According to oddsmakers, the Los Angeles Dodgers are the favorite team for the World Series and will be the team to beat when the playoffs begin.
At Caesars Sportsbook, the Dodgers are +375 to win this World Series. The Houston Astros are close behind at +475. The Tampa Bay Rays are at +650 and the San Francisco Giants at +675. The Chicago White Sox (+750), and the Milwaukee Brewers (+800), round out the teams that have single-digit odds.
Each of the New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves, and Boston Red Sox are +1 200, respectively, while the Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals are +1 600 and +2,000.
The Dodgers, the World Series champions, opened at +450 to win again and was never challenged by Caesars Sportsbook as the favorite. On Wednesday, the Cardinals will host the Dodgers in the National League Wild Card Game.
Opening Day, the Astros were at 22-1 but their odds improved quickly. Houston had risen to 10-1 by June and was the most popular World Series betting market at Caesars Sportsbook. It received $2 million in World Series bets. Jim "Mattress Mack", a Houston furniture store owner, placed the huge bet on the Astros. McIngvale uses the betting market to insure promotional giveaways at Gallery Furniture, Houston.
Craig Mucklow (Vice President of Trading at Caesars Sportsbook), stated in a company press release that "Obviously, the Astros is our worst-case scenario." We would also prefer the Giants, Yankees, and Dodgers to not win.
To reach the playoffs, the Giants faced long odds. The Giants were 100-1 to win on Opening Day the World Series, which was the longest possible odds for any team to make it to the playoffs. In February, they were 200-1 when Caesars Sportsbook stated that a Nevada bettor had placed a $2550 bet on San Francisco. This would have paid a net $510,000 to the Giants if they win it all.
The Cardinals had to face more odds than the Giants and could have been found at 500-1 to win this year's World Series. BetMGM's odds of winning the World Series would be at their worst if St. Louis wins.
To open the playoffs, the Yankees and Red Sox will face off in a wild card game in Boston on Tuesday. Bookmakers expect New York to be a heavy favorite over the Red Sox at around -125.
