What Run Line means
The run line is baseball's version of a point spread, but unlike football or basketball spreads, it's almost always fixed at exactly 1.5 runs regardless of the specific matchup between two teams. Because the margin itself doesn't move, the odds attached to each side do all the adjusting instead - a heavy favorite on the run line might be priced at -180 or worse, while the underdog side gets a correspondingly generous plus-money price, even in a game where the moneyline gap between the two teams isn't that large.
Key points
- The run line is baseball's version of a point spread, but unlike football or basketball spreads, it's almost always fixed at exactly 1.5 runs regardless of the specific matchup between two teams.
- Because the margin itself doesn't move, the odds attached to each side do all the adjusting instead - a heavy favorite on the run line might be priced at -180 or worse, while the underdog side gets a correspondingly generous plus-money price, even in a game where the moneyline gap between the two teams isn't that large.
Example and context
Because the margin itself doesn't move, the odds attached to each side do all the adjusting instead - a heavy favorite on the run line might be priced at -180 or worse, while the underdog side gets a correspondingly generous plus-money price, even in a game where the moneyline gap between the two teams isn't that large.
Related glossary terms
These terms sit in the same part of the betting vocabulary and are useful to read next.
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