2020 World Series Odds Tracker
By Sascha Paruk
Updated:
- The LA Dodgers won the 2020 World Series, breaking a 32-year championship drought
- See how the odds to win the World Series fluctuated from the preseason through the heights of the COVID-19 pandemic to the night of Game 6
- Looking for the current World Series odds?
The moment the Los Angeles Dodgers acquired former AL MVP Mookie Betts in February 2020, they became the favorites to win the World Series. Cruising through the COVID-shortened regular season with an MLB-best 43-17 record, the Dodgers never relinquished their grip on that status, until the NLCS that is.
When Betts and company fell behind the Atlanta Braves 3-1, their odds to win the Fall Classic faded to +550. But LA roared back with three straight victories and then triumphed 4-2 over the scrappy Tampa Bay Rays in the World Series.
The graphs below show how the odds changed for Los Angeles and the rest of Major League Baseball during one of the strangest seasons in history.
Top World Series Contenders Odds
- Oct. 27: The LA Dodgers won Game 6 by a 3-1 score to end their 33-year World Series drought.
- Oct. 25: The Dodgers took Game 5 (4-2). Their odds to win the World Series improved from -176 to -580. The Rays fell from +149 to +437.
- Oct. 24: A ninth-inning comeback by the Rays (helped by some sloppy fielding) evened the best-of-seven series at 2-2- and sent TB’s odds from +362 to +149. LAD faded from -480 to -176.
- Oct. 23: LA took a 2-1 series lead behind a dazzling six innings from Walker Buehler in Game 3. The Dodgers improved to -480 from -198. The Rays have faded from +167 to +362.
- Oct. 21: Brandon Lowe’s two-homer night helped Tampa even the best-of-seven at 1-1. The Rays’ odds improved from +328 to +167 in the process.
- Oct. 20: The Dodgers dominated Game 1 (8-3) and are now a -427 favorite to win their first World Series since 1988. The Rays are a +328 longshot to dig out of an early 1-0 hole.
- Oct. 19: The Dodgers completed their comeback from 3-1 down against the Braves to earn a spot in the 2020 World Series opposite the Rays. LAD has opened as a huge -203 favorite. Tampa is a +165 underdog.
- Oct. 18: Finally able to rid themselves of those meddlesome Astros, the Rays are once again World Series favorites at +120 as the Dodgers (+175) and Braves (+290) head to a Game 7.
- Oct. 17: With the Braves leading the Dodgers 3-2 in the NLCS and the Rays and Astros now tied at 3-3 in the ALCS, the World Series odds are narrowing: ATL (+170), TB (+270), HOU (+330), LAD (+350).
- Oct. 16: Atlanta (+125) is the new favorite. They have taken a 3-1 lead on the Dodgers (+550) in the NLCS.
- Oct. 15: Both winless teams (the Astros and Dodgers) won last night. Now trailing 2-1, LAD (+230) is right behind ATL (+225) in the updated futures. Trailing 3-1, HOU (+2300) is still the longest of shots.
- Oct. 14: The Braves (+160) have the Dodgers (+400) on the ropes, holding a 2-0 lead in the NLCS
- Oct. 13: The Braves took a 1-0 lead on the Dodgers in the NLCS last night, but LAD still has better World Series odds (+220 vs +250).
- Oct. 12: Up 2-0 on Houston, Tampa has become the World Series favorite at +135.
- Oct. 11: A Game 1 ALCS win for the Rays moved their odds from +225 to +173. The Dodgers, who have yet to start their best-of-seven NLCS with the Braves, remain +155 favorites.
- Oct. 9: Tampa Bay improved to +225 after bouncing the Yankees in a winner-take-all Game 5 in the ALDS.
- Oct. 8: The Astros (+500) still aren’t getting a ton of respect from oddsmakers. Already in the ALCS, Houston’s odds are longer than NYY (+375) and equal to TB (+500), who will battle for the other spot in the ALCS tomorrow.
- Oct. 7: The Yankees faded from +390 to +700 after falling behind Tampa 2-1. The Dodgers only improved slightly by taking a 2-0 lead on the Padres, going from +200 to +190, as oddsmakers had already penciled in that Clayton Kershaw start as a win.
- Oct. 6: A Game 1 win over San Diego sent LAD’s odds to +200. The Yankees are still the second-favorite, but after dropping Game 2 to the Rays, are well back at +390.
- Oct. 5: The Yankees are as short as +275 after taking Game 1 from the Rays.
- Oct. 2: Despite leading the Cubs 1-0, the Marlins’ World Series odds (+2700) are longer or on par with the Padres (+1400) and Cardinals (+2700) who are tied 1-1 in their best-of-three series.
- Oct. 1: A Game 1 win for the Dodgers moved their odds from +350 to +290 or shorter at most books; the Padres fell to the +2000 range after dropping their own Game 1 to STL.
