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Betting Guide
The MLB season is the longest in professional sports with the most games played by far. That makes the MLB Regular Season MVP award mean so much because it’s something you have to really earn. You can’t just have a couple of hot months and win the award, this is an award about the best player in a very long season.
Which is something that makes betting on the MLB MVP one of the most intriguing bets in all of baseball. These odds usually come up during spring training and are constantly evolving throughout the regular season. Picking a winner isn’t easy, but it can be quite profitable.
In this article we are going to show you where to find the best odds on the MLB Regular Season MVPs, how to bet on them and our strategy for picking winners.
Where To Bet MLB Regular Season MVP winners:
America: Bovada is one of the best sportsbook for betting the MLB MVP award winner. They are constantly updating their odds throughout the regular season. The odds I cited earlier in this post from Gincarlo Stanton’s 2017 were taken from them and shows you just how much things can change.
Canada: Sports Interaction will post MLB Regular Season MVP during the regular season with updated odds throughout the year.
Everywhere Else: William Hill is one of the better overseas sites for betting on American sports and baseball is no different.
What is MLB Regular Season MVP Betting?
Each year after the regular season is over, the writers of the Baseball Writers Association of America place their votes on a multitude of awards including the National League and American League MVPs. During the season ahead of that (as well as in pre-season), you can bet on who those winners might be.
Odds usually go up right during the offseason before Opening Day with a list of the favored players. For instance, before the 2017 MLB season the favorite in the NL was Kris Bryant at +225. Bryant won in 2016 so him repeating as the winner was the favorite. Under this scenario a $100 bet would win you $225.
The eventual winner in 2017 was Giancarlo Stanton who opened with +4000 odds. A $100 bet on him would’ve have won you $4000. Obviously, the earlier you get in the better the odds.
(Actually, this is a bad example. Stanton went on a crazy homerun tear from July to the end of the year and improved his odds greatly. As late as June he was listed at +4000, but by August 31 he was +150.)
Common MLB Regular Season MVP Questions:
Does the MLB Regular Season MVP need to be on a playoff team?
Not necessarily. In the last ten years alone, Giancarlo Stanton (2017), Mike Trout (2016), Bryce Harper (2015) and Albert Pujols (2008) have all won it on a team that missed the playoffs.
Baseball is a much more individual sport than any other league so the writers will often recognize the best player from a team that didn’t make the playoffs as a great offensive player really has no bearing on what the pitching does.
Who has won the most MLB Regular Season MVP Awards?
As of this writing, there have only been 31 players in MLB history to win the MVP award more than once in their career. Considering how long baseball has been played, that is quite the feat and those players should be considered the elite of the elite. Those players are: Walter Johnson, Rogers Hornsby, Lou Gehrig, Mickey Cochrane, Carl Hubbell, Hank Greenberg, Hal Newhouser, Ted Williams, Willie Mays, Ernie Banks, Roger Maris, Frank Robinson, Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, Dale Murphy, Robin Yount, Cal Ripken Jr., Frank Thomas, Juan Gonzalez, Miguel Cabrera, Jimmie Foxx, Joe DiMaggio, Stan Musial, Roy Campanella, Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle, Mike Schmidt, Alex Rodriguez, Albert Pujols, Mike Trout, and Barry Bonds.
The all-time leader in MVP awards in Barry Bonds who has seven awards, far more than any other player. Bonds managed to win the award in 1990, 1992, 1993, 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004. It is interesting just how different his first and last MVP seasons are. His first one in 1990 saw him hit .301/.406/.565 with 33 home runs and 52 steals. While his second MVP award saw him hit .362/.609/.812 with 45 homeruns and six steals. Bonds always had a tremendous eye, but that on base percentage was astronomical. 120 intentional walks will do that for you.
Mike Trout is the only player who has a real shot at catching him. He has three to his name through 2020 and is still very much in the prime of his career. In fact, he should probably be closer in the race as he has three seasons in which he lead all of baseball in OPS that he did not win the MVP. 2015 and 2018 are the ones that really stick out on his resume.
How To Bet MLB Regular Season MVP:
Bovada: Go to the sportsbook section and click “Baseball” then “MLB” then “Futures”. MLB Regular Season MVP odds should be listed here when available.
Sports Interaction: On the Sports sidebar click “Baseball” and then “MLB Props”. The MLB Regular Season MVP odds will be listed here when available.
William Hill: After entering the sportsbook, find the “Baseball” link and click that. MLB Specials/Futures will be under that category.
MLB Regular Season MVP Betting Strategy:
While we said earlier that a player’s teams regular season record doesn’t matter, it certainly does help. There have been plenty of times in MLB history when a more deserving player didn’t win because a player with similar (but less than) stats won because his team went to the playoffs and had a great story.
Mike Trout has a strong argument for the MVP in both 2012 and 2013, but lost to Miguel Cabrera who had better looking counting stats while Trout had 2+ more Wins Above Replacement than him. It happens, sometimes the best player doesn’t win.
They usually do though and they are usually on one of the best teams. That’s how winning works. When selecting an MVP candidate before the season, look for the best players on the projected best teams.
When looking during the season, look at the stats but pay attention to the underlying numbers as well. Has someone gotten lucky? Is someone hitting a lot more of their flyballs for homeruns than is possibly sustainable? Is someone getting unlucky and bound for improvement? Baseball is all about stats and they are your friend when trying to pick this award.
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