#3/4 Seeded Teams

#3 1977 Pittsburgh Pirates

Original Season Record: 96-66, .593, 2nd place, NL East

Star Attractions: "The Cobra", Dave Parker was 3rd in the NL MVP vote, winning the batting title with a .338 average and leading the league with 44 2B.  He also powered the Pirates offence, leading the team with 107 R, a .397 OB, 531 slugging percentage, .927 OPS and 145 OPS+.  John Candelaria finished 5th in the NL Cy Young vote, leading the league with a 2.34 ERA, and compiling a 20-5 record.

Also Featuring: The Bucs believed in the philosophy that speed kills, running away with the league SB lead with 260 (73 more than the next closest team), led by individual steals champ Frank Taveras with 70 and Omar Moreno who was also in the top five in the league with 53 bags swiped.  Rich Gossage was a dominant closer with 26 saves and a 1.62 ERA, allowing a preposterous 78 hits in 133 innings

Potential Pitfalls: It would have been nice if the team's two dynamic base stealers were also efficient at getting on base to take full advantage of their speed.  >In reality Taveras had only a .306 on base percentage and Moreno was even worse at .295, so it makes you wonder how many steals they could have achieved if they got on base more consistently.  A starting rotation with 3 of 4 lefties is unconventional and could be a vulnerability in certain matchups but the high quality of those pitchers certainly outweighs that concern.

#4 1993 New York Yankees

Original Season Record: 88-74. 543, 2nd place, AL East

Star Attractions: Southpaw Jimmy Key was the undisputed ace of the starting rotation, going 18-6 with a 3.00 ERA and finishing 4th in the AL Cy Young voting.  In a very balanced everyday lineup, Mike Stanley stood out at the demanding position of catcher, still leading the team with a .534 slugging percentage, .934 OPS and 150 OPS+.

Also Featuring: Paul O'Neill was a terrific RF, combining excellent defence with a bat that was high contact (.311 BA) and high power (34 2B and 20 HR).  In all, six Yankees with at least 250 plate appearances hit for above .300 batting averages (led by Dion James at .332), and eight different hitters had double digit homers (led by Danny Tartabull with 31).

Potential Pitfalls: This team is going to have to outslug opponents to win.  Key is the only pitcher with an ERA below 4 and four of the top pitchers in innings pitched had an ERA of 4.94 or worse.  In total the team ERA was an uninspiring 4.35.