Friday, March 6, 2020

LAS VEGAS OFFERS OVER/UNDER ON ASTROS BEANBALLED

Image result for HOUSTON ASTROS, BEANBALLED

(Alex Bregman gets plunked in the back while facing the Cardinals)

The Houston Astros cheating scandal has generated opinions from pretty much everyone, including high-profile MLB players like Mike Trout and Cody Bellinger. But will the harsh feelings toward Houston creep into the regular season and lead to retaliation?

In today's betting landscape, people can wager on almost anything and that includes how many times Houston players will get beaned in 2020.

(The Houston Astros team almost didn't make it to the Port Charlotte, Fla. stadium in the Grapefruit League in time to play one of their pre-season games. The reason? They had stolen all the signs.)

Astros total hit by pitch in 2020 regular season
Over/Under 83

The instant reaction will be to bet the over here.

However, 83 is a huge number, especially for a team like the Astros whose star players don't historically get hit a lot. A player's stance is the key factor when it comes to getting beaned. Guys who crowd the plate like Anthony Rizzo, Pete Alonso, and Todd Frazier tend to get hit more often. 
Last season, Robinson Chirinos led the Astros with 13 HBP and he's not even on the team anymore.

Alex Bergman (9) and Michael Brantley (7) were the only other Houston players to get beaned more than six times in 2019. In response to the outcry from players, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has already warned teams against retaliation.

The thinking here is the Astros will see more beanballs following their cheating scandal. That may happen for the first couple weeks of the season, but as the year grinds into July and August, pitchers won't be throwing at guys on a regular basis. 

We also have to factor in punishments from MLB commissioner Rob Manfred over retaliations. The Astros finished with 66 hit by pitches last year and the guy who accounted for 13 of them is gone. The under is a strong bet.

(A fortune teller in Houston predicted the Astros would win the 2017 World Series even before they had clinched the American League Pennant. How did she know? She said all the signs were there.)

Most hit by pitch 2020 regular season

Alex Bregman +100

George Springer +200

Jose Altuve +300

Carlos Correa +350

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dona Conchita del barrio predicts that the astros will not be in the playoffs this 2020 season and will place 3rd in the west reason: the trash cans will not be allowed in the dug out, seems reasonable.

Anonymous said...

The one who ought to be beaned (daily) is you, Montoya. Your candidates all sucked!

Anonymous said...

I'll take the over.

Anonymous said...

No wonder they lost, they turn their back on a pitch that's going to hit them instead of ducking pinche gueyes...

Anonymous said...

@March 6, 2020 at 1:18 PM

LOL hahaha beaned is that like frijolado!

rita