[rockford]

And then the time of dynasties ended. Yes, some franchises were more dominant than others from 1981-2000. The Yankees and Braves each had seven teams in the tourney from this era, but only one other club (Indians) had as many as four. And only three franchises managed to advance multiple teams to the quarters -- Yankees (’94 and ’98), Braves (’91 and ’98) and Mets (’86 and ’88).


There is also a paucity of teams – 4 -- from this era still clinging to life in the second-chance qualifier.


This era’s top seeds struggled in the qualifier – only three of the Top 10 advanced, with just one more in the second-chance.


On the other hand, seven lower-ranked teams surged into the quarters, some remarkably so. The ’91 Braves went from the 343 seed to finish 32nd. The ’99 Astros went from 300 to 41st. The ’93 Phillies went from 284 to 25th. And as mentioned earlier, the wild card ’88 Twins finished 54th.


The era’s Top 10 by original seed, followed by current position and win percentage in the qualifier:
9 1998 Yankees 18th .587
13 1995 Indians 141st .518 (currently out)
36 1986 Mets 24th .579
56 1998 Braves 36th .565
67 1994 Expos 105th .533 (in 2nd qualifier)
76 1984 Tigers 143rd .517 (currently out)
77 1988 268th .478 A’s (currently out)
81 1993 140th .518 Braves (currently out)
95 1990 A’s 258th .482 (currently out)
98 1999 Braves 231st .489 (currently out)

Other teams from this era in the quarterfinals:
106 1993 Giants 38th .564
136 1988 Mets 30th .571
143 1985 Cardinals 20th .584
166 1994 Yankees 26th .577
284 1993 Phillies 25th .579
300 1999 Astros 41st .564
343 1991 Braves 32nd .569
Wild 1988 Twins 54th .557


Yellow = In quarterfinals
Dark Green = In second-chance qualifier
Light Green = Likely in last-chance qualifier
Pinkish = Likely eliminated