After ending a 21-year playoff drought last year, the Barons ended a 23-year pennant drought. Cleveland's offense finished in the top five for the first time since 1965, as RF Carlos Delgado (.338-37-111) had a breakout year, leading the league in SLG and OPS, and CF Jim Edmonds (.312-31-89) was red-hot down the stretch. Cleveland's pitching dipped from 2nd to 9th, but Ismael Valdez was 15-9, 4.17 and former Seattle Rainier Doug Henry was 10-3, 2.46 with 18 saves.

After World Series appearances in 1993 and 1995, the Bas won their first division pennant since 1976 with a win over Manhattan on Sep. 29. Ken Griffey Jr. posted his lowest WAR in six years but still managed .303-32-101, .969; Matt Williams (.270-38-123) led the club in HR and RBI; and second-year RF Marty Cordova had a breakout year with .288-26-102, 5.6 WAR. The staff was led by Kevin Brown (16-7, 3.02), who was 2nd in ERA, and the 2nd-ranked bullpen was led by closer Greg McMichael (28 SV, 3.11).

For the third time in four years, Atlanta had the best pitching staff, led Pedro Martinez (16-3, 2.60), who led the league in ERA, strikeouts, WHIP, and WAR and is the clear favorite to earn his second Cy Young Award. The likely runner-up is #2 starter Fernie Valenzuela, who went 22-6 for the second time in three years and posted a 7.0+ WAR for the sixth time in his career. Tony Gwynn (.380) won his 5th batting title and Manny Ramirez surpassed 30/100 for the first time.

The surprise team of the year, the Gray Sox led the East most of the season and tied for first after being predicted to to land mid-table. The pitching staff finished in the top 5 for the first time in eight years, with six pitchers with 10 wins and sub-4.60 ERAs (the league ERA was 4.70 and Manhattan plays in a hitters' park). Ace Pat Hentgen (13-10, 4.31) led in most categories. At the plate Ed Sprague (.255-29-104) and sophomore RF Jon Nunnally (.291-22-89) had breakout years.

With a new GM and a new ballpark, the Colts made a playoff return after a two-year absence. The second-winningest team since 1991, the Colts have won at least 90 games in six of the last seven years. Chicago led the league with 5.6 runs per game, with four 100-RBI men, led by Gary Sheffield (.324-40-120) and Albert Belle (.323-37-102)

The Feds improved by eight wins to earn an second postseason in three years. 3-4-5 hitters Mike Piazza, Jim Thome, and Ellis Burks all hit over .290-30-100, and the fourth-year 1B Thome hit career high .300 and .947 OPS. Jon Lieber (15-9, 4.02) and Billy Taylor (39 SV, 3.60) both recovered from a sophomore slumps, and Kenny Rogers won a career-high 18 while leading the league with 0.5 HR/9. 

GM Glen Reed ended his 16-year tenure in St. Louis as he started it: with two non-playoff years. The Maroons ranked 3rd in pitching, led by surprising 36-year-old starter Jim Gott (20-8, 3.29), but the offense sank to new lows, ranking just 13th in runs, despite another MVP-caliber season for Barry Bonds (.309-48-124), who won his fourth home run and WAR titles.

The P-Bears were in the thick of the race all year long, but fell one game short of their fourth straight playoff appearance. The offense bounced back to #2 with a league-leading 251 homers, led by Juan Gonzalez (45) and Eric Karros (43). But the 5th best bullpen and 10th best rotation was hampered by the league's worst defense (-57 ZR). Only 21 players had ZRs below -10, and four of them were P-Bears, including CF Raul Mondesi (-19) and 2B Jose Oquendo (-14).

Denver was the most improved club in the league, going 83-77 for just its sixth winning record in 23 seasons, first since 1989, and second best in franchise history. The story was the pitching—which ranked fourth, led by Charles Nagy's 3.68 ERA and the 3rd best bullpen—and defense, which was a net-positive in ZR for the first time in seven years. At the plate, veteran 1B Mark Grace (.337-17-100) had a career year and rookie CF Darin Erstad (.309-11-93) was a leading Rookie of the Year candidate.