- Sep. 29: The Yankees, Rays, White Sox, and Astros all moved up the board after Game 1 victories, while the Indians, Blue Jays, Twins, and A’s are already on life support.
- Sep. 28: Despite falling to the #5 seed (which means playing on the road in the Wild-Card round) the NY Yankees (+600) are slight favorites over the Tampa Bay Rays (+650) to win the AL.
- Sep. 22: The defending AL champion Houston Astros have seen their World Series odds fade to +2200, barely in the top-ten.
- Sep. 11: The Padres (+1100) have moved into the top five, bumping out the Braves (+1433). In the AL, the Chicago White Sox (+1200) are now ahead of Central division-rival Minnesota (+1400).
- Sep. 7: There is growing separation between the Dodgers (+350) and the field.
- Sep. 1: San Diego’s World Series odds improved from +2200 to +1600 after the trade deadline, which represents a 26% increase in implied probability.
- Aug. 31: The Padres odds were sitting at +2200 heading into Monday’s trade deadline. Their many, many acquisitions – especially Mike Clevinger – will lead to shorter odds, but just how short remains to be seen.
- Aug. 17: The high-powered Twins now hold the third-best odds (+733), a position long occupied by the Astros, who have fallen to sixth-favorite (+1267).
- Aug. 10: The Athletics, who hold a five-game lead in the AL West, now have nearly identical World Series odds as the Astros (+1233 vs +1333).
- July 14: There has been interesting movement in the top ten, which now includes CIN, CHW, and LAA, but not OAK, WAS, STL, or CHC.
- June 24: The day after the MLB and MLBPA officially put in place a 60-game regular season with the standard 10-team playoff, the Yankees (+450) and Dodgers (+375) both saw their odds drop. A shorter season means increased volatility.
- May 11: The second-tier favorites have generally gotten longer with the MLB planning to play a shortened, 80-game season with an expanded playoff field. Fewer games means greater likelihood for unexpected outcomes.
- Mar. 28: Noah Syndergaard’s Tommy John surgery has hurt the Mets’ odds, falling from +1500 to around +1800.
- Mar. 11: The coronavirus pandemic has caused MLB to suspend all activities and postpone the start of the regular season by at least two weeks. Futures odds are still available at most sportsbooks.
- Mar. 5: All the spring training injuries to the Yankees (+350) have resulted in the Dodgers (+305) jumping them in the odds.
- Feb. 18: The Twins (+1600) have entered the top-five favorites. In related news, Josh Donaldson saw his AL MVP odds go from +6600 to +3300.
- Feb. 5: The Mookie Betts trade has the Dodgers closing the gap on the Yankees, going from +600 to +533. Expect them to keep trending in that direction.
- Jan. 28: After dropping as far as +750, the Astros are trending back the other way (+683) after hiring Dusty Baker as manager. The Twins have also moved up significantly (+1567).
- Jan. 23: Houston’s odds are starting to fade somewhat, falling from +600 to +667 over the past ten days.
- Jan. 13: The Astros (+600) have not seen their odds move – yet – after the league suspended manager AJ Hinch for the entire season. But don’t expect that to be true for much longer.
- Jan. 10: Both the Dodgers (+600) and Astros (+600) have narrowed the gap somewhat on the Yankees since mid-December, but NYY is still far and away the 2020 favorite.
- Dec. 11: Signing Gerrit Cole has vaulted the Yankees well ahead of the field. NYY is as short as +325 at one online sportsbook.
- Dec. 5: The Chi-Sox have been the biggest spenders in early free agency and their odds improved slightly (+5000 to +4700).
- Nov. 20: The sign-stealing scandal swirling around the Astros has led to their 2020 odds dropping from +530 to +600. The Yankees are now the favorites at +570.
- Nov. 7: The threat of losing both Anthony Rendon and Stephen Strasburg has led to the Nats dropping from +1200 to +1300, while the Dodgers consolidated their status as NL favorites, improving from +1000 to +800.
- Oct. 31: The Astros, despite losing the 2019 World Series in seven games and facing the loss of free-agent ace Gerrit Cole, have opened as favorites at +550.
Final 2020 World Series Odds
Team | Odds |
---|---|
LA Dodgers | -580 |
Tampa Bay Rays | +437 |
Odds as of Oct. 25th, 2020.
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American League Top Contenders
AL East World Series Odds
AL Central World Series Odds
AL West World Series Odds
National League Top Contenders
NL East World Series Odds
NL Central World Series Odds
NL West World Series Odds
Managing Editor
Sascha has been working in the sports-betting industry since 2014, and quickly paired his strong writing skills with a burgeoning knowledge of probability and statistics. He holds an undergraduate degree in linguistics and a Juris Doctor from the University of British Columbia.