#5/6 Seeded Teams

#5 1941 Pittsburgh Pirates

Original Season Record: 81-73,  .526, 4th place, NL 

Star Attractions: SS Arky Vaughan missed nearly 50 games due largely to two injury stints, but still led the team with a .316 average and was second on the team in WAR, OPS and OPS+.  The leader in those categories was 1B Elbie Fletcher, who also led the entire league with 118 BB and a .421 OBP.

Also Featuring: Max Butcher anchored the starting rotation, going 17-12 with a 3.05 ERA. CF Vince DiMaggio led the team with 21 HR and 100 RBI.

Potential Pitfalls: The biggest pitfall could be the health of Vaughan.  This could have been in the neighbourhood of a 90 win team had he not missed 48 games and likewise if he has better health luck in this competition the Pirates could challenge the fourth seeded Yankees for second place in division A and a playoff spot.  Either way this should be a highly competitive team, but whether they can challenge for the post season is an intriguing question.  

#6 1993 Chicago Cubs

Original Season Record: 84-78 .519, 4th place, NL East

Star Attractions: Rick Wilkins was one of the best catchers in the league, hitting .303 with 30 homers, leading the team with 6.6 WAR, a .561 slugging percentage. .937 OPS and 151 OPS+; Randy Myers led the NL with 54 saves.

Also Featuring: Mark Grace was the gold glove winner at 1B, and was on base machine leading the team with a .325 BA and .393 OBP; Sammy Sosa had the first of two 30-30 seasons in his career, slugging 33 HR to go with 36 SB.

Potential Pitfalls: Starting pitching figures to be the Achilles heel of an otherwise solid, all-round team.  Their best starting pitcher had just a 3.96 ERA, while two of their other starters had marks of 4.84 and 5.26 respectively.  The bullpen is pretty good if they can get a lead into the late innings, but a mediocre starting rotation could prevent this team from qualifying for the playoffs.