REGIONAL #251:  This group was notable for a pair of very recent Dodgers teams that were likely to be very good; there was also an Orioles team from the most current Strat season that I remembered as being quite strong in the regular season, but like the Dodgers I remembered them as coming up short in the playoffs.   There was a recent Mets team that I thought might be pretty good on cardstock if less so in reality, and a Marlins team that would win a pennant two years later, but they were so up and down in those years I wasn’t putting any money on them.  The field was rounded out by a Phillies team from a vintage that has made a strong showing in this tournament, and so with the exception of the two abysmal play-in teams I would not be surprised by any of these teams winning the bracket, although being forced to predict I went with an all-Dodgers final, with 2021 (whom I remembered as having an extremely good ELO ranking) over 2023 in the faceoff.  Those ELO ranks portrayed this as a strong regional with four teams essentially in the top 350 of all time, and forecast the same results in the final as I.

First round action

The regional play-in game was another battle of the bad.  The 1999 Rays lost 93 games although they had some big names in the lineup such as Fred McGriff, Wade Boggs, and Jose Canseco, all of whom had decent years; however, the rotation was dreadful with Ryan Rupe (8-9, 4.55) getting the start.   At least the Rays had the excuse of being a second-year expansion team; the 2021 Diamondbacks lost 110 games and gave no indication that they would be heading to a World Series in two seasons.   Ketel Marte was the only guy in the lineup with an OPS over .800, and although Zac Gallen (4-10, 4.30) was their best starter, it was pretty much his worst season in the rotation thus far in his career.  The Rays strike first in the top of the 1st with a 2-out RBI single by Bubba Trammell, but Pavin Smith finds and converts Rupe’s HR split for a 3-run shot in the bottom of the inning and Arizona leads 3-1.  Trammell comes up again with two out in the 3rd and contributes another RBI single to make it a one run game, and Miguel Cairo leads off the 4th with a triple but Gallen bears down and strands him on 3rd.  Although Rupe has settled down, the Rays move to closer Roberto Hernandez in the 7th to try to keep them in the game, but Dalton Varsho swats an RBI double and Smith singles him home to extend the Dback lead nonetheless.  Randy Winn finds Gallen’s solid HR result in the top of the 8th to narrow the gap, but Kole Calhoun matches that in the bottom of the inning.  Gallen takes the Arizona lead into the top of the 9th, and although he allows a few baserunners, his 3B-5 Josh Vanmeter remarkably makes the play for the final out and the Diamondbacks head into the tournament proper with a 6-3 win.  

The 2023 Orioles won 101 games and the AL East, but had no success in the postseason, perhaps because although there was power up and down the lineup, they really didn’t do a very good job of getting on base.  However, Kyle Bradish (12-7, 2.83) finished 4th in the Cy Young votes and was good enough where a few solo shots should do the trick.  The 2020 Cardinals went 30-28 in that pandemic year, good enough to make the playoffs as a wild card but they were quickly eliminated, probably because Paul Goldschmidt was their only real offensive weapon, earning him 15th place in MVP voting.  Fortunately for them, Adam Wainwright (5-3, 3.15) was a solid option as the mandatory first round starter, but Adley Rutschman finds Wainwright’s HR result for one of those aforementioned solo shots in the bottom of the 1st.  However, Tyler O’Neill swats a 2-out, 2-run double in the top of the 4th and the Cards move in front, and RBI singles from Goldschmidt and Tommy Edman in the 5th make it a 4-1 Cardinal lead.  Back to back RBI doubles from Gunnar Henderson and Anthony Santander in the bottom of the inning make it a one run game, and when AA stealer Jorge Mateo walks and steals second to lead off the bottom of the 7th, the Cards summon Austin Gomber and his 1.86 ERA from the pen to try to preserve that lead.  But Rutschman greets him with a double that ties the game and leaves the O’s catcher a triple short of a cycle.  A leadoff walk by Bradish to begin the 8th and it’s Baltimore’s turn to head to the bullpen for closer Feliz Bautista who does his job with three quick outs; both relievers then silence the opposition and the game heads to extra innings.  In a controversial move, the O’s pull their closer hoping to preserve him for later rounds, and Daniel Coulombe is given the responsibility of getting them there.  He gets a scare when Brad Miller doubles past RF-3 Santander to lead off the 10th, but Coulombe bears down and strands Miller at third, and Gomber holds in his final inning of eligibility so things head to the 11th.  The Cards stage a two-out rally with a walk and a double that brings up Goldschmidt; although first base is open and the go-ahead run is on 3rd, the O’s opt to pitch to him, mainly because I hate the intentional walk, and Coulombe fans the Cards’ star to end the threat.  Neither offense can do anything, and Yennier Cano takes his turn on the hill for the O’s to begin the 14th while Giovanny Gallegos comes in for the Cards to begin the bottom of the 15th.  However, Gallegos is betrayed when LF-1 O’Neill commits an unthinkable 2-base error, and with two out Cedric Mullins laces a single to walk it off as the Orioles survive the 15-inning 5-4 win and advance.  

The 2021 Dodgers had one of the highest season-ending ELO ratings in baseball history, making them not only the favorite in this regional, but one of the favorites to capture the entire tournament.   The team won 106 games but fell short in the NLCS; they boasted a formidable lineup with Trea Turner and Max Muncy both in finishing in the top 10 for MVP, as well as an insanely good rotation, with three starters in the top 7 for the Cy Young including 3rd place Max Scherzer (1504, 2.46), supported by a killer bullpen.  However, their opponents, the 2022 Mets, were no slouches either, winning 101 games although exiting quickly from the postseason.  They had Pete Alonso, Francisco Lindor, Jeff McNeil, Starling Marte, and closer Edwin Diaz all receiving MVP votes, and who should be on the mound but another Max Scherzer (11-5, 2.29) having another fine year.  Justin Turner converts his HR 1-7/flyB split for a 3-run shot in the bottom of the 2nd, and things don’t stop there as Mookie Betts drives in one with a sac fly and a 2-out RBI double by Trea Turner makes it 5-0 Dodgers after two.  However, the LA Scherzer quickly gives up some ground in the 3rd, walking four Mets to score one before Marte swats a 2-run double and it’s now a 5-3 game.  When Chris Taylor leads off the bottom of the 6th with a homer to extend the LA lead, the Mets yank their Scherzer for Jacob deGrom, only eligible out of the pen due to limited innings, and he promptly strikes out the side but NY now trails by three.  But Dan Vogelbach leads off the 7th with a homer that narrows it to two, and a Mark Canha hit brings up PH Tyler Naquin as the tying run, so it’s the Dodgers’ turn to de-Scherzer for Jimmy Nelson and his 1.86 ERA.  He fans Naquin, and then Justin Turner knocks his second homer of the game that sends deGrom into a tailspin; he loads the bases for the other Turner, Trea, who swats a 2-run single and the Dodgers coast into the 9th with a five run pad.  Alex Vesia is brought in to mop up, and that doesn’t prove to be a good idea as he walks two and then Brandon Nimmo finds Vesia’s solid HR result and with one out, it’s suddenly a two run game.  But Vesia recovers, striking out Alonso for the final out of the game, and the Dodgers survive a scare and advance with the 9-7 win, with Scherzer getting both the win and the loss. 

The second modern Dodger team in the bracket, the 2023 Dodgers, were also a highly-rated team that won 100 games and the NL West, but they were less similar to their ‘21 counterparts than might be expected.  The big guns in the lineup for this version were MVP runner-up Mookie Betts and #3 MVP vote-getter Freddie Freeman; the rotation wasn’t as good as the other team’s but Clayton Kershaw (13-5, 2.46) was a top flight starter for round one.  Fortunately for these Dodgers, they weren’t playing their prior selves in the first round, instead drawing the #7 seeded 1998 Phillies, a 75-87 team that had HOFer Scott Rolen getting some MVP votes, and Strat expert Doug Glanville there to coach his teammates about what column to roll.  On the mound was Curt Schilling (15-14, 3.25), thinking that a first round victory over the Dodgers might bolster his HOF case.  He does have a no-hitter the first pass through the lineup, but he loads up the bases with nobody out in the 4th, and a DP ball scores one; after a walk, Jason Heyward proves he’s not just a singer in a rock and roll band by rolling the 6-5, and although he misses the HR split by one, both runners race home and the Dodgers lead 3-0.  When the Phllies get runners on 1st and 3rd in the 6th, LA gets nervous about Kershaw’s gopher ball results and bring in Shelby Miller and his 1.71 to try to preserve the lead; 3B-4 Max Muncy is able to make the play on a Mike Lieberthal grounder but a run scores to narrow the gap.  However, Will Smith slaps a homer to lead off the top of the 7th and after two strikeouts, a walk is followed by a 2-run Betts homer that chases Schilling for Jerry Spradlin, but the damage is done.  Caleb Ferguson comes in to mop up for the final two innings, and the Dodgers head to the semifinals with the 6-1 win.