Havana missed the playoffs by two games,  marking the fourth time since 1990 they have missed by four games or less. Their 84 wins ties for the 2nd most in club history, and they posted their best run differential. Shane Reynolds won a career high 17, Sean Bergman was 15-8, 3.69, and Tim Scott led the league with 42 saves. Raffy Palmeiro posted his 8th 100-RBI season with .315-28-122 and newcomer Bip Roberts had a .365 OBP with 35 steals.

Under new GM Bear Jackson, Los Angeles' long playoff run came to an end. An aging lineup finally caught up with the Outlaws, who finished 11th in offense behind the declining bats of Eric Davis (34) and Tony Phillips (36), who had the worst years of their careers. The pitching managed to finish 2nd in runs allowed, despite two-time Cy Young winner Floyd Youmans' worst season in a decade. Greg Swindell (17-7, 3.34) led the staff and tossed in a no-hitter as a bonus.

What a difference a year makes. Twelve months ago, the Starlings were the league's Cinderella sweethearts, stealing a surprise pennant. They were widely expected to repeat that success this year, but instead flopped below .500 as their high-octane offense misfired. 1995 MVP Wil Cordero hit 45 fewer RBIs, Jeff Bagwell was -27, and Tim Salmon had a career low .824 OPS. Meanwhile, ace William Van Landingham's ERA ballooned a point and a half, and Bill Swift (8-14, 5.82) had one of his worst years.

In their second year in Fridley, the Foxes again finished 7th in the West and again had the league's worst pitching staff. Northpaw Jason Isringhausen (8-10, 3.91, 3.3 WAR) had a solid sophomore year, CF Garret Anderson (.328-18-85) emerged as a star and rookie RF Bobby Abreu (.338, .962 OPS) was a Rookie of the Year candidate. 

The V's improved by nine wins for the second straight year and climbed two spots to 7th, led by a pair of rookies. The offense was led by Rookie of the Year favorite (and MVP candidate) Vladi Guerrero. The second overall pick batted .334-38-109 for a 7.6 WAR. The pitching staff was led by 8th overall pick Livan Hernandez (13-10, 4.76), who was 2nd among rookies in wins and strikeouts. Oddly, the Canoeists were 9-1 in extra innings, the 2nd best record in league history (1975 BRO).

After four straight playoff appearances, the Flyin' Lions suffered their worst collapse in club history (32 games) suffering just their second losing season in 18 years. The pitching fell from 8th the 17th and the offense nose-dived from 2nd to 15th. Oddly, the team had minimal roster changes and almost no injuries. Alex Fernandez went from 16-7, 3.85 to 4-17, 6.64; Ryan Klesko, Dave Nilsson, and Larry Walker, and Dwight Smith's OPS dropped 100 points. Despite his decline, Klesko still put up monster numbers (.289-33-90, .953)

In the fourth year of the Jason Gudim regime, the Mons took another baby-step forward, winning 70 games for the first time with an aging roster. Ace Tom Glavine (8-14, 4.14) had the worst season of his career. LF Gregg Jefferies led the club in batting (.313) and RBI (93), but the star attraction was rookie CF Andruw Jones (.236-22-71), who was 4th in bWAR (4.2).

Seattle lost 3/4th of its rotation to injury: Ace Joey Hamilton (5 mo), Wilson Alvarez (career), and Jaime Navarro (3 mo). Only Jack Armstrong avoid the injury bug, and he finished 6-19, 6.20, leading the league in losses. On the bright side, emergency callup Dave Telgheder was 14-14, 4.75, including a 6-0, 2.82 September that earned Pitcher and Rookie of the Month. A pair of rookies flashed glimpses of Seattle's future: SS Nomar Garciaparra (.288-23-93) and closer Mariano Rivera (18 SV, 3.44 ERA).

After three top-5 finishes, the Pink Birds took a step back this season, winning 14 fewer games, the third biggest decline. Ace Mike Mussina had a forgettable season (8-13, 4.64), slicing his WAR by two-thirds, but rookie Francisco Cordova (10-12, 3.41) picked up the slack and Florida still ranked 8th in pitching. At the plate, LF Glenallen Hill had a breakout year (.310-25-88, 5.4 WAR).