For most baseball fans, the excitement derived from the sport is simply all about the love for the game. But for the really passionate baseball enthusiast, collecting baseball memorabilia is the thing that makes the sport a worthwhile enterprise instead of just a favorite pastime. No wonder then that collecting baseball memorabilia has evolved into a multi-million dollar pursuit; an investment if you must.

In the field of collecting baseball memorabilia, few names in baseball can be called hot items or choice picks. And among the top names that most collectors try to get their hands on is Joe DiMaggio. He was and still is one of the most revered and popular players of the sport. An inducted member of the baseball Hall Of Fame, he had set records in baseball during his time, some of which are still impressive even at present standards and have yet to be broken by the new generation of sluggers.

If you plan to collect Joe DiMaggio baseball memorabilia, always bear in mind that the condition of each piece of memorabilia is the most important factor to consider. Rare Joe DiMaggio pieces that have been neglected over the years or, worse, pieces that are bogus will be greatly devalued, if not found totally good-for-nothing. Therefore, always be on your toes when buying Joe DiMaggio baseball memorabilia; remember counterfeiters abound in the field of baseball memorabilia collecting.

Before you start buying Joe DiMaggio baseball memorabilia, it is a good idea learn the basic grading systems used for valuing baseball collectibles. It is only through this standard grading system that you can decide if a Joe DiMaggio baseball memorabilia is worth keeping or not. This grading system will also determine the price of your Joe DiMaggio baseball memorabilia.

For instance, keep in mind that a bat actually used by Joe DiMaggio in a game will not have the same appraised value compared to the same item issued for display intentions only. A ball that has Joe DiMaggio’s signature on it will be valued based on the quality of the item and, of course, the clarity of the signature. Needless to say, for all signed collectibles, the authenticity of Joe DiMaggio’s signature is the most important factor to consider in putting value to the particular item. The rareness of the item is also given weight as to how much a Joe DiMaggio baseball merchandise is worth.

Joe DiMaggio baseball cards are among the most common memorabilia items bought and sold in the baseball souvenir market. Unfortunately, baseball cards can be the most delicate type of baseball memorabilia. Proper care must be ensured to preserve the priceless value of Joe DiMaggio baseball cards. Always remember to keep rare Joe DiMaggio cards away from wet surfaces; keeping your cards in plastic sleeves away from light may keep Joe DiMaggio’s image good as new.

Surely, even for some people who are not fervent believers of baseball, collecting baseball memorabilia can be a great source of amusement and, yes, investment return. At the very least, the feeling of being in the company of avid fans who have mountains of baseball collectibles and stories can be magnificent, if not depictive of a true American tradition. So it is always a good idea to have a stash of baseball memorabilia; and your collection can not be any good unless you have Joe DiMaggio baseball memorabilia.

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For more information about authentic autographed sports memorabilia and collectibles, visit http://www.sportscollectionz.com . Read articles from contributing writers in our blog site at http://sportscollectionz.wordpress.com

Hank Aaron is well-loved and known for breaking the home-run record previously set by the late great Babe Ruth. Hank streaked through with 755 homes (Ruth had 714) and set more than 10 records in the major league. He was known for his powerful slugs – during his career, he only batted one home run inside the park during a game with the Philadelphia Phillies. The first and only home run he hit that didn’t leave the park. For his batting prowess, he earned the nickname ‘Hammerin’ Hank’.

Why he matters
Hammerin’ Hank was born Henry Louis Aaron in Mobile, Alabama in 1934. He began playing professional baseball exclusively for black teams in both Mobile and Indianapolis, Indiana. At 18, he joined the major leagues. He played for the Braves from 1954 to 1974 with both the Milwaukee and Atlanta teams.

Aaron had a lifetime batting average of .305 and batted in 2,297 runs. He boasts a total bases of 6,856, had 3,771 hits and played in 3,298 games. For his speed, he stole 240 bases in his career. He was voted as the National League’s Most Valuable Player in 1957 and won three Gold Glove Awards thanks to his fielding talent. He appeared in 24 All-Star games.

