While football is the most popular sport to bet on, the smart bettor knows that baseball is the money sport when in comes to wagering. While some might view the 2,430-game schedule of Major League Baseball to be too much of an endurance test, the reality is that the race goes to the patient, and all those baseball games only serve to offer more chances to cash in on successful wagers. The plethora of games also serve as a wonderful opportunity for underdogs to come through.

That’s why it’s important to do your homework so that you will realize when the opportunity to put down a wager on an underdog team presents itself.

Baseball Divisional Underdog System

Divisional games are extremely prevalent in the Major League Baseball schedule, with each team playing 76 of their 162 regular-season games against teams in their own division. With so many games versus a common opponent, the odds of the underdog winning grow exponentially. Even the the top teams in baseball, the legitimate World Series contenders, will lose around 60 games per season, so by following trends and knowing match-ups, you can capitalize on those ripe opportunities. 

Know Your Baseball Divisional Opponents

The 1927 New York Yankees are generally accepted as the greatest baseball team ever assembled, and they still lost 44 games that season. Other than the St. Louis Browns, who went 1-21 against New York, the Yankees lost at least four times to every other American League club. The Cleveland Indians won 10 times against the Yankees that season.

In baseball all teams lose plenty of games, so the smart bettor can cash in frequently, especially where divisional match-ups factor into the equation. Consider the 2016 World Series opponents. The champion Chicago Cubs lost 25 times to National League Central Division opponents. The vanquished Indians were defeated on 26 occasions by AL Central opposition.

Even baseball's worst team, the Minnesota Twins, won 24 games within their own division.