Baseball broadcasts might feature in-game sports betting much sooner than you think
It’s the bottom of the ninth inning and the New York Mets are clinging to the thinnest of leads. After getting the first two outs of the inning, Edwin Diaz has loaded the bases. With the game on the line, he readies for the next pitch. As he gets into his windup, a graphic pops up in the middle of your television screen.
“Will Edwin Diaz throw a strike on this pitch? Yes: -120. No: +100.”
A second after Diaz throws the pitch — a strike — another graphic pops up.
“How will this at-bat end? Out: 2/1. Strikeout: 5/1. Single 8/1. Home run 14/1.”
The game ends on the next pitch — a ground out — and another graphic asks you whether you want to bet on the Mets tomorrow.
No, that’s not a scenario from a post-apocalyptic baseball sci-fi series being pitched to Netflix. That might actually become a reality.
Sinclair Broadcast Group recently purchased a number of regional sports networks from Disney. If Sinclair CEO Chris Ripley gets his way, those networks could air “pitch-by-pitch” odds on baseball broadcasts, according to Reuters.
Ripley also plans to eventually allow viewers to place bets right from their screens during live games, similar to how fans can wager in Europe now.
"If you're interested in gaming, we're going to add on extra stats, the ability to do prop bets in the game, pitch by pitch, play by play," he said. "You can play along and wager while you watch."
This won’t impact every single team, though roughly half the league would be subject to those odds. Craig Edwards of FanGraphs outlined which networks were purchased by Sinclair. He determined 14 teams — including the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Angels — air their games on networks now owned by the network. The company also owns the YES Network and the Cubs’ new Marquee Network.
After resisting gambling for so long, Major League Baseball has gone all in. The league announced a partnership with MGM Resorts International last November. It’s gotten to the point where teams have to submit lineups to the commissioner’s office 15 minutes before announcing them to cut down on the risks involved with sports betting.
By embracing gambling, baseball has opened itself up to a brave, new world where airing live odds on screen has become a reality. While that will appeal to a certain type of fan, it could alienate many others who have no interest in constantly seeing live odds pop up on their television.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
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