Aaron led the National League in batting average in 1956 and again in 1959. He was also a leader four times each in home runs, RBIs (runs batted in) and slugging average. He nailed a major part in baseball history by becoming the first baseball player to reach the 3,000th career hit mark and have 500 home runs. The Hammer joined the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982.

Where to find a Hank Aaron autographed baseball
It’s not difficult to find a hand-signed Hank Aaron baseball. The Major League Baseball website (www.mlb.com) posts authentic autographed baseballs, along with other sports items personally signed by Aaron. The baseballs are official MLB balls that are accompanied with a Certificate of Authenticity from Steiner Sports. There are also signed baseballs sold through EBay and QVC.

There is another way to get a Hank Aaron autographed baseball, but it is way more expensive. Aaron owns the Hank Aaron Automotive Group which has car dealerships in Georgia. Some of the car brands they carry include BMW, Jaguar, Toyota, Honda, Hyundai and Land Rover. Each car purchase comes with an autographed baseball.

How much a Hank Aaron autographed baseball will cost
The MLB website posts Aaron’s hand-signed baseballs from about $330 to $350, although the price may be well worth it since each purchase comes with a COA, a reliable guarantee that what you’re buying is actually a baseball held and signed by Hank Aaron himself. On EBay, the market value of a Hank Aaron signed and authenticated baseball is about $170 to $200, although you’ll have to ask the seller if the item comes with a COA. If you’re paying that much, you might as well be assured that you’re not paying for a fake.

There are also other websites like SportsMemorabilia.com, that you can check out to find hand-signed baseballs by Aaron but make sure to ask for a COA or a photograph of the item online. Steiner Sports is not the only company that authenticates sports memorabilia; there are others, including Tri-Star Productions, Online Authentics, Mounted Memories, Global Authentication Inc., PSA/DNA Authentication Services and Upper Deck Authenticated. If you want the real deal, look for certifications from these firms.

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For more information about authentic autographed sports memorabilia and collectibles, visit http://www.sportscollectionz.com . Read articles from contributing writers in our blog site at http://sportscollectionz.wordpress.com

Baseball is the number one sport that has captured the hearts of Americans, both young and old. That is the reason why baseball memorabilia is also popular and in-demand in the country. Nearly all the things that baseball athletes use in and out of the field have fetched a considerable amount of money, especially those that have been used by baseball legends like Baseball Hall of Famer Babe Ruth.

For many baseball fanatics, money is not an issue. They are willing to pay a huge amount of money for rare mementos and collectibles like bats, signed pictures and baseballs. Most of their collections are also well guarded and increase in value through time.

Top collectors seek after baseball memorabilia left by Babe Ruth because the man is a legend. Anywhere he was placed, he consistently showed his baseball prowess, both as a pitcher and batter. He made and broke his own homerun and other records several times during the span of his long baseball career. This bambino is considered one of the best, if not the best, baseball player of all time.

Babe Ruth’s Rare Baseball Memorabilia

The most expensive baseball bat sold in an auction in the history of the country was the one that Babe Ruth used to score a homerun in the first-ever game played in the Yankee Stadium in New York. The old wooden bat, which was remarkably preserved, was bought by an anonymous collector on December 2, 2006 for almost $1.3 million, approximately half the money spent in building the said Yankee Stadium. According to the representative of the buyer, their party was willing to spend more than $1.3m for the said bat.

Another baseball memento that fetched quite high selling price is an autographed bat that Babe Ruth used in one of his games. This particular bat was acquired in an auction for around $216,000. Antique autographed bats are very expensive because they are very rare. Since bats used before were wooden bats, they were easy to break and smash. Thus, only a number of used wooden bats of popular players are preserved nowadays.

