You wake up one morning and discover that World Series has opened up with a 6-0 favorite. As odd as this may sound, you begin to wonder if maybe the bookmakers have gotten it wrong. You start to do a bit of research, and before you know it, you’ve placed several winning bets on the underdog. Before you know it, you’ve racked up thousands in winnings. This is when you realize that there’s more to betting than you thought. You’ll discover that 6-0 is not as easy to find as many would have you believe. This is a perfect illustration of the maxim that there’s more than one way to skin a cat. To bring this story full circle, let’s explore a bit about what happened and how this all came to be. This story has everything—from a run of bad luck to being on the right side of the football betting line to the sweet taste of victory. Let’s get to it.
The Perfect Game
On October 3, 2019, the New York Yankees engaged in a thriller with the Houston Astros. It was the first game of the World Series, and the first American League game of the year. This was also the first Fall Classic game in the history of the sport. The game ended up being a perfect game. Two teams combining for 27 strikeouts and no hits. One of the greatest games seen in a while. You may have heard about this game. It is arguably the perfect example of why 6-0 is the common bet when World Series rolls around. In fact, if you go to the sportsbook at bet365, you’ll find that the 6-0 wager is currently available in the World Series market. This game alone is enough to substantiate that point but, as we’ll see later on in this article, there are many others.
Why the Underdog?
As previously stated, you may have heard about the perfect game. The New York Yankees were the overwhelming favorites in that game going into the series, and they were also the defending World Series champions. The Houston Astros were the underdogs. When the games began, most people expected the heavily favored Yankees to sweep the series. After all, the Yanks had home field advantage, and that’s what mattered most to them. The underdog role didn’t bother them one bit, as they proceeded to knock out the Astros in four games to claim the series victory.
What’s most interesting about this series is that the Yankees weren’t just the better team, they were the more popular team. Coming into the series, Bettingodds.com had the Yankees opened as 6-0 favorites. Even back in 2018, the Yanks were 2-5 favorites in the series. Interestingly, the Yankees did not become the popular team in New York until after the game on October 3. That’s when everyone started realizing how well they’d played and how dominant they’d been. After that game, they went on a win streak that lasted almost the entire rest of the season. This is fascinating because it shows that even when you’re supposed to be picking a side, you can’t always be sure what will happen. This is why you should always bet on both teams.
The 2017 World Series Wasn’t The Only One
If you’ve been reading this article, you may have gotten the impression that every year is World Series in the NFL. Not so fast. You may have also perceived that the World Series is always played between the Yankees and the Astros, with the Yanks usually going into the series as overwhelming favorites. Again, not so fast. This is definitely the case for the past five World Series, but it’s not always been the case. In fact, over the past five seasons, the teams that have squared off in the World Series finale are as follows: