Place Your Bets on the 2022 Diamondbacks

After a couple of shaky months, turns out there is going to be a baseball season after all, and that can mean only one thing. We open the doors on the SnakePit Casino, and welcome you to another session of top-quality tribute bands, questionable buffets and a chance to wager on the outcome of this 2021 season for the D-backs. Last season, 29 bettors ended up fractionally in the hole, but only by 300 SnakePit dollars on a total amount wagered of S$43,400. Will history repeat itself? Here’s where we find out, as we welcome you to our 11th or so annual betting frenzy. For those who need a refresher, let me top up your glass, but please note an important change in the rules this year.

How it works

I’m bankrolling each of you with S$1,500 in SnakePit Dollars [actual value 0.00000000000001 cents], which you can divide up and wager on the lines as you think fit. I’ll accept entries up until the first pitch on Opening Day.

In an “over/under” bet, a sports book will set a number, and bettors can choose on which side of that number the actual result will fall. The most common such is the total points in an NFL game, but it can be run on just about any sporting statistic. If you win, you get double your money [actually, it’s typically a shade less than double, the difference being the house edge, but we’ll just say double for our purposes here]. If you lose... Well, I trust I need not draw you a picture, but it involves a vice and Joe Pesci, if my recollection of Casino is correct.

To place a bet, you simply put your lines and amount wagered on each, in the comments below. For ease of my inputting them into the spreadsheet, entry lines should be in the form:

• Diamondbacks - Wins, S$300, OVER

which means you are betting Arizona will win more than the specified number. However, so you don’t just throw it all on one bet, we cap the maximum wager. This used to be S$500, but to make it a bit more thought-provoking, I AM DROPPING THE MAX BET ON ANY SINGLE WAGER TO S$300. So you’ve got to have at least FIVE lines. You can have more, of course, by betting less than the limit. All player lines are transferable, so if anyone is traded, the line goes with them. Only regular season games are counted too, so if the D-backs make the post-season, those contests will not be included. You, at the back - stop sniggering!

Here are the wagers available this season, mostly courtesy of BetOnline.

• Diamondbacks Wins 65.5
• Ketel Marte HR 21.5
• Ketel Marte RBI 76.5
• Christian Walker HR 17.5
• Christian Walker RBI 64.5
• Carson Kelly HR 15.5
• Zac Gallen Wins 9.5
• Zac Gallen Strikeouts 175.5
• Madison Bumgarner Wins 8
• Madison Bumgarner Strikeouts 135.5
• Mark Melancon Saves 19.5

Updates will be roughly monthly through the season so we can see the rise and fall of fortunes, until a final reckoning at some point after the campaign is over. Now, let’s see how many people failed to read everything above, and try to bet S$500 on a single line..