Signed baseball memorabilia are abundant in the market. You can find autographed baseball caps, bats, balls, jersey and many others on the Internet and other auction sites. However, it is more difficult to encounter genuine signed checks, contracts, documents and letters. Signed pictures are also rare. These items will surely increase in value in the future, especially if you are talking about baseball memorabilia of the legendary Babe Ruth.

Affordable Babe Ruth baseball memorabilia

If you are just interested in baseball collectibles but are not really concerned too much on amassing money in the process, then you can opt to collect inexpensive baseball mementos, such as photos, pins, trading cards and framed copy of the Curse of Bambino contract. You will not find it very difficult to find these reasonably priced baseball souvenirs in sports hobby shops and the Internet. There are hundreds of web-based auction houses that you can chose from.

Be wary of fake baseball memorabilia

Since the demand for baseball memorabilia, especially from Babe Ruth, is very high but the supply is very low, many unscrupulous individuals are preying on the inexperienced collectors. In order to prevent being conned, you ought to buy from legitimate dealers, especially if a huge amount of money is at stake. For autographs and signed documents, you should also contract the services of experts to authenticate your baseball memorabilia.

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For more information about authentic autographed sports memorabilia and collectibles, visit http://www.sportscollectionz.com . Read articles from contributing writers in our blog site at http://sportscollectionz.wordpress.com

Baseball is a game of skill and power that is unlike any other game today. Baseball has subtly to it that is often lost in other team sports such as basketball and football. So when people come together to play this game they need to be ready for any eventuality no matter how unlikely it maybe. That is why baseball drills are so important. Practicing these different scenarios keeps players from being unprepared for what may happen during a game which is very important. Here are a few drills that teach players both the fundamentals and some of the more important drills that can help teams with their weaknesses.

A good drill for all around practice is ironically called the “All Around” drill. This is an excellent baseball drill to teach kids to stop the ball and how to throw in and out of field. It starts with lining up players in groups of three to four at first base, right field, and third base. Each group has a different job, the first base players try to run from first base to third without being tagged and then must slide into third base. As the player runs a coach throws a ball to the right field players. This gives them an opportunity to practice stopping the ball. Then the right fielder throws the ball low to the third base players. The third base players then need to and tag the player that ran. It’s a slightly complicated drill but a good one for those that want to make sure that players are familiar with the basics of field play.

Another good drill is called “The Fence” drill. This is another excellent baseball hitting drill. This drill calls for a player to be standing behind some sort of solid wall; it can be made of chain link, cement, or even brink. The important thing is that the player can tell the difference between when they have touched the wall and when they have not. Have the player make their normal stance and stand about a 1-1 ½ feet in front of the wall. Then have the player practice their hitting style, if they continually hit the wall that means that they must tighten their stance. This will in turn help them with a quicker bat swing. Just remind your players that this drill is not about power but precision that way they won’t hurt themselves or the bat when they swing to far back and hit the wall.

Finally, a good creative drill to keep players practicing at home has many names but one can either be called rooftop ball or error depending on what players have heard it called. This is a simple drill that does a good job of practicing both fielding, throwing, and stopping the ball. At home, a player throws a ball down their slanted roof and tries to catch it after it rolls down. There is more than a slight chance of a “gutter ball” but it still does a great job of helping players at home practice in a creative way.

These different baseball drills will help players become much better rounded and in turn that will lead to better games. Baseball is a subtle art but much like an artist if a player has experience behind them it is more likely that they will be successful.

Kenny Buford is a baseball coach with over 20 years of experience. You can find more of his baseball drills on his blog:

http://www.baseball-tutorials.com/

How many times have you seen a rundown cost your team in a key situation? I asked myself this question a lot last off-season. In the past, our players failed to execute in rundowns and this inefficiency cost us some victories. With this in mind, I wanted our team to improve in this area; so potential defensive outs could be recorded. One of our biggest problems in rundowns was the athleticism of our infielder verses the baserunner. It seemed the opponent’s baserunner could outmaneuver our infielder into making a throwing or glove transfer mistake. Secondly, it seemed that our infielders would get very nervous in rundown situations. This nervousness was illustrated through tense body language. Players looked stiff and uncomfortable when a baserunner was caught up in between the bases. Furthermore, our player’s confidence seemed low in rundown spots, which led to poor oral communication between players calling for the ball.

