Sports Media Report
Atlanta and Oakland meet in the World Series, with the Braves earning their first title in 26 years, in Strat-O-Matic’s simulation of the 2021 baseball season, announced today prior to the first pitch in games across the country. According to the full 162-game slate and playoffs run by Strat-O-Matic, the market leader in sports simulation, Houston’s Yordan Alvarez and San Diego’s Manny Machado earned MVP honors, while New York’s Gerrit Cole and the Dodgers’ Julio Urias claim the league Cy Young Awards.
In the National League simulation, third seeded Atlanta tops Central Division winner Milwaukee, three games to two, then sweeps wild card San Diego, which had upended the 106-win Dodgers in the NLDS, in four straight to win the NLCS. In the American League, New York (102 wins) takes the top seed, but falls to wild card Oakland in the ALDS. The A’s go on to defeat Minnesota in the ALCS before falling to Atlanta in seven games.
Juan Soto leads both circuits in batting at .354. Alvarez’s 48 home runs and 137 RBI paces both leagues.
Strat-O-Matic also ran an alternative season simulation in which the National League adopts the DH. In that simulation, the Dodgers win 98 games but still have the best overall mark in the N.L. Four of the five playoff teams (L.A., Atlanta, San Diego and St. Louis) remain the same in the DH simulation, with the Phillies (East champion) replacing Milwaukee (non-DH Central winner) as the other post season qualifier.
“Opening Day is an exciting time for baseball fans, and Strat-O-Matic is proud to contribute our simulation to get everyone ready for the season,” said Adam Richman, Strat-O-Matic President. “We also thought it would be fun to see what might happen if the N.L. had added the D.H. this year. And the Strat-O-Matic simulation World Series of Atlanta vs. Oakland is the kind of surprise that the year sometimes provides on the field.”