The 2021 Diamondbacks had won their play-in game and now faced a team that, like themselves, would win a pennant in two seasons, the 76-86 2001 Marlins.  A strong year from Cliff Floyd earned him some MVP votes, but Brad Penny (10-10, 3.69) sat atop a lackluster rotation, while the Dbacks had to go deeper into their limited staff and hoped Madison Bumgarner (7-10, 4.67) could last long enough to turn it over to a rested bullpen.  A sac fly in the bottom of the third by Carson Kelly gives Arizona a 1-0 lead, while Bumgarner carries a shutout into the 6th, but when Floyd misses a HR split for a double to lead off the 6th, the Dbacks seek to cling to the slim lead and Noe Ramirez comes in from the pen.   He chalks up two whiffs and a groundout to end the inning, then strikes out the side in the 7th, but Penny is holding the Dbacks in check and it’s still a one-run game.  Floyd misses Ramirez’s HR 1-4/flyB split in the top of the 8th, and then in the bottom it’s Josh Rojas converting Penny’s HR 1-7 split for a two-run shot and Penny is pulled for Vladimir Nunez, but it looks to be too late.  The Dbacks then try to preserve some usage for Ramirez and put in JB Wendelken to try to mop up the 9th; he allows a couple of baserunners to bring the tying run to the plate, but he strikes out Alex Gonzales to seal the 3-0 win, with three pitchers sharing the 5-hit shutout, and the play-in Dbacks make the semifinals.  

The survivors

The top seeded 2001 Dodger may have one of the best ELO ratings in the entire tournament, but they also have one of the toughest paths through the regional, facing their second straight 100-win team in a row in the 2023 Orioles.  One of the reasons the Dodgers were so highly rated was their rotation, with a #2 starter in Walker Buehler (15-4, 2.47) who was 4th in the Cy Young voting, as opposed to the Orioles’ Grayson Rodriguez (7-4, 4.35) who had a depleted bullpen after their 15-inning round one win.  The Dodgers begin the bottom of the 1st by missing two HR splits, but the second one by Cory Seager ends being a two run double, and then Will Smith slaps a 2-run homer converting Rodriguez’s split to put Baltimore in a quick four-run hole.  Cedric Mullins cuts into the lead with a solo shot in the top of the 2nd, but in the 3rd Justin Turner finds the Rodriguez HR result for a 2-run blast, and the O’s are stuck with Rodriguez at least for a few more innings because of the bullpen situation.  He settles down, but when Trea Turner singles and steals second to lead off the 7th, the O’s summon closer Felix Bautista who shuts down the threat.  Mullins leads off the 9th with his second solo homer of the game, and Buehler is wondering if he should take the day off as he allows two more hits, but with the pen needing some rest, the Dodgers stick with him and he rewards them by closing out the 6-2 win for an appearance in the finals.  

