Eight teams in Major League Baseball will begin their quest for the coveted World Series trophy Tuesday. Baseball’s original league, the National League, has two of the best teams in baseball, a “Cinderella” team and a team that narrowly won its division.
In the first series, the wild-card winner, the Florida Marlins, will be traveling to San Francisco to face the Giants, this year’s West division champion and defending National League Champion.
The Marlins are back in the playoffs for the first time since 1997, when they were the wild card winner and won the World Series as the underdog. Florida is managed by 72-year-old Jack McKeon, who took over the team in May. The Marlins are led by rookie pitching sensation Dontrelle Willis, who is a nominee for the National League Rookie of the Year.
Also, off the disabled list is All-Star third baseman Mike Lowell, who has been sidelined with a broken left hand since August. Lowell is expected to be available for pinch hitting duty in the playoffs. The Marlins’ aggressive brand of baseball is highlighted by speedy centerfielder Juan Pierre, who hit .305 and stole 65 bases this season.
The Giants are looking to make a return trip to the World Series. Veteran manager Felipe Alou is in his first year with the team. The San Francisco offense once again is led by slugger Barry Bonds (.341, 45 homeruns, 90 RBI). The ageless Marquis Grissom has given the lineup a boost, pitching in a .300 average and 20 homeruns.
On the hill for the Marlins in game one is right-hander Josh Beckett, who will face the Giants’ 17 game winner, right-handed pitcher Jason Schmidt.
The other series in the National League playoffs features the Central Division winner, the Chicago Cubs, making the trip to Atlanta to play the East Division winner, the Braves.
The Atlanta Braves are once again champions of the East — for the twelfth year in a row. The Braves are the owners of the league’s best record (101-61), narrowly beating the Giants for home-field advantage. The Braves are managed by Bobby Cox and led by Cy Young Award candidate Russ Ortiz, a 21-game winner.
Offensively, the Braves resemble a softball team, boasting six players with more than 20 homeruns: Javy Lopez (43), Gary Sheffield (39), Andruw Jones (36), Chipper Jones (27), Vinny Castilla (22) and Marcus Giles (21).
The Cubs narrowly beat out the Astros in the race for the Central Division title, their first since 1989. The Cubs are making their first playoff appearance since 1998, when the Braves swept them 3-0. Chicago is lead by the pitching duo of Kerry Wood (14-11) and Mark Prior (18-6) and power hitter Sammy Sosa (40 homeruns, 103 RBI). Dusty Baker was hired by the Cubs to end a World Series drought.
Pitching for the Cubs in the series opener is flamethrower Kerry Wood, who will battle Ortiz, the Atlanta right-hander.
