Baseball Betting: How-To, Popular Bets, Odds & FAQ

Baseball season is a very special time of year. It marks the official start of spring, and more importantly, gives sports fans and bettors something to look forward to once the NFL Playoffs and March Madness are officially in the rearview. From mouth-watering ballpark snacks to the smell of fresh-cut grass, there’s a lot to love about America’s pastime.

However, being the intricate game that it is, there are a lot of factors that go into betting on baseball. Follow along with the rest of this guide, where we’ll cover everything that Hard Rock Bet users should know about baseball betting, from available leagues to the types of bets offered.

Baseball leagues to bet on with Hard Rock Bet

Baseball is America’s pastime, but it is also a very global game. Hard Rock Bet offers baseball odds on all of the most popular leagues and competitions around the world. While the MLB is in fact the Majors of baseball betting, it’s not the only game in town. Let’s cover the most popular baseball markets to bet on at Hard Rock Bet.

MLB

No discussion of betting on baseball could begin without first touching on MLB betting. Simply put, Major League Baseball is the most competitive and prestigious baseball organization in the world. With franchises scattered across the United States (and Canada!), MLB action is constant from spring training until the Fall Classic – the World Series.

There are 30 total teams in Major League Baseball – fifteen each in both the American League and National League, all of which play a staggering 162-game schedule. The sheer volume of gfames makes Major League Baseball an extremely popular league to bet on. Add in that games typically start in the afternoon and run through the evening, there’s seemingly always a baseball game to bet on from late March through October.

Oh, and some states allow for betting on Triple-A games, too.

College baseball

Hard Rock Bet also offers college baseball odds and betting markets. Bettors can wager on select games, and even bet on college baseball futures and the College World Series.

The college baseball season typically begins in February and concludes in June, so its a more succinct season, but nevertheless it’s one of the most popular ways to bet on baseball in the United States.

Nippon Professional Baseball (Japan)

Hard Rock Bet also offers betting options for the NPB, the highest level of pro baseball in Japan. The league is divided into two circuits, the Central League and the Pacific League, with a total of 12 teams. The NPB season typically runs from late March to October – more or less aligning with the MLB calendar. With the time difference, games are often played in the late evening or early morning hours for North American bettors, creating an excellent baseball betting opportunity when MLB games aren’t in action.

KBO League (Korea)

The Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) League is the highest tier for baseball in Korea, and is offered as a baseball betting market on Hard Rock Bet.

The league has ten teams, with the season running from late March to early November alongside both the MLB and NPB. Similar to betting on the Japanese league, one of the advantages of betting on the KBO League is the convenient timing of games for North American bettors. Many games are played in the early morning or late evening hours due to the time difference, filling the void left when MLB isn’t in play. It’s an attractive option for baseball fans, and fans of betting on baseball alike.

Chinese Professional Baseball League (Taiwan)

Betting odds for the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL), the highest level of professional baseball in Taiwan, are available on Hard Rock Bet. In action since 1989, the CPBL has six teams that each play an even 120 games split into two 60-game halves. In the CPBL, the delineation of halves actually matters, as the winner of each split punches their ticket into the league’s 3-team playoff. The third “Wild Card” spot is awarded to the team that performed the best over the full 120-game season.

The CPBL season runs concurrently with other popular baseball leagues, offering an exciting baseball betting opportunity during unorthodox hours.

World Baseball Classic

Hard Rock Bet also offers baseball betting markets for international competitions like the World Baseball Classic, where nations pick their best players and send them out to compete for a prestigious world title. The World Baseball Classic is the most well-known international baseball competition. The WBC is intended to take place every four years, bringing together twenty of the best national baseball teams in the world for two weeks of intense tournament play. Betting on the World Baseball Classic is available now through Hard Rock Bet, though the first pitch won’t be thrown out until 2026.

How to bet on baseball with Hard Rock Bet

Looking to bet on baseball? Hard Rock Bet has you covered. Let’s recap all the necessary steps from sign-up to locking in a baseball wager.

Create your account

Before you can bet on baseball, you’ll need a Hard Rock Bet account. Get started by clicking here. After completing the registration process (… and NO – you don’t need a Hard Rock Bet promo code here), you’ll be clear to make a deposit and begin betting on baseball (or any other sport!).

Locate the baseball betting markets

Next, locate the available baseball betting markets at Hard Rock Bet. You can find these in a couple of places:

When using the Hard Rock Bet app, there are a few places you can find the available baseball markets. First and foremost, MLB markets are often listed under the ‘Trending Now’ section of the book. Additionally, you can also select the ‘All Sports’ button, and then choose ‘Baseball’.

Any leagues that Hard Rock Bet is currently taking action on will be displayed here. If a league isn’t listed, it doesn’t mean it won’t be available, just that it isn’t at that exact moment in time.

When accessing Hard Rock Bet through a web browser, there are also multiple ways to find baseball betting options. Just like with the app, the ‘Trending Now’ area often contains a shortcut to ongoing MLB action. There’s also a ‘Discover’ section on the left side of the page that shows popular markets, of which MLB is often included.