From our weaknesses, I had to come up with a plan that allowed players to use their intelligence to overcome some physical limitations in rundown situations. Last winter, our varsity coach attended the 2006 ABCA convention in Chicago, Illinois. He came back armed with a DVD that illustrated a new rundown plan. On the DVD, Larry Giangrosso, Head Coach University of Alabama-Birmingham, showed his team’s rundown system and how it could be implemented into your daily practice routine. In his rundown plan, no one ever followed their own throw. Instead, players without the ball charged the runner until they were within tagging distance. As they entered close proximity with the runner, the ball was delivered to them and a tag occurred. This not only extinguished a lot of defensive movement, but helped the defender improve accuracy with their throws. This improvement occurred when defenders remained stopped whiling delivering the ball, instead of chasing the baserunner. After reviewing the DVD, our team tried to carry out Coach Giangrosso’s system.

At first, our team really struggled at implementing the charging aspect of the rundown play. When our team started, many players remained stationed after their throw, not reacting correctly. They had problems getting past the fact that only two players were involved in the rundown. Before, an infielder would make just one throw and follow behind the receiver, having another player take their place in the rundown. With this new system, only two people were responsible in the rundown and our infielders could not “pass” their responsibilities off with an early throw. In the early stages, players were uncomfortable and resistant to the system. But as execution began to improve, players started to get better at the system.

One problem our players had to overcome was overrunning the baserunner. Often, the baserunner would be stopped staring at the receiver with the ball. The charger would sprint and receive the ball too late as the runner returned to the base. Our defenders had a hard time judging the baserunner’s distance and speed. To help players adapt, we decided that defenders would call for the ball when they entered the “tag zone”. The “tag zone” was the area 7-8 feet from the runner. When the defenders entered that zone, they screamed “ball, ball!!” Since the defender is at a full sprint, they are able to cover 7-8 feet very quickly. Before, players were calling for the ball 2-3 feet from the runner. By the time the ball was received, the baserunner had retreated safely back to the base. This small adjustment, getting our defenders the ball on the run against a stopped opponent, helped our defense perfect Coach Giangrosso’s rundown system.

When the technical side of the teaching was completed, our team had to start incorporating rundowns into our daily routine. Our team started running a pregame drill, stolen from Coach Giangrosso’s video, where outfielders split into two groups. One group would start at 3rd base, while the other group started at 1st base. With the infield playing in, a groundball would be hit. The runner from 3rd base would immediately try to score. Upon fielding the grounder, the infielder would fire home. If the throw was early, our baserunners are instructed to stop and participate in a rundown. The runner at 1st, who goes to 2nd on the grounder, tries to move up to 3rd base. The infielders are trying to record 2 outs on the play. Our players had a lot of fun with this drill, which was performed daily for 3-5 minutes.

It not only physically improved our rundown defense, but mentality it helped our players become comfortable with the situation. Since our outfielders practiced as baserunners so much, they really improved their level of play when they found themselves in a rundown on offense. Even with our team’s limited athleticism, our players managed to work themselves out of numerous baserunning spots. Since our team prepared for rundowns daily, their comfort level rose dramatically. You could tell in their improved body language and vocal communication. Not only did our rundown defense improve, but also opponent runner’s were beaten with just one throw. In fact, the final out of an important victory was recorded with a one-throw rundown out.

From this experience, I drew two conclusions. First, that Coach Giangrosso’s system is a great way to improve your rundown defense. It eliminates throws and movement from added defenders in the play. Also, by incorporating rundowns so often players naturally get better at the play and more comfortable with the situation. This elevated comfort level increases player’s chances for success.

