Which Umps Have Been Most Profitable for Betting Unders?
Just over a week ago in this space, we used our Bet Labs software to determine which umpires have been the most profitable for home teams. That research raised a number of questions regarding the biases of major league umpires, specifically concerning the total.
Each umpire is unique and has a different style for calling a game. Some umpires will give pitchers the high strike and some won’t. Some umpires will punish batters for not swinging and others won’t. Some officials have a tight strike zone and others are quite lax. Essentially, the way each ump interprets the rules and calls a game is different and that can have a significant impact on bettors.
There are a number of umps who tend to favor pitchers on borderline calls and my hypothesis was that Phil Cuzzi, Ron Kulpa, Bill Miller, Ted Barret and Doug Eddings — who are renowned for having the largest strike zones in baseball — would be among the most profitable umpires for betting unders. As it turned out I was correct as four of these five umps number among the top ten under umps.
| Umpire | Record | Units Won | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bill Miller | 177-122 | +41.38 | 13.8% |
| Ron Kulpa | 162-116 | +34.37 | 12.4% |
| Phil Cuzzi | 162-130 | +22.36 | 7.7% |
| Doug Eddings | 164-128 | +21.52 | 7.4% |
| Mike Winters | 164-133 | +20.03 | 6.7% |
| Greg Gibson | 152-125 | +18.70 | 6.7% |
| John Hirschbeck | 110-82 | +17.78 | 9.3% |
| Andy Fletcher | 145-121 | +16.96 | 6.4% |
| Lance Barksdale | 152-127 | +16.14 | 5.8% |
| Jeff Kellogg | 151-125 | +15.66 | 5.7% |
Bill Miller has been by far the most profitable umpire for betting unders, as simply betting $100 on the under in every game he has officiated since 2005 would have resulted in a $4,138 profit.
It’s also worth noting that our umpire data is not only available to Bet Labs customers, but also to Sportsbook Insider subscribers. The screenshot below displays the game info for tomorrow’s Houston Astros/Los Angeles Angels game and includes official information among many other valuable features.
Want to see the full list or create your own winning MLB betting system? Try out 6-day Bet Labs trial for just $25 and start making smarter bets today.
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