From our previous article, “5 Most Profitable MLB Teams This Season”, we’ll now preview the five least profitable MLB teams this season in terms of betting. Entering the 2017 MLB season, if a team had high expectations set by the general public but failed by a long shot to meet these expectations, you can bet that they’ll likely be one of the teams on this list – let’s take a look.
San Francisco Giants
Money: -3778
The San Francisco Giants were a shell of how good this team was in the past few years. The 2017 Giants finished with a 64-98 record (.395), albeit expectations having been set decently high for this team. Had you (we hope not) wagered $100 on every single one of the Giants’ games this season, you would have been down a whopping $3,778 – yikes! The Giants were so bad in terms of turning a profit that even if you had taken them on either side of the over/under game totals bet, you would have lost money as well. The Giants ended up winning more games on the under (76) compared to 74 on the over, with 12 pushes, for a .507 winning percentage – not even close to breaking even!
Detroit Tigers
Money: -3128
Not too surprising, the two teams that finished tied for the worst record in the MLB, were the two least profitable teams this year. The Tigers finished with the same record as the Giants but at least if you placed $100 wagers on each of the Tigers’ games, you would have lost less money compared to doing the same for the Giants – a net loss of $3,128 for the Tigers. However, had you employed the same strategy and placed wagers on the over for all of the Tigers’ games, you would have made up for some of your losses. The Tigers won 87 games on the over compared to 68 games on the under, with seven pushes, for a winning percentage of .561.
New York Mets
Money: -3004
The New York Mets had their starting rotation decimated by injuries during the 2017 regular season. On top of that, they couldn’t hit even if their lives depended on it. The Mets finished with a 70-92 record (.432). Had you bet $100 for the Mets to win all of their regular season games, you would have found yourself down $3,004. However, quite surprisingly, the Mets’ over game totals hit 90 times, compared to only 60 for the under, with 12 pushes, resulting in a .600 winning percentage – not too shabby.
Toronto Blue Jays
Money: -1775
After having advanced to the American League Championship Series the previous two seasons, the Toronto Blue Jays finished dead last in the AL East this year. The Jays posted a 76-86 record (.469) while remaining favorites for many of their games. However, the gap between the Jays and Mets is quite large – had you bet $100 on all of the Jays’ games, you would have only lost $1,775 (the “only” part is only relative compared to the Mets, Tigers, and Giants). Additionally, if you had taken the under on Jays’ games, you would have won 82 times compared to 73 on the over, with seven pushes, for a .529 winning percentage – again, barely breaking even.
Cincinnati Reds
Money: -1592
Why wouldn’t the Reds be on this list? After finishing the regular season under .500 again – this time with a 68-94 record (.420), the Reds would have cost you $1,592 if you had placed $100 bets for them to win all of their games. Taking the over on Reds’ games wouldn’t have netted you much either – the Reds hit on the over 83 times compared to 73 for the under with six pushes, for a winning percentage of .532.
What was the reason for their shortcomings? It had mostly to do with pitching. While their offense ranked in the middle of the pack in most categories, the pitching was near the bottom. As a team, their staff ERA was 5.17, which ranks them second last in the league. Home runs was a big problem for this team as they gave up 248 – the most in the Majors. If they’re to improve in the offseason, this is the area that they need to sort out.
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