The major-league baseball season starts Sunday, April 3, and the Chicago Cubs, a perennial doormat, are the favorite to win the 2016 championship.
“I don’t think we have ever seen the Cubs as the favorite to win the World Series,” said Jay Kornegay, vice president of race and sports operations for the Westgate Las Vegas Superbook.
After winning a playoff series last year for the first time since 2003, the Cubs are 4-to-1 to win the MLB title (the team hasn’t won the World Series since 1908).
“All of a sudden, when pitchers get to San Francisco, they start pitching better,” he said, adding that the ballpark, which is spacious and thus favors pitchers, may have something to do with it.
The Giants’ talented pitching coach, Dave Righetti, and their respected manager, Bruce Bochy, may have much to do with pitchers’ success in San Francisco, but when it comes to odds, “that’s a small piece,” Kornegay said.
The Boston Red Sox, who signed star pitcher David Price to a lucrative deal, are the favorite to win the American League pennant, with a slight edge over the Toronto Blue Jays.
