Suspended action: New MLB rule confuses bettors

[Raji]

Fri, Apr 13, 2007By Jason Logan

Last Tuesday’s game between the Florida Marlins and Milwaukee Brewers marked the first time MLB enforced its new suspended game rule since instituting it during the offseason.

With the score tied 2-2 going into the 11th inning, officials decided to suspend the contest due to multiple weather delays.

Unlike past years when the game would be restarted and all stats would be wiped clean, the game now starts up again later at the point of interruption. The rule states that if after five innings of baseball the score is tied and the game needs to be called due to weather, curfew or light malfunction, it will resume before the next meeting between the two teams at the same ballpark.

That meant the Marlins and Brewers had to continue the game Wednesday night before that evening's regular scheduled contest.

The news of Tuesday’s game carrying over to Wednesday came as a surprise to most bettors who were unfamiliar with the rule change. It also caught a lot of oddsmakers off guard, many of whom were unsure how to grade the action taken on the suspended game.

Should they hold the bets over until the official final of Tuesday’s game (which the Brewers won 3-2 in 13 innings)? Or should they treat the suspended game the same way they grade cancellations or previous suspensions, and declare the game a push and refund all action?

Most books agreed on declaring moneyline bets a push, refunding action on either Florida as a -119 favorite or Milwaukee as a +104 underdog.

However, books ran into a sticky situation when it came to grading bets on the total or wagers on the runline.

“Depending on the type of wager the game must go a certain amount of innings. When you are betting totals or the runline it has to go nine innings,” says Romano, an oddsmaker at 5Dimes.com. “Since that game on Tuesday went 10 full innings we grade those bets. That has been our rule for a while and this new MLB rule still falls under that, just people never looked at it until now.”

Bettors who wagered on the under with Tuesday’s total set at 8 ½ runs or who placed a bet on Milwaukee + 1 ½ on the runline received their winnings depending on the rules of their respective sportsbook.

However, this decision did not come without complaints from moneyline bettors who bet on Milwaukee or played the over. They argued that, officially, the game was not over and their bets still had a chance at winning.

When it comes to the moneyline, books really had no choice but to nullify all action due to the complications of the suspended game rule itself. According to MLB, if a suspended game cannot be played the following day it will take place the next time the teams meet in the same stadium, which could be months down the road. If they don’t play again in the same venue the game would then be continued in the other team’s home stadium, flip-flopping the home field advantage.

This held the potential of holding up money in bettors’ bankrolls.

“I actually feel that bets should stand in the case of a suspended game, as long as it will be completed the following day,” says professional handicapper Sean Murphy of the Miller Group. “Myself, I wouldn't want to have the possibility of winning that bet taken away. I can understand the argument from both sides though.”

Sportsbooks also explored the option of resetting lines for the continuation of suspended games, giving bettors an adjusted moneyline or total. But with suspended games a rarity, they decided against additional moves.

“Unless I had bet on the game originally, I can't see any advantage in jumping in on the completion of a suspended game,” says Murphy. “Both teams get to start fresh on a level playing field, rested bullpens and all. I would have a tough time finding any advantage.”

Raji