My Buddy Sam is a huge Yankees fan. He grew up in New York City, and after growing up moved out of state. Now he lives about four hours away from New York but is still a die-hard fan. For years Sam caught several games a year. Then he started a family and the extra funds dried up pretty quickly. I know that Sam loves his family, but missing the ball games bothers him. He watches the games on TV but I know he would rather be there in person, even for one game.

I made it my mission to get him two tickets to an upcoming baseball game for his birthday. When I made it my mission, I didn’t have a clue as to the cost of decent baseball tickets. I was in for quite a shock; no wonder Sam stopped going to games. I managed to find some tickets that weren’t so outrageous, but they were bleacher seats, not what I had in mind as a gift. There is no way Sam would want that. The great seats were hundreds of dollars and there was no way to afford them outside of donating blood (mine and 30 of my closest friends). Time to rethink my mission.

We have a few minor league baseball teams that are local and it’s fairly cheap to attend a game. I had no clue the major league tickets would be so much more expensive. After debating for a few days and talking to some of Sam’s other friends I canceled the idea of buying tickets to a ball game. Instead I bought Sam a jersey that he can wear when he is watching the games on TV. I know; what a letdown. So much for bright ideas with a skinny wallet.

Sam played baseball in school and thought about doing it as a career, but life got in the way. He has had to content himself with video games. I grew up as an Army brat and soccer was the sport in Europe. I have never really learned enough about baseball to appreciate it. I have been tempted to play a video game, but I would probably ruin it for Sam.

Cut to the present: there’s my buddy, in his jersey, missing the big game. He’s still "got" game but instead of swinging the bat, or even finding his seat at the stadium, he’s in his recliner with the remote or the joystick. But he’s still Sam, and he’s still happy. Another day my friend.

So guys, if America’s sport is pricey for you, try the jersey and laptop thing. And if people think you’re cheap, tell them…you could always be cheaper?

http://www.squidoo.com/JPATT/
PATT is a non-profit, Parents And Teens Together. Check out this lens. The author lives in California and supports PATT from “the left coast”. Get more sports stories at http://www.playourplanet.com/blogs.html href=”http://www.playourplanet.com/workoutroom.com/”>http://www.playourplanet.com/workoutroom.com This site has video games, music, musical instruments, sports gear, and more.
http://www.playourplanet.com

T’is the season: maybe not the season to be merry but definitely the season to eat a hot dog, have a beer, and bask in the sun at your local ball park. Move over Santa, mistletoe, and reindeer poop: baseball season is here.

This sentiment is a particularly great statement for Florida folk: of all the places to be a baseball fan, Florida is one of the best; it was made for fun in the sun.

This year, Florida fans who aren’t rooting for the Marlins may find themselves filling the seats at Tropicana Field to cheer on the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

As one of the youngest franchises in baseball, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays have had their sea legs for several seasons: like many new teams, they are just finding their footing. However, it appeared that they had almost found it halfway through last season: at the 2006 All Star break the Devil Rays were only eleven games below .500. With a strong second half, they would have been able to make themselves into real contenders.

Upper management, however, had other plans. Rather than contending for a playoff berth, the Devil Rays traded many veteran players for younger players who could contribute more to the future of the team. The future, as they say, is starting this season.

When the Tampa Bay Devil Rays took the mound for the 2007 opening day, they had the youngest starting lineup since the Minnesota Twins in 1983. Youth, it turns out, didn’t win this one: the Devil Rays lost to the New York Yankees by a score of 9-5.

Yet, the season is just beginning and anything can happen. Fans hope that Tampa Bay will follow the footsteps of the other Florida team and start making their way towards a championship.

As for what the rest of the season will hold, the Devil Rays definitely have their work cut out for them. Not only do they compete in the AL East - a division that include the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox - but many of their players are young and unproven. No one knows for sure which way they will go.

