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Today is the first double header of the year between the Twins and the Red Sox.  I was curious about if most double headers end up in splits or sweeps, and how this could be used in making profitable MLB baseball bets.  My first thought was that more double headers would end up in a sweep for several reasons:

• Baseball is streaky – the ‘hot’ team tends to win games in bunches.
• The better team wins – The team playing better baseball that day should win both games more often than not.
• Pitching rotations don’t always match up – If Boston is throwing their #1 & #2 starters against Minnesota’s #3 & #4 starters, Boston should stand a better than not chance to pick up wins in both ends of the double header.
• I am sure there are others, but these are the main factors to consider in my mind.

So I decided to back log all the double headers in baseball back to 2002.  My numbers are from ESPN’s double header page.

Year  -  Sweeps  -  Splits

• 2008  -  14-11
• 2007  -  12-10
• 2006  -  10-13
• 2005  -  7-11
• 2004  -  23-15
• 2003  -  20-8
• 2002  -  14-10

Double Header Record Key Points

• Overall MLB double header Sweep/Split record stands at 100-78 in favor of the sweep.
• Double headers were swept 56.2% of the time.
• 5 out of 7 years, more double headers ended up in a sweep than a split.
• The last 2 years (07-08), double headers were swept 55.3% (26-21).

Bottom Line About Double Header Betting Records

Ignoring all other factors, betting the 2nd game of a double header on the team that won the 1st game should be profitable as long as the line is -109 or better.  If you can wait until the end of the first game to make a bet, and the team that won the first game of the double header is an underdog, you should bet on that team.

It is always dangerous to make generalizations, but this double header record is a moderately strong trend that should help in handicapping about 20 or 25 MLB baseball games per year.  Every bit of information helps.