Shohei Ohtani’s move to the Dodgers set the stage for an historic and dominating season in Los Angeles. After undergoing surgery in 2023, Ohtani took the field as a batter only in 2024 – and made history. He created the exclusive 50- 50 club, smashing a league-leading 54 homers and stealing 59 bases. He was named unanimous MVP, remarkably for a second consecutive time, becoming just the second player to win the award in both leagues (after Frank Robinson).

Taking Ohtani’s lead, the Dodgers started strong, winning Opening Day in Seoul, South Korea, and never looked back. They led the NL West from day one, holding at least a tie for first place all season. After a tense division series against the San Diego Padres, the Dodgers cruised past the New York Mets in the NLCS and then the New York Yankees in the World Series to secure their second title in five years. The Dodgers’ lineup was relentless, featuring stars Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Teoscar Hernandez, and Max Muncy, who helped LA score 5.2 runs per game. Despite a shaky rotation – only two pitchers logged over 100 innings – the staff posted a solid 3.92 ERA.

Can You Beat Them? – “Enough about the Dodgers already”, you say? Take up the challenge yourself! Replay the World Series as the Yankees, featuring their own MVP, Aaron Judge, and their own off-season star acquisition, Juan Soto. The duo combined for 99 home runs, 253 runs batted in, and 250 runs scored, just shy of Maris/Mantle numbers. Try managing the division-rival Padres, who pushed the Dodgers to the brink in the NLDS. Can Dylan Cease, Michael King, and Yu Darvish keep the Dodger bats quiet long enough to prevail? Or maybe take on the Bryce Harper-led Phillies, a team that blended explosive offense (third-most runs in the league) with stellar pitching. Their rotation boasted four starting pitchers with sub-3.57 ERAs, and All-Star relievers Matt Strahm and Jeff Hoffman dominated the late innings.

Stars Aplenty – Plenty of 2024 highlights can be found from rookie Paul Skenes. He tore through the league in his debut season, going 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA and 0.947 WHIP in 133 innings. He could only finish third in the Cy Young though as Chris Sale took home the honors. He, and AL Cy Young Winner Tarik Skubal, each had Triple-Crown seasons, leading their leagues in wins (18 each), ERA (2.38 for Sale, 2.39 for Skubal), and strikeouts (225 for Sale, 228 Skubal). Emmanuel Clase saved 47 games with a microscopic 0.61 ERA. Speedster Elly De La Cruz swiped 67 bags in his first full season in the league. Boston’s Jarren Duran led the majors in both doubles (48) and triples (14) while clubbing 21 home runs. Bobby Witt Jr. had one of the finest seasons from a shortstop in recent memory. He smacked 32 homers, 45 doubles, 11 triples, led the majors with a .332 batting average, and is a 1-rated fielder. Gunnar Henderson put up his own MVP-caliber season batting .281 with 37 home runs and an .893 OPS for the 91-win Orioles.

“Can’t Anyone Here Play This Game?” – Move over, Mets – there’s a new king of futility in town. The Chicago White Sox set a modern MLB record with 121 losses in 2024. We dare you to take on the challenge, can you avoid infamy? If you manage to get this team to the post-season, without adding any loose Shoeless Joe, Frank Thomas, or Hoyt Wilhelm cards, please let us know. Up for more punishment? Pit the White Sox against the 1962 Mets or other historically poor teams in all-time losers’ tournament. Can they retain their dubious title as baseball’s worst?

Rated for Basic, Advanced, and Super-Advanced play.

Every card set includes 27 player cards for each team plus a mixed players group of 27 player cards. The additional players (purchased separately) contains 360 player cards including combined AL/NL cards for players traded between the leagues.

Enhanced by 1200 additional hours of box-score analysis and in-depth research to create exclusive Strat-O ratings.