This unknowing, however, is part of the excitement: watching a player grow to greatness is one of the things baseball is all about. Among the Tampa Bay Devil Rays who have to chance to do just that are third baseman Akinori Iwamura, infielder B.J. Upton, outfielder Delmon Young, and shortstop Ben Zobrist.

The strength of the Devil Rays rests on the shoulders of their outfielders: in addition to Delmon Young, Carl Crawford and Rocco Baldelli could also have breakout seasons. The Rays need great outfielders, and ones that don’t mind being busy. That brings us to the weakness of the Devil Rays: the pitching.

Last season, the Devil Ray’s rotation received the fewest wins in the entire league with 36. They were also tied for the most losses at 70. Yet on a bright side sits Scott Kazmir, a man who could become a great pitcher. But he certainly can’t pitch every game: the Devil Rays are going to have to get better armed, and better arms. This young team must also learn how to win on the road. Last year their road record teetered on ridiculous; they had 20 wins and 61 losses.

If the pitching can solidify and the Devil Rays learn to win when they aren’t in Florida, they might have a chance to contend. Playing in the tough AL East is also an issue; one they can only resolve by getting tough as well.

Jennifer Jordan is a senior editor for http://www.milleniumlimo.com. An avid sports fan, she likes the Miami Dolphins but her heart belongs to the Denver Broncos.

In softball, a coach cannot afford to underestimate the other team; they can only prepare their own team to be the best. As a coach, it’s important to set the standards for your team. Along with setting an example of the right attitude, you are responsible to make sure that the players’ skills and overall game improve over time. Therefore, teaching softball drills should always be a vital part of practice.

The most effective way for teaching softball drills is through hands-on demonstrations. For example, it’s obviously necessary to teach softball players the correct batting stance. While they’ll learn from your example, it is more valuable if you show them the way and then allow each member of the team to try it themselves. After you show them the ropes, allow them to use what you have taught to try hitting the ball themselves. As the coach, you should assess the placement of their feet, their knees, their hips, their shoulders and their eyes. Following that, you will know what the team needs to work on when it comes to batting stance and hitting the ball.

Videos are useful to give the team a visual of different strategies and skills. However, videos are even more effective if the team is interactive while it’s playing. For example, the team can watch the video of a pro-game. You can show them part of an inning and then ask them to explain the different plays that they could execute. Therefore, you can make sure that they know the best actions to take in different situations. Teaching softball drills like this gives the team a chance to think logically and work out different strategies in their heads.

Another classic method for teaching softball drills is using a chalkboard, dry-erase board, or poster to work out different plays. This is one of the most important ways to coach the team because it gives you the chance to explain the ins and outs of different plays. Plus, during this time you can assign different players to practice different positions. Drawing out different plays is also an important part of tracking the improvement of the team. Having records of each play allows you to mark the ones that the team has mastered and to mark the ones that the team still needs to work on.

Teaching softball drills is one of the most vital tasks of a coach. All of the different drill methods are necessary to master the entire softball game. Using a variety of ways of teaching ensures not only that the team will perform well but they will know exactly what they are doing and why they are doing it. It’s important to remember that the quality of your coaching directly affects the quality of your team.

Becky Wittenburg is a softball coach, softball blogger, and author. If your looking for more tips on teaching softball drills, please visit her softball drills library here.

The parents who know their kids love baseball can celebrate their birthday with the Baseball Party. For this reason, you might have to book a ground for an afternoon match and can make your kid’s birthday party an awesome outdoor event. This can be a very unique idea where your kid and his friends will have a wonderful time playing their favorite game and celebrating the birthday at the same time. Since you have come up to gathering this unique idea of throwing a baseball birthday party, you need to make a checklist of things.

The first and foremost thing in your checklist for Baseball Party should be the invitations. Mostly the invitations are sent out on cardboards, but it would be a unique idea to send your invitations written on a baseball. Another thing on your checklist would be the baseball gear, which would include the hats, bats, helmet, shirts, baseballs. You can also get balloons for the specific team colors. Since the match is going to be between two teams, you must invite your son’s school baseball team coach so that he or she is able to conduct the entire game event at the party.

