The people at William Hill sportsbook in Las Vegas are probably praying right now that the voters choose Blue Jays slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. as their AL MVP this year. That’s because if current front-runner, Angels do-it-all superstar Shohei Ohtani, take home the award, the sportsbook is set to suffer it’s biggest loss in the future awards market ever!
According to ESPN, William Hill is set to lose over $1-million if Ohtani is named MVP later tonight. The report states that a bettor in Vegas placed $30,000 on the Angels superstar to win the American League MVP award back on March 19, when his odds were 30-1. If the bet comes in, the bettor will take home $900,000, along with his original $30K investment.
Assistant Director of Trading for William Hill, Adam Pullen, discussed the wager by saying, “It’s going to be the biggest loss on that type of market ever.” Of course, this lucky bettor isn’t the only one who’s placed a wager on Ohtani, as the sportsbook claims they’re set to suffer a seven-figure loss on AL MVP bets.
Ohtani opened the season with 60-1 odds, but those quickly dropped. And by August, BetMGM had him listed at -5,000 odds, meaning you had to wager $5,000 just to net $100.
Ohtani finished the 2021 MLB season with a .257 batting average, 46 home runs, 100 RBIs, 26 stolen bases, and a 4.9 WAR. He was equally effective as a pitcher. finishing with a 9-2 record, a 3.18 ERA, 156 strikeouts, and a 1.09 WHIP. His closest challenger for the award is Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who put together quite the campaign himself with 48 homers, 111 RBIs, a .311 average and a 6.8 WAR. He and Ohtani are joined by Vladdy’s Blue Jays teammate, Marcus Semien, as the three finalists for the Award this season.
The winner is set to be announced on MLB Network tonight at 6 p.m. ET.
