all a team has to do is get in and get hot to win it. Back in the day, only two teams made the playoffs! Boring. Be glad you weren’t alive back then. Now you can bet your World Series future and be sure you can still like your chances through September.
- It’s the freaking WORLD SERIES: Would you skip betting on the Super Bowl? I didn’t think so. The World Series is just the Super Bowl of baseball. (Don’t tell baseball we called them that, they are sensitive)
See similar betting guides:
Guide to Betting on the MLB World Series
What Is the MLB World Series?
The MLB World Series is a “best of seven” series played between the winners of the National and American leagues.The first team to win four games is declared the World Champion for that Baseball season.
When Is the World Series?
The World Series is played in October (and occasionally November), following the MLB regular season and league playoffs.
Who Won the World Series Last Season?
The Houston Astros defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 4 games to 2 in the 2022 World Series. It was the Astros fourth appearance in the last six seasons and their second win in that span.
Who Has the Best Odds to Win the World Series?
We’ve pointed out a few teams that we like, and the nice thing about betting on the World Series winner is that they are all currently offering plus odds.
Telling you outright who would win with 100% certainty would be impossible. Plus, it would render all those regular season games even more meaningless.
We think the Braves and Astros look like the best contenders from each league, but if you are looking for a longer shot the Angels could make a run if they can get into the tournament, but that’s a big ask. The Cubs might be facing a similar climb, but their odds are the best out there for any of the teams that we think have a realistic shot. No matter who you choose to wager on, be sure to do so responsibly!
>> See the latest MLB World Series odds at Bovada
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