Shohei Ohtani the most popular player among

Wanna guess? If the wager concerned Shohei Ohtani, the reply from gamblers was yes more often than it was for any other player in any sport last 12 months, according to data from BetMGM.

When betting on recreation outcomes in 2025, gamblers positioned the most wagers on NFL video games. However, when betting on particular person athletes, gamblers positioned the most wagers on Ohtani, the two-way famous person for the World Series champion Dodgers and National League most worthwhile player. Saquon Barkley, the operating back for the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, ranked second.

That data thought-about only BetMGM wagers that concerned particular person gamers — sometimes for awards such as MVP, a spokesman said, but most often for prop bets decided by particular person efficiency.

By approach of instance from another sportsbook, Caesars Sports supplied these World Series prop bets for Ohtani: Would he hit a leadoff home run? Drive in at least seven runs? Collect at least 10 hits? Hit a 470-foot home run? Hit at least 5 home runs? Deliver a walk-off hit? Hit two home runs and strike out 10 batters in the same recreation? Strike out 20 batters in the collection? (Ohtani didn’t do any of those eight issues.)

The most popular major leaguers past Ohtani among bettors, according to BetMGM, all had been sluggers: Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees ranked second, adopted by Kyle Schwarber of the Philadelphia Phillies, Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of the Toronto Blue Jays, Juan Soto and Pete Alonso of the New York Mets, Elly De La Cruz of the Cincinnati Reds, Riley Greene of the Detroit Tigers and Bryce Harper of the Phillies.

Yet the most infamous MLB prop bets last 12 months concerned pitchers, not hitters.

In November, Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz had been indicted on federal prices that they “rigged pitches” — that is, they tipped bettors about whether or not they would throw a pitch outdoors the strike zone in specified conditions and how exhausting they might throw it. Prosecutors say bettors received a whole lot of 1000’s of {dollars} for themselves and paid Clase and Ortiz 1000’s of {dollars} for their help.

The pitchers have pleaded not guilty, with a trial scheduled for May. Prosecutors told the court last month that Clase, a three-time All-Star, possible would face 87 to 108 months in prison under federal sentencing tips — that is, up to 9 years — if convicted on each of the 4 counts in his indictment.

The pitchers also face a potential lifetime ban from baseball. Clase, 27, is under contract for $6 million this 12 months; the Guardians maintain a $10-million option for 2027 and another for 2028. Investors who pooled their money to assist him in exchange for a proportion of his profession earnings are at risk of dropping their investment.

The sorts of prop bets positioned on Clase and Ortiz could change into even less popular next season.

On the day after Clase and Ortiz had been indicted, Major League Baseball announced an settlement with sports activities ebook operators to cap such pitching prop bets at $200. The operators, MLB said, represented “more than 98% of the U.S. betting market.”

In its announcement, the league famous that most prop bets are usually not solely influenced by one particular person — that is, whether or not Ohtani hits a home run relies upon in important half on how he’s pitched.

“However, ‘micro-bet’ pitch-level markets (e.g., ball/strike; pitch velocity) present heightened integrity risks because they focus on one-off events that can be determined by a single player and can be inconsequential to the outcome of the game,” the league assertion said. “The risk on these pitch-level markets will be significantly mitigated by this new action targeted at the incentive to engage in misconduct.”