#7/8 Seeded Teams

#8 1993 Cleveland Indians

Original Season Record: 7686, 469, 6th place, AL East

Star Attractions: CF Kenny Lofton is as good a prototypical lead off hitter as you will find.  He led the league with 70 SB and was among the leaders with 116 runs and a 7.6 WAR.  He also had an exceptional .325 average and .408 on base percentage.  Albert Belle was a prodigious slugger, leading the league with 129 RBI, while slugging 38 homers and 36 doubles, good for a great .922 OPS.

Also Featuring: Second baseman Carlos Baerga was also excellent, topping the century mark in both RBI and runs.  Derek Lilliquist was the secret weapon on the pitching staff, a Swiss army knife, who made a couple of starts, saved 10 games and had a terrific 2.25 ERA in 64 innings of work.

Potential Pitfalls: Starting pitching was a big problem for this team with no reliable arms who could consistently deliver decent performances.  Only one pitcher managed more than 121 innings and not a single pitcher who had double digit starts had an ERA of 4 or lower.  While the nucleus of the offence was potent, there was not a lot of depth in the everyday lineup with five of their primary starters having an OPS+ of 87 or lower (100 representing league average).

#7 1993 Boston Red Sox

Original Season Record: 80-82, .494, 5th place, AL East

Star Attractions: Pitching actually carried this edition of the Sox, unusual for this franchise, with two strong starters leading the way. In the twilight of his career, 37 year old Danny Darwin won 15 games with a 3.26 ERA, while veteran lefty Frank Viola posted a 3.14 mark, providing the team with a strong duo at the top of the rotation.  Mo Vaughn drove in 101 runs on 29 long balls and had an impressive .915 OPS to power the offence.

Also Featuring: John Valentin actually had the highest WAR of any position player on the team, 5.3, playing solid defence at the premium position of shortstop and swatting a team high 40 doubles. Left fielder Mike Greenwell hit .315 with 38 doubles as the second best hitter on the team after Vaughn.

Potential Pitfalls: The offence scuffled throughout the season, with nobody else on the team having even half as many as the 29 home runs Vaughn hit, resulting in a team slugging percentage below .400.  So while the team hit for a decent batting average, a lack of both power and speed made them a station to station type team that led to lackluster run scoring production.