- The Arizona Diamondbacks have lost more money for baseball bettors than any team in the Majors.
- Even with their MLB record 24 game road losing streak the Rockies aren’t the worst road team in the sport.
- Minnesota is the biggest home field money loser in Major League Baseball.
In our previous article, we looked at the most profitable teams in Major League Baseball. The San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners and Boston Red Sox have kept their ‘financial backers’ well in the black this season. There are similarities between all three teams in that they entered the season with low expectations that they have more than exceeded.
Then there’s the other end of the spectrum. The biggest money losers in baseball are sometimes decent teams that are overvalued by the betting public. There’s one of those among the three biggest money losers in Major League Baseball but the other two are just flat out bad teams. As of July 1, 2021 no team in the sport has burnt through more of baseball bettors’ bankrolls than the Arizona Diamondbacks.
BIGGEST MONEY LOSERS IN MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS -32.6 UNITS
Very little was expected of the Arizona Diamondbacks heading into the 2021 season. DraftKings had them priced at +7000 to win the World Series in early February. Even with these meager prospects they’ve found ways to underachieve this season and it is has cost their ‘financial backers’ -32.6 units. The ‘lowlight’ of the D-Backs season has to be their MLB record 24 game road losing streak. They’re currently 10-36 away from home for a -21 unit loss and yet that’s not the worst record in the Majors–that dubious distinction belongs to Colorado which has lost -23.6 units with a road record of 6-31. Arizona is no great shakes at home either with a 13-24 record for a loss of -11.7 units. They’re ineffective against lefties and righties losing -20 units against RHP and -12.7 units against LHP. Their -20 unit performance against right handed starters is the worst in MLB. They enter July priced at +50000 to win the World Series at DraftKings.
MINNESOTA TWINS -24.1 UNITS
Minnesota Twins’ fans held out some hope prior to the season that their team would be fairly decent. They were the 7th choice to win the World Series at DraftKings at a reasonable +2000. Unfortunately, the Twins have been going downhill ever since and enter July with a 33-46 record and a -24.1 unit loss on the season. Like the Diamondbacks, the Twins are bad in every situation. Maybe not as bad as Arizona in terms of wins and losses but bad enough to keep baseball bettors solidly in the red. The Twins are 17-23 at home for a -14.8 unit loss–worst in the Majors. They’ve got the fourth worst road performance going 16-23 -9.3 units (though they look like a juggernaut away from home compared to Arizona’s -21 unit road losses and Colorado’s -23.6 unit road losses). They’re the biggest money burner in baseball against left handed starters though just by a fraction over Arizona–the Twins have lost -12.8 units against southpaws (10-18) while the Diamondbacks have lost -12.7 units (4-17). They’re just the third worst investment in baseball against RHP going 23-28 -11.3 units.
NEW YORK YANKEES -18.9 UNITS
The New York Yankees are a perfect example of an overvalued ‘public’ team. They’re 41-39 on the season and since they’re above .500 their profit/loss must not be too bad, right? Guess again–they’re the third biggest money loser in baseball burning through -18.9 units on the season. That’s what happens when you’re a) a huge public team and b) enter the season expected to contend for a championship. The Yankees were +550 at DraftKings preseason and are still a fairly reasonable +1600. New York is 22-20 at home for a -9.9 unit loss. They’re 19-19 on the road for a -9.1 unit loss. They’re 28-25 against right handed starters for a -11.3 unit loss and 13-14 against left handed starts for a -7.7 unit loss.
(DIS)HONORABLE MENTION: LOS ANGELES DODGERS
Actually ‘dishonorable mention’ might be too strong but no team better illustrates the importance of moneyline valuations than the LA Dodgers. The Dodgers are having a perfectly decent year with a record of 50-31 and are just 1/2 game back of the San Francisco Giants in the NL West. They were DraftKings’ top choice to win the World Series back in February at +350 and are still the top choice today at +400. Despite what by all measures is a successful season to date if you had bet on the Dodgers in every game you’d be -0.8 units in the red. The Dodgers are 28-13 +4.4 units in Chavez Ravine but 22-18 -4.8 units on the road. They’re 35-22 against right handed starters but that equates to a small loss of -0.8 units. They’re dead even against left handers with a 15-9 record. The lesson here (in addition to the importance of valuation) is that laying big chalk prices with even the best teams will get you nowhere in baseball.
