LA Angels: Super Bowl LIII Prop Bets

Since the LA Angels last won a World Series in 2002, the New England Patriots have gone on to win 4 Super Bowls. The Patriots look for their sixth against the Los Angeles Rams today, but it isn’t all about the game.

Prop bets have become tradition on Super Bowl Sunday, so why not some LA Angels related ones? While Mike Trout’s Philadelphia Eagles fell short this year, the Rams’ new stadium in Inglewood is only 35 miles from Angels Stadium, so there is surely a hometown feel for the Rams this season.

For those of you without rooting interest, here are a trio of potential prop bets to make, and a way to make the Angels apart of your Super Bowl Sunday.

More Mike Trout home runs in 2018 or Tom Brady pass attempts:

It feels only right to start by comparing both teams’ respectivr GOAT’s, right? Mike Trout went deep 39 times in 2018, leading the Angels. In all of his Super Bowls combined, Brady has averaged 44.6 pass attempts.

Given the Rams’ secondary features stars like Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters, the Patriots may very well ride their group of running backs in the Super Bowl. However, if this contest turns into a shootout, Brady could easily throw 40 passes.

My pick: Brady Pass Attempts

Average Shohei Ohtani Exit Velocity or Todd Gurley Rushing Yards

This one is a tough one due to so many variables. Shohei Ohtani, to put it simply, hits the ball really hard a lot of the time. His average exit velocity last year, where he played with a torn UCL for a large part of the season, was 93.3 MPH.

So at first glance, Gurley seems like a solid bet to hit 94 rushing yards. The best running back in the NFL against a team that ranked 26th in opponent yards per carry? However, CJ Anderson has been the Rams’ best RB in the playoffs thus far, and that thick man will be a large part of their game plan on Sunday. That factor, along with the possibility of a shootout, make Gurley more of an iffy pick.

My Pick: Ohtani Exit Velocity

Albert Pujols 2018 Double Plays Ground Into or Accepted Penalties

While Albert Pujols will end up a first ballot Hall of Fame player and at the top of many statistical leaderboards, there is one stat he is already the all-time leader in. In the history of baseball, no player has had more at-bats end up as double plays than Pujols. In 2018, he had 12 (a career-low).

On the football side of things, both the Rams and Patriots were middle-of-the-pack in penalties-per-game. They combined for 11.9, which makes this bet perhaps the closest one of the group. With the NFL putting their highest-graded officials on call for the Super Bowl, it is always hard to say whether a “let them play” mentality will be in effect or the possibility of the refs calling a strict game taking place.

However, one thing to note is the blatant missed pass interference that Saints fans will never stop complaining about (besides having an equally bad PI call go their way Week 16 against the Steelers). My feeling is that this leads a slightly stricter game from the officials.