AL Pennant Odds
The first half of the Major League Baseball season is in the books and soon the true contenders will start to separate from the pretenders. Oddsmakers from online sports book Bodog have made the Boston Red Sox and Los Angles Angeles the favorites to emerge from the American League.
Bet the 2008 American League Pennant Odds
The Favorite: Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Angels
Oddsmakers have made the Boston Red Sox 7/5 favorites to represent the American League in 2008. The Red Sox are the defending champions and given their stacked lineup featuring Manny Ramirez, J.D. Drew, Dustin Pedroia and a soon-to-be-healthy David Ortiz, it’s easy to see why oddsmakers favor the BoSox. As long as they improve on the road in the second half, Boston is a clear-cut favorite.
The Los Angeles Angels (3/1) play in the AL’s weakest division, have one of the strongest rotations and have the current save-leader in Francisco Rodriguez. Their offense will need to improve, but the Halos are a solid sleeper to knock off the Red Sox in the postseason.
The Values: Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers, Minnesota Twins
The Chicago White Sox have been one of the surprise teams in the AL this year and have been made 4/1 favorites to win the AL Pennant. They lead the majors in home runs by a long shot and are getting tremendous production from unlikely sources like Carlos Quentin and Gavin Floyd. They’ll have to hold off the Minnesota Twins and the hard-charging Detroit Tigers in the AL Central, but the Sox are primed.
The New York Yankees were 5.5 games out of first in the AL East at the All-Star Break behind the Tampa Bay Rays (also a favorite at 5/2 odds) and Boston Red Sox, but nobody should count them out. Oddsmakers have established the Bronx Bombers as 13/2 favorites, making them a solid value considering they have an All-Star lineup featuring Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Bobby Abreu.
The Detroit Tigers were one of the favorites to win the American League in the offseason. But after getting off to a 0-7 start and suffering various injuries to key players, the Tigers slipped to last place in the AL Central. But after a solid June, Detroit has climbed back into contention and with ace Justin Verlander pitching well again, they’re an intriguing club at 10/1 odds to win the AL Pennant.
At 11/1 odds, the Minnesota Twins are also a tremendous value. They didn’t fare well in a series against the Boston Red Sox towards the end of the first half, but their lineup is solid and Francisco Liriano might be close to joining the big league club again in the second half.
Odds to win the 2008 American League Pennant
Baltimore Orioles 200/1
Boston Red Sox 7/5
Chicago White Sox 4/1
Cleveland Indians 75/1
Detroit Tigers 10/1
Kansas City Royals 250/1
Los Angeles Angels 3/1
Minnesota Twins 11/1
New York Yankees 13/2
Oakland Athletics 25/1
Seattle Mariners 500/1
Tampa Bay Devil Rays 5/2
Texas Rangers 100/1
Toronto Blue Jays 100/1
Bet the 2008 American League Pennant Odds
Did you like this article? Subscribe to our Baseball news feed for the fastest updates delivered right to you – Click here to Subscribe
