Baseball - Home Cooking And Interleague Games

Home teams in Interleague games were 309-203 +68 units over the 2 years prior to this season. And they have not dissapointed us in 2006 either. As of the date this article is written, home teams are 101-73 +8 Units. Home teams have the edge in this type of game and smart bettors are cashing in big time.

There are three tiers of baseball games: 1) Division rivalry games. 2) Non-division rivalry games. 3) Interleague games. Of all three, expect the least effort from the road teams in interleague games. Why?

First, there are no historic rivalries between the two teams. You expect the best effort from any team in a division rivalry game, why else do we love taking underdogs in those games. But we do not get that same level of intensity from the road team in interleague games.

Second, there is very little familiarity with the home team's ballpark thus improving the home team's advantage. Some ballparks need you to pull the ball, gap the ball, shade the line, etc. Fielding the ball in some parks can be troublesome for an outfielder as it is in Minnesota, etc.

Third, the lineups flip around to favor the home team. In an American League ballpark, both teams get to use a DH. The AL teams are used to utilizing a DH and fill up their roster for that very purpose. The NL team, on the other hand, rarely have a capable DH to match their AL opponent. On the flip side, in an NL ballpark, no DH is used and there exists a significant disadvantage to the AL team. From having a pitcher that rarely ever sacrifices to having a coach that has little experience coaching that brand of baseball, NL teams have an advantage at home.

Fourth, both teams are unfamiliar with the opposing pitchers and have very poor scouting reports. Therefore the advantage goes to the pitcher. In fact, dominating pitchers tend to dominate much more in Interleague play. Why else would home interleague teams that are favorites of more than -130 never have a losing season over the past 5 seasons?