When the Baseball match is over, all the young players need to get together and celebrate the birthday party at the table that you have decorated with a baseball theme table cover. Do also get the baseball theme paper cups, paper plates, spoons etc. so that the event is totally representing a baseball party. You also have to buy a trophy that you can award to the winning team. One more thing, please do not forget to bring your camcorder with you to capture the entire event. You can invite all the kids to your place to watch the movie at any weekend, which is convenient for you.

Mrs. Party… Gail Leino takes a common sense approach to planning and organizing events, celebrations and holiday parties with unique ideas for baseball party supplies and fun free educational party games. She explains proper etiquette and living a healthy life while also teaching organizational skills and fun facts. The Party Supplies Shop has lots of party ideas with hundreds of free holiday printable games and free birthday party activities. Over 100 adorable Party Themes to fit your birthday celebration, holiday event, or “just because” parties is at the Party Theme Shop. Party themes include cartoon characters, sports, movie, TV shows, luau, western, holidays, and unique crazy fun theme ideas.

When sports bettors look at the odds in the morning before making their sports picks, many of them are missing the whole story. Let’s say they are capping bases and see that the Yanks are -190 favorites over the Devil Rays. “Too much juice,” they whisper, and move on to the next game.

But is it? How do they know? Simply because it’s a big number?

Money lines speak and they always say something very specific, but many gamblers simply hear: “Odds are pretty good the Yanks are gonna beat the D-Rays today, but they‘re too expensive to bet on at -190.” Just how good are those odds and why on earth would they think the -190 is the price of the bet?

Odds are simply the chance of something happening, nothing more, and chances are expressed in percentages. What this money line is really saying is “The Yanks have a 65.5% chance of beating the Devil Rays today.” It’s not saying anything at all about the price or ‘juice’.
To calculate the odds in the money line, you need two formulas, one for the favorite and one for the dog.

FAVORITE
FL/(FL + 100)

FL is the favorite line. Disregard the minus sign. So for the Yanks at -190 it goes like this:
190/(190 +100) = 190/290 = .655 or 65.5%

The Devil Rays are +170 dogs.

UNDERDOG
100/(DL + 100)

DL is the dog line. So:

100/(170 + 100) = 100/270 = .370 or 37%

Something doesn’t seem right. If the books are saying the Yanks have a 65.5% chance of winning and the Devil Rays a 37% chance of winning, that’s a 102.5% chance of one of these teams winning.

That’s impossible. Nothing can be more than 100%. When a sweaty athlete in a post-game interview says he gave “110%”, he’s off by exactly 10%. The 2.5% is the price, the juice, the vig, the house edge, whatever you want to call it.

It’s what we must overcome to make a profit in this business.

If we determine, as sports handicappers, that the odds on the Yanks are fair, then we must pass on this bet as there is no profit in it for us. If we make this bet a 1000 times, we would win 655 times and lose 345 times (1000 * 65.5% = 655). At -190 we would break even, nothing more. We would win 655 units and lose 655.5 units (the .5 can be explained by rounding). Betting on the D-Rays is an even worse idea. If the odds on the Yanks are fair, then the D-Rays are overvalued by the 2.5% (100% - 65.5% = 34.5%). They actually have only a 34.5% chance of winning the game, not 37% as claimed by the +170 money line. We would lose 68.5 units betting them over the course of a 1000 bets.

As sports handicappers, we must look for BETTER THAN FAIR odds. They’re hard to find, but they’re out there. Precision Plays wouldn’t play the Yanks at -190 unless we determined they had at least a 70% chance of winning the game.

Very few situations, especially in baseball, have those good of odds.

To learn more about how a Precision Plays account can help you succeed at sports betting,

please visit http://precisionplays.com