It is often in the biggest moments of a betting contest, those seconds where nothing else exists and someone has to perform, that we find out what makes a championship team. Whether it is hitting that game-winning basket in the NBA, or scoring that overtime goal in the NHL, these are the moments that truly define greatness in a sport. When it comes to the MLB, the baseball blogs will argue the importance of offensive depth in these crucial moments. It is that offensive depth that can allow a manager to make a hitting substitution when faced with an unfavorable matchup, or substitute an injured player or pitcher with someone off his bench. In these moments, the pinch hitter has to be able to deliver, and it is usually on the biggest stage when we find out whether team’s have this offensive depth or not.

While the idea around pinch hitting is that when players called upon get their chance they perform, it is more about having offensive depth than having any one guy that can hit the ball on your bench, because winning is so often about finding the right matchup. While a team may have a right-handed hitter with some power and good numbers against left-handed pitchers, that hitter may struggle against lefty’s, in which case the team would need another quality player for a more favorable sports betting matchup. These times in important games can make the difference between a team winning and losing, and knowing the impact that pinch hitting could have, and that is why the offensive depth a team has should always be taken in to consideration along with the superstar talent.

When three-time National League MVP Albert Pujols left the St. Louis Cardinals to sign with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim this past offseason, the Angels understood that they were getting an MLB icon, nine-time All-Star, two-time World Series champion, and six-time Silver Slugger award winner to help their chances of winning the American League West and possibly make their way to the World Series this season. Whether or not they considered that Pujols was a fringe switch-hitter who could bat both ways is another story entirely, and while it may have played a small factor, it’s unlikely that they would have passed on the chance to sign him if he wasn’t. Perhaps it is because they are so rare, or perhaps it is because there aren’t many that can play at an elite level, but switch-hitters have never really been valued highly when it comes to evaluating World Series betting odds.

A look at the list of switch-hitters accounted for in the MLB blogs includes players like Mark Teixeira of the New York Yankees, Carlos Beltran of the New York Mets, and Lance Berkman of the St. Louis Cardinals. The ability to switch-hit allows players to hit both ways, but none of those hitters perform at the same level hitting both ways, so managers can still make pitching changes to create a favorable sports betting matchup. Unless the elite players in the sport one day learn to hit both ways at the same level, the role of switch-hitting in adjusting World Series odds will never be significant.

It’s time for MLB betting to take center stage as the NBA and NHL are in their offseason, while the NFL and NBA are going through lockout issues. Here are a few tips to check out before you head to your online sportsbook.

Pitching Matchups

This is the most important factor as pitchers may have more control over a game than any position player in a sport. Check a pitcher’s history against their opposition, and see how they fared in a certain stadium. Are they good at home, but struggle on the road? These are all things to heed before making your baseball betting picks.

Take A Struggling Home Team

Most teams do well at home, and the premise for this tip is that you should pick a team that has been having troubles at home; if they have lost three in a row, chances are, they’re going to win their next game as a favorite in their place. Like any sport, baseball players respond to their home crowd, and they won’t want to lose more than three games in front of their fans.

What Time Of Day Is It?

This is another factor to look at as a lot of baseball is played in the day, and some players, especially pitchers, just don’t like playing in the day. It changes their routine, forces them to do things earlier in the day, and all of those things can combine to decrease a team’s betting odds.

March Madness betting players have been looking at systems and trends to get through the NCAA Tournament, and MLB betting players will be doing the same thing, although they have a significantly longer season. Here are a few tips to help you profit from baseball betting.

Pace Yourself

It’s a very long season (162 games to be exact) in Major League Baseball, so it’s very important to not go overboard and pace yourself. If you bet on too many games, you’ll spread yourself too thin and end up chasing bad beats to make up for those losses, and this can be tied into the second point.

Bet On A Budget

This is no betonline scam — don’t spend too much on one game because that is when you start making really bad decisions, and wager on games that you have no business betting on. Make a budget at the beginning of the season and stick to that budget, no matter what, and it’ll be a good year.

Starting Pitching

On the field, this is the biggest thing to worry about. There is no position in any sport that can decide a game, or the odds of a game, than starting pitching in baseball. This is especially true right now as starting pitching is as good as it has been in the last 20 years, and last season they even called it the “Year of the Pitcher”. Check out who the starters are, do some research on head-to-head records, and you can make a profit in your sports betting book.

Over the years MLB betting sharps have created a wide spectrum of handicapping systems to help them have a winning streak by season’s end. One of the best baseball betting systems to ever be created is the baseball revenge system. We enjoy using this system, because it offers a humanistic factor into the bet. In essence you are backing the emotion of a team based on a loss either the night before or a few months before the series you are about to wager on. Below are two types of baseball revenge that are commonly employed by handicappers.

1. Short Term Revenge – Baseball’s short revenge system takes place when a home team favorite returns from a long road trip, and leads for the majority of a game, only to see the underdog come back and win by three or more runs.

The following game after the loss, we need the favorite from the first game to once again be the favorite in the second game. Our expectation is that because the team was embarrassed by blowing a lead the night before, they will show a greater effort in the second game we wager on. By doing so, we expect the favorite to win the game outright as a way of getting quick revenge. This system is only applicable if the favorite is a home team and is favored again in the second game. They may be favored because of the pitching matchup, as the staff ace may be pitching in game two.

2. Long Term Revenge – In long term revenge the scenario that must occur, has one team being swept by another a few months prior to the matchup we are wagering on. For example, in the beginning of the season the Blue Jays continuously swept the Baltimore Orioles. However in late August when the two teams met again, the Orioles were favored in at least one game at home and were able to sweep the blue jays, exacting revenge.

When getting involved in baseball betting, keep in mind that the season is the longest in all of professional sports. As a result, teams may show a poorer effort in one game knowing that they have two to three more games in a single series to make up. Sports betting fans involved with revenge systems know that this type of system works in two scenarios short and long term.

1. Short Term Revenge – This form of revenge occurs when a home team drops the first game of the series by three or more runs after leading. Essentially after dropping the first game, the home team is likely to come back the next game with more effort to win back the faith of the fans.

In order for this system to be put into effect, the home team needs to be favored in at least one game in the series that we are betting upon. Basically by wagering you know that the team that lost has the capability of coming back or holds an advantage in some way. The most common advantage in the rebound game is for the previous night’s loser to send one of their better pitchers to the mound to face off against a weaker pitcher from the winning team. Through the team’s motivation and added leverage on the betting line fans using short term revenge should be successful in their wager.

2. Long Term Revenge – In essence we are looking at a team’s long term affect after being swept earlier in the season by an upcoming opponent. In order for this to work, the team we are wagering has to have been swept and then bounced back with strong playing the rest of the season leading up to the return series. We want our team to win at least one game in the series to consider it a bounce back win.

This stipulation is normally included when fans wager on the run line. Look for fans betting the run line to add one and a half points to the team that was previously swept. Wagering in this way can lead to a profit in at least one of the games.