The definitive way to find all baseball markets though, is to click on the ‘All Leagues’ button.

Within each league or game, there are numerous betting options for all sorts of outcomes. From betting the run line to longterm futures markets, Hard Rock Bet has it all.

Note: There will be some differences in available betting markets from state to state.

Pick and place your bet(s)

Finally, it’s time to pick, and place your bets. Sort through all of the available options and assemble your ticket. Once satisfied, simply enter the amount you would like to bet and press the provided button to lock in your wager. On your baseball bet slip the amount of the wager, its odds, and its potential payout will all be clearly displayed. Now it’s time for one last step: play ball!

Popular ways to bet on baseball

Hard Rock Bet offers a ton of different ways to engage with and place bets on baseball. When you find a baseball game in the Hard Rock Bet lobby, the first three bets you’ll see are the spread (run line), total, and winner (moneyline). Let’s cover how these markets work for baseball, along with some of the other more popular baseball bet types.

Betting the spread in baseball

First up, let’s talk betting the spread in baseball. Some sportsbooks call this market the “run line”, but in the interest of keeping things simple, Hard Rock Bet calls it the spread. If a baseball team is -1.5 on the spread, it means they need to win the game by more than 1.5 runs (essentially 2 or more since you can’t score a half run) in order for the wager to hit. On the flip side, if a team is +1.5, it means they can lose by 1 run and still cash the bet.

Baseball and betting totals

The total, also known as an over/under bet, is one of the most common ways of betting on baseball matchups. The goal here is simple… figure out if the baseball game is going to have more, or less runs than the established line.

In the above example, the game between the Yankees and Marlins has a total that’s been set at 8.5 runs. If both teams combined to score 9 runs or more, the over would hit. If both teams combine to score 8 or fewer runs, the under hits.

Who wins? Betting baseball moneylines

The winner bet, often referred to elsewhere as the moneyline, is as simple as it gets. You’re betting on which baseball team will score the most runs and win the game, extra innings included.

Baseball futures

Futures bets in baseball involve wagering on an outcome that won’t be decided for a while. Baseball futures often include popular markets such as who will win the World Series, the College World Series, or even the World Baseball Classic (2026).

It’s also possible to bet on outcomes like a specific team to make the playoffs, a team’s over/under on total wins, season long props, and division winners – all of which are bets that will take most of the season to settle.

Betting baseball awards

Awards markets and player props are a huge part of baseball futures. Betting on players to win the AL or NL MVP, Cy Young Award, or Rookie of the Year are fun ways to play – and Hard Rock Bet offers action on each. Similarly, you can also bet on markets like “Regular Season Home Run Leader” among other season-long player props.

Baseball player props

Baseball is all about stats. Hits, home runs, RBIs, stolen bases, strikeouts, walks – you name it. As such, wagering on baseball player props is an extremely popular way to bet on the game. Bettors can take these individual stats and place wagers on their outcomes. Anytime home run markets? Pitcher strikeout totals? Total bases? There’s a lot of exciting variety here.

Baseball parlays

Parlays are wagers in which more than one bet has been combined on to a single ticket, and the success of the wager depends on each leg hitting. Hard Rock Bet makes it easy to build baseball parlays, as well as incorporate baseball legs into parlays that include other sports and markets. Simply click on any baseball wager that you want to make and it will be moved to your bet slip. If there is another bet already in there, it will automatically combine them into a parlay.

When building baseball parlays, you can combine the moneyline, spread, or totals in addition to player props, futures, and much more.

SGPs and baseball

Baseball is one of the best sports for Same Game Parlays. With an SGP, players can pick a single baseball matchup, select numerous wagers that will all be resolved over the course of the game and bundle them together to create the ultimate sweat. Hard Rock Bet users can combine markets like the moneyline, spread, total, and player props – all from one specific game. Look for the purple “SGP” icon next to any markets that are eligible for a baseball SGP.

Live betting on baseball

Live betting is one of the best developments to come out of online sports betting. Improvements in betting app technology have enabled Hard Rock Bet to offer real time, live odds on a wealth of baseball betting markets. These markets allow players to wager on specific at bats, individual innings, or even simply bet the updated moneyline at any time throughout a game. Each pitch of the ball can impact the odds and Hard Rock Bet is ready at all times to offer players a chance to place a bet. Here’s why baseball is the live betting king:

• Dynamic odds: During each game, odds for various bets are continuously updated to reflect the current state of play. This means you can place bets based on real-time developments, such as changes in score, player performance, or in-game situations.
• Regular breaks: Baseball has many natural pauses between innings, pitching changes, and mound visits. These breaks give bettors time to analyze the game and place bets with updated odds.
• Strategic adjustments: As the game unfolds, bettors can use information from in-game events, like a pitcher showing signs of fatigue or a key player being substituted, to make more informed bets.

Betting on baseball FAQ

Let’s cover some of the most common questions relating to baseball betting.