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Little League World Series Odds: USA Given Short +120 Odds

Robert Duff

by Robert Duff in News

Updated Mar 24, 2020 · 11:09 AM PDT

Little League World Series
International teams have been dominating the Little League World Series since the late 1950s. Photo by Desiree N. Palacios, Air Force News Service.
  • Teams from the USA have won two of the last three Little League World Series
  • Despite this, US teams are +120 underdogs to win the 2018 title
  • The Little League World Series is slated for August 15-25 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania

Donald Trump would likely be disappointed to learn that the sportsbooks are not putting America First when it comes to the odds of where the winner of the 2019 Little League World Series will come from.

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Even though Honolulu, Hawaii brought the 2018 title to the USA, sportsbooks are listing US-based teams as +120 longshots to retain the championship in the 2019 tournament.

2019 Little League World Series Winner Odds

Who Will Win the 2019 Little League World Series? Odds
International Team -150
USA Team +120

Odds taken 06/04/19

The Little League World Series will be held August 15-25 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

America’s Game?

Baseball was invented in the USA, but for many years the US-teams have taken a back seat to foreign powers in the Little League World Series. The tournament has been dominated by clubs from the Far East.

Between 1967-81, teams from Taiwan (10) and Japan (three) combined to win 13 of 15 LLWS titles. Taiwanese teams put together four- and five-year winning streaks during that stretch of dominance.

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Again from 1994-2003, international clubs captured eight of 10 championships. These winners came from Japan (three), Taiwan (two), Venezuela (two), and Mexico (one). But American teams rebounded to regain control, winning five LLWS in a row from 2004-09.

Squads from Tokyo captured five championships in the LLWS between 2010-17.

Lately, it’s the Japanese who’ve proven to be the powerhouse of the tournament. Squads from Tokyo captured five championships in the LLWS between 2010-17. South Korea also produced one winner during this stretch.

Is the Little League World Series Tide Turning?

Hawaii’s 3-0 shutout of South Korea in the 2018 LLWS final offered hope that American teams could once again take possession of America’s pastime at the Little League level.

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Honolulu joined Maine-Endwell, NY (2016) to give the United States two LLWS titles in three years. Maine-Endwell’s win, also against South Korea, brought a halt to a four-year reign of dominance by foreign teams.

Huntington Beach, California (2011) is the only other US-based champion since 2010.

Should You Bet American?

Why not? These are kids, after all, and anything can happen when kids are involved.

In 70 Little League World Series tournaments, foreign teams hold a 36-34 edge in titles won. But while that seems like a break-even stat, what you must keep in mind is that from the launch of the tournament in 1947, US-based teams won 18 of the first 20 titles. Only back-to-back wins by Monterrey, Neuvo Leon, Mexico in 1957-58 interrupted this American dominance.

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The key for US teams appears to be hoping that some ball club on the foreign side of the competition will eliminate the Japanese before they get to the final. Teams from Japan are 5-1 in their last six final appearances, stopped only by Huntington Beach in 2011.

Teams from the USA are 4-1 against other nations in the final since 2008.

A wager on the country that produced the defending LLWS champion sure seems like a reasonable outlay at a price of +120.

Pick: USA Team (+120)

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