Baseball's Biggest Money Makers and Takers

Baseball's Biggest Money Makers and Takers

The 2008 Major League Baseball season is now five weeks old, and sports gamblers are seeing some trends develop that may merit paying close attention to for the remainder of the season. Here, we'll look to see which teams have been the most profitable from a betting standpoint, as well as those teams that have cost bettors the most money.

We'll also look at the top and bottom teams, at least from a betting perspective, in different situations, such as against right-handed or left-handed starting pitchers, as well as playing at home or playing on the road.

Baseball's Top Money Making Teams

Oakland Athletics +976
The surprising Oakland A's come in at No. 1 on our list of money making teams. A bettor placing $100 bets on the Athletics in every game would be up $976 for the season. Oakland is sporting a 22-14 record, but has still found itself as an underdog on many occasions. The A's have been baseball's best road warriors, sporting a 10-5 record for a profit of $850.

Florida Marlins +807
The Florida Marlins check in at No. 2 on the list of the most profitable betting teams so far this season. Like Oakland, the Fish are doing a lot of damage on the road, with an 8-5 record and a profit of $501.

Arizona Diamondbacks +586
The Arizona Diamondbacks are the No. 3 team in terms of dollars won so far this baseball season. Arizona has been a decent bet in all situations, both home and away, as well as against right-handed starting pitchers and against left-handers.

St. Louis Cardinals +512
The St. Louis Cardinals are making the most of an early season schedule that sees the team playing a number of home games, and so far is making the most of them. St. Louis is 14-7 at home and is showing a profit of $441 playing in Busch Stadium.

Boston Red Sox +438
The Boston Red Sox grab the final spot on our list of the top money-making teams so far in 2008. The Red Sox have also made the most of a schedule that has seen them at home more often than not. The Red Sox are 14-5 at home.

Baseball's Top Money Takers

San Diego Padres -1,137
The San Diego Padres were expected to challenge for the division title, but so far the only challenge the Padres have had is with Colorado for the West Division basement. San Diego has been equally bad in all categories so far this season.

Detroit Tigers -856
The Detroit Tigers were another team full of high expectations, especially after some moves during the off-season that had many people predicting a return to the World Series. Detroit started extremely slow, seemed to right the ship, but are slumping once again.

Seattle Mariners -837
The Seattle Mariners have sputtered out of the starting gate with a 14-21 record, and are a dismal 2-6 against left-handed starting pitchers, despite averaging 5.63 runs against southpaws this season. Like most losing teams, Seattle is a money-burner in all categories so far this season.

Cincinnati Reds -799
The Cincinnati Reds are another disappointment so far, although not nearly as much was expected from this team. The Reds have really struggled away from home, going just 6-12 for a loss of $571.

Colorado Rockies -721
The Colorado Rockies are another team that has struggled a bit offensively this season. Although Colorado ranks in the middle of the stats offensively, they should be doing better considering they play half of their games at Coors Field, where they are just 7-10 on the season.

Top Home Teams

Atlanta +704
Boston +472
St. Louis +441
Minnesota +383
Baltimore +350

Worst Home Teams

Detroit -617
Cleveland -486
San Diego -435
Colorado -433
Texas -340

Top Road Teams

Oakland +850
Florida +501
Kansas City +450
Los Angeles Angels +450
Arizona +353

Worst Road Teams

Atlanta -807
San Diego -802
San Francisco -650
Cincinnati -571
Seattle -521

Top Teams vs. Right-Handed Starters

Oakland +954
Florida +917
St. Louis +649
Tampa +389
Arizona +349

Worst Teams vs. Right-Handed Starters

Detroit -1,101
Colorado -701
San Diego -558
Cincinnati -551
Milwaukee -511

Top Teams vs. Left-Handed Starters

Los Angeles Dodgers +381
Boston +314
Los Angeles Angels +301
Milwaukee +272
Chicago Cubs +269

Worst Teams vs. Left-Handed Starters

San Diego -679
Pittsburgh -432
Seattle -425
Texas -370
Toronto -256

It will be interesting to follow these trends for the next few weeks to see which teams continue to struggle in certain situations, and which teams continue to excel. We will update the information every two weeks to look for emerging patterns and trend reversals, as well.