Baltimore Orioles Are Now The Best Team In The American League

When the 2023 MLB season began, the Baltimore Orioles were listed at +10000 when it came to World Series odds. They had a young, up-and-coming team, and finished with a winning record in 2022, missing out on a wild card spot by 3 games.

Orioles Now Alone Atop The American League

It’s been 7 long years and the Baltimore Orioles are finally back in sole position of first place in the AL East pic.twitter.com/kOKmLx57lk

— 𝙆𝙣𝘽 (@kazknowsball) July 21, 2023

But hopes weren’t high for the current campaign. The Orioles play in the mighty AL East, which featured 2 of the 8 teams with the shortest World Series odds when the season began, and promised to be one of the toughest divisions in baseball. It has certainly lived up to that billing, but the teams at the top aren’t the ones that the oddsmakers originally thought would be there.

The Tampa Bay Rays started off the season in dominant fashion and have spent essentially the entirety of the first 100 games in first place. But they’ve fallen on hard times after the All-Star break, and have dropped 8 of their last 10, and subsequently, their lead in the division. The Orioles now stand in first despite playing .500 baseball for the last two weeks.

They’re not only first in their division, but they now have the best record in the entire American League. As of Thursday morning, they were sporting a record of 62-40, just three games back of the Braves for the best mark in all of baseball.

Baltimore Not Getting The Love From The Oddsmakers

$100K NBA/MLB futures parlay just needs the Orioles to win the World Series 😳

Cash out or let it ride?

(via @walkthiswey47/@FDSportsbook) pic.twitter.com/nVdX5wE3Hy

— br_betting (@br_betting) July 26, 2023

But despite their recent surge to the top of the standings, the Orioles aren’t getting the love from the oddsmakers. They’ve certainly shot up the boards from their pre-season designation, but their odds don’t reflect where they stand in the AL.

Baltimore is currently listed at +1300 to win the World Series, which is an impressive mark given the expectations. But they are still considered longer shots than the Rangers (+1100) and Rays (+800), and are well behind the Dodgers (+500) who they currently have a 3.5 game lead on in the overall standings.

They’ll have the opportunity to cement their lead in the division over the next week. They’ll play a home series against the Yankees this weekend, before heading up to Toronto for a 4-game set to starting on Monday.

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