The plucky 2021 Diamondbacks had survived a play-in game and a first round battle, but it seemed like reality might set in against the 100-win 2023 Dodgers and Bobby Miller (11-4, 3.76), with the Dbacks down to Caleb Smith (4-9, 4.83) in the rotation.  But Carson Kelly quickly puts Arizona in the lead with a solo homer in the bottom of the 1st, and in the 4th errors by Dodgers C-3 Will Smith and 2B-2 Amed Rosario set up a 2-run single from Josh Vanmeter and a sac fly by Nick Ahmed that makes it 4-0.  With their hopes fading, the Dodgers move to Ryan Brasier from the pen to begin the 6th, but he immediately loads the bases with three walks to set up a 2-run single by Kelly, and then another walk leads to a Pavin Smith sac fly and it’s 7-0 Arizona after six.  In the top of the 7th, a double by Rosario puts the Dodgers on the board, and James Outman lives up to his name with a DP ball but another run scores and an RBI single by Mookie Betts narrows the gap to 7-3.  The Diamondbacks are hoping that Caleb Smith can hang in for the entire game, but a 3-run homer from PH Chris Taylor off Smith’s card puts an end to that experiment, so Tyler Gilbert comes in, issues a walk, and Mookie Betts misses a DO 1-7/flyB that could have tied the game.  A double by Kelly in the bottom of the 8th leaves him a triple short of a cycle, but Ketel Marte singles him home and Arizona has a little breathing room for the 9th.  However, Freddie Freeman opens the top of the 9th with a homer and it’s a one-run game, but Gilbert survives the remainder of the inning and the unlikely Diamondbacks head to the finals by squeaking out the 8-7 win.  

It doesn’t get much more lopsided than this regional final, as one of the best rated teams in history, the 2021 Dodgers, face one of the worst, the 110-loss 2021 Diamondbacks who finished 54 games behind the Dodgers in the same division.  Making matters worse, the Dodger had 20 game winner Julio Urias (20-3, 2.96), 7th in the Cy Young votes, on the mound, while the Dbacks were down to Merrill Kelly (7-11, 4.44), who wouldn’t compete for the Matt Young award.  Still Arizona had won three straight with timely hitting and lucky splits, and like the Dodgers their pen was in pretty good shape, so underestimating them would be dangerous.  LA strikes in the top of the 1st when Trea Turner walks, steals second, and scores on a two out Max Muncy single, and after a walk Will Smith slaps another single and Muncy races home; Justin Turner follows with another RBI single and Kelly only gets out of the inning on an unexpectedly fine play by 3B-5 Josh Vanmeter.  A fielder’s choice in the bottom of the inning narrows the gap to 3-1 LA, but AJ Pollock crushes a 3-run homer in the 2nd to extend the Dodger lead and the Dbacks in desperation move to the pen for Noe Ramirez who ends the inning without further damage.  In the 4th, Pollock misses his HR split for a double, but Muncy does not miss his and it’s a 2-run homer that pushes the score to 8-1; two batters later, it’s Will Smith with another big slap for a long homer and it’s 10-1.  The Dbacks bullpen then holds their own against a raft of LA defensive replacements, but it doesn’t matter as Urias closes out a 4-hitter while striking out 10, and the Dodgers win 10-1 and live up to their lofty rating with a regional championship, the 12th for the franchise.

Interesting card of Regional #251:  As I get close to my goal of playing every team Strat has printed as an entry in this tournament, I felt that I should use one of the few remaining editions of this feature to recognize a long-term booster of the game.  Recruited into his brother’s league when he was 5 years old, Doug Glanville won the league the following season and the rest was history–a history that apparently included a 31-0 mauling of Diego Segui, and spilling grape juice on Ron Guidry’s card for a nasty purple stain.  In his Strat story that is posted on his webpage, he notes that the game laid the foundation for a successful nine-year career in the majors with a .277 lifetime batting average and 168 steals.  He also mentions the particular pride that he took when he received a “1” rating in CF, but he admits that he was bitter when didn’t get that same “1” rating for his centerfield play in 2001.  He further points out the importance of Strat in helping him develop critical thinking skills, and those skills were evident from his Ivy League degree in engineering from the University of Pennsylvania; I know that I and many others also see the influence of Strat in our eventual career paths.  In a 2013 interview conducted by the game company, he proved he was a man after my own heart when asked about his favorite Strat cards, as he replied “I just enjoyed the unusual cards, not so much the great ones.”  As such, it seems mandatory to me to present fellow Strat-o-matic fanatic Doug Glanville as the feature card of the regional.