Posted by Brian Joseph on Saturday, March 20, 2010 at 2:22 pm

In sports, one of the most popular questions to ask is “What if?” For almost 50 years, Strat-O-Matic has been helping baseball enthusiasts answer their “What Ifs” time and again.

Recently, Baseball Daily Digest and Strat-O-Matic formed a relationship that allowed us at BDD to attempt to answer one of the most commonly asked questions — What was the greatest team in Major League Baseball history?

Ask 100 intelligent baseball fans which franchise is the greatest in baseball history and it wouldn’t be surprising if all 100 answers were the New York Yankees. When it comes to the greatest team in baseball history, there’s not as much consensus. Everyone has their own choice.

We’re guessing the BDD community does, too. And thanks to our recent agreement with Strat-O-Matic, we have an exciting way to answer this “What If?” scenario and give BDD readers a chance to participate in the process… and give away some great prizes, also!

Enter the World(’s Greatest) Baseball Classic!

With the upcoming regular season right around the corner and most of the country swept up in the madness of March, the recent opportunity to utilize the full arsenal of Strat-O-Matic’s computer gaming world and combine that with a “field of 64″ of the greatest teams in baseball history seemed like a no-brainer to at least one BDD team member.

As discussion of a potential simulated tournament of 64 great baseball teams throughout the history of the game, the rest of the BDD team agreed the idea was worth pursuing. The people at Strat were all for it, too… enough so that BDD will have a few copies of Strat-O-Matic’s computer and board games  — to give away to BDD’s readers.

Will your favorite classic team be in the tournament? How can you score your own copy of Strat-O-Matic? When will the tournament take place?

While the teams won’t be revealed until Sunday, there will be two separate opportunities for you, the BDD reader, to win Strat-O-Matic games. The easiest way is to sign up for updates on the front page of BDD. All you have to do is submit your e-mail to be eligible which makes all current members of the BDD mailing list also. (Drawing dates to be determined)

The more interesting way to earn a copy of Strat is to enter our “Predict the Winners of the SOM/BDD WGBC” contest.

On Sunday, the 64 teams and the single-elimination brackets will be unveiled. Following the unveiling, you’ll be able to predict the winners of the tournament. Those familiar with the NCAA Basketball Tournament pools they entered earlier this week are well trained on how this works… so, we’re guessing that covers 90% of those reading. Just like the tournament pool, you’ll predict the winners from the first round to the Championship round.

After all of the predictions are collected, we’ll reveal the results of the first SOM/BDD World(’s Greatest) Baseball Classic and award the top predictors with their very own copy of Strat-O-Matic baseball. Do you think Babe Ruth’s ‘27 Yankees will run the table? Or maybe it’s the Big Red Machine of 1975. Or one of the other 62 teams that will be revealed this Sunday. Put your expertise on display and walk away with the “high-powered cousin” of the “best-selling sports game ever”!

Expect more details about this awesome endeavor to answer one of baseball’s greatest “What If” scenarios and check back Sunday for the WBGC Selection Show! And don’t forget to sign up for BDD’s Mailing List to stay up to date with Baseball Daily Digest happenings… and possibly land a free copy of Strat-O-Matic baseball!