Any Given Sunday - The Journey Continues

[NYY #23]

3)New Orleans Saints (10-6) vs. 1)Chicago Bears (13-3)



The Saints will be heading to the World Championship Game after defeating the Bears 2-0, playing for the fifth World Championship.

Aaron Jackson dominated with a complete game four hit shutout, striking out 5 and walking 1. Jackson also scored the first run of the game when he doubled in the third and came home to score on a single by Ed Kennedy.

[NYY #23]

3)New Orleans Saints (10-6) vs. 3)Tennessee Titans (12-4)





Fred Pfeffer of the Titans has never hit a home run during his career and has hit just .200 during his career. He stepped to the plate in the bottom of the ninth with the Titans trailing 4-3 with a runner on second base. Pfeffer connected on the first pitch and delivered a walk off inside the park home run to give the Titans their first World Championship.

Aaron Jackson picked up the loss, while Milt Foss picked up the win. Foss, Dan Brouthers, and Kenneth Linseman drove in runs for the Titans.

[pauwoo]

Fred Pfeffer of the Titans has never hit a home run during his career and has hit just .200 during his career. He stepped to the plate in the bottom of the ninth with the Titans trailing 4-3 with a runner on second base. Pfeffer connected on the first pitch and delivered a walk off inside the park home run to give the Titans their first World Championship.

What a great way to end the season. I'm glad you picked this one back up.

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by pauwoo

What a great way to end the season. I'm glad you picked this one back up.

Thanks. I'm really glad I picked this one back up too. I thought that was a pretty great way to end the season too - it's always nice to see the little guy turn into a postseason hero.

[NYY #23]

ABC Pitcher of the Year



It's not too common for a 42 year old to win a Pitcher of the Year Award, and even more rare for a 42 year old to win his first Pitcher of the Year Award at the age of 42. That's what happened to Tennessee Titan starter Milt Foss this season after going 12-4 with a 2.04 ERA. Foss pitched 142 2/3 innings while striking out 50 batters. Foss was also a perfect 4-0 in the postseason with a 1.25 ERA. It certainly was a good year for Foss.

Finishing second was 41 year old Dave Cartwright of the Jaguars, who was 11-3 with a 2.34 ERA. Third place went to Ed Lowe of the Bengals, who was 10-6 with a 2.53 ERA at the tender age of 30.

NBC Pitcher of the Year



In the NBC the Pitcher of the Year Award was given to Bill Sweeney of the Bears. Sweeney was 13-3 with a 1.96 ERA, striking out 85 batters in 142 2/3 innings. Sweeney pitched two games in the postseason, going 1-1 with a 1.00 ERA.

Cameron Cotter of the Cowboys finished second in voting. Cotter previously won the Pitcher of the Year Award in 1882 and finished third in 1881. Cotter finished with an 11-5 record and 2.18 ERA. Larry Corcoran of the Panthers was 9-6 with a 1.90 ERA to finish in third place.

[NYY #23]

ABC Batter of the Year



Bill Kuehne's journey began in 1876 when he went undrafted in the amateur draft, and signed with the Broncos' franchise. Three year later Kuehne started appearing on top prospect lists, and soon won the third base job, hitting .267, .165, and .162 his first three seasons, well below average.

That's when things started to click for Kuehne, hitting .300 for the first time in 1883, and starting to get more attention. This year Kuehne took another big step forward hitting .344 with a home run and 10 RBI. Kuehne scored 11 runs, stole 2 bases, and was named the Batter of the Year.

Fred Mann of the Jaguars finished second, hitting .356 with 13 RBI and 13 runs scored. Finishing third was Cletus Boyar of the Titans (.262, 4 HR, 13 RBI).

NBC Batter of the Year



26 year old catcher Hi Ebright turned a career year into a Batter of the Year Award for the 49'ers. Ebright hit .317 with 3 home runs, 9 RBI, and 12 runs scored, all career highs. Ebright added 8 stolen bases.

Second place went to CJ Sease of the Bears, who hit .310 with 3 home runs, 12 RBI, and 11 runs scored. Finishing in third place was RF Trent Allen of the Seahawks, who hit .410 with 8 RBI and 10 runs scored.

[NYY #23]

The National Baseball League lost one of their greats when Matt Kelley of the Packers announced his retirement.



Kelley made his debut at the age of 32 years old and threw 7 shutout innings out of the bullpen before winning the starting pitcher job the next season. Kelley would dominate for a few years, winning a pair of Pitcher of the Year Awards, and pitching one of only four no-hitters in the history of the league.

Kelley was past his prime when he joined the league, but won 10 or more games five times in his career. His brief period of dominance has Kelley finishing tied for ninth on the all-time career wins list with 82, and fourth on the career strikeouts list with 805. Kelley was a member of the 1875 World Championship team.

A look at his complete stats:

[NYY #23]

I'm going to follow the same approach I took in 1885 and advance to the end of the season for 1886. I want to begin this year in the NBC South though, where history was made as the Atlanta Falcons win the NBC South with an 11-5 record, and will be heading to the playoffs for the first time in history.

A short season makes a world of difference though, and sometimes luck plays a big factor. The Falcons have an expected record of 7-9, but given their bad luck since we began it was time for a break in their luck. The Falcons were actually outscored 111-103 this season, but will enter the playoffs as a #3 seed.

After Jumbo McGinnis started the season 3-1 with a 3.88 ERA he was replaced as the starter by Jim Whitney, who was 5-3 with a 3.86 ERA. There isn't much difference between the two of them, but with a shoddy defense the Falcons will rely on their offense. Jay Littlewood led the team with a .388 batting average, with Dave Richert hitting 3 home runs and driving in 11.

After making the playoffs for 9 straight years the Saints will be sitting at home after finishing with an 8-8 record. 41 year old Aaron Jackson had the highest ERA of his career (3.56) and won the fewest number of games since he finished 7-10 in 1876.

[NYY #23]

The Jacksonville Jaguars won the ABC South for the sixth straight year and will enter the playoffs as the #2 seed and earn a first round bye. Last year's starter Phil Ormsby was replaced after going 2-1 with a 4.24 ERA by Lee Richmond. Richmond was 7-5 with a 2.04 ERA in 12 starts. The Jaguars do have some concerns on offense though, with the seventh ranked offense in the ABC.



It looks like Milt Foss' time as a starter has come to a close for the Titans. The 43 year old has been replaced as the starter by Charlie Geggus, who was 6-9 with a 3.24 ERA as a 24 year old.

[NYY #23]

Al Atkinson won 11 games for the second time in his career as the Giants captured the NBC East. The Giants outscored opponents 106-74 this year. 30 year old 2B Mike Whitt led the team with a .435 batting average and 15 RBI in a career year for Whitt. Whitt's previous high in batting average was .289.



Victor Helmer won a career high 10 games for the Redskins this year as Washington will be heading to the playoffs as the second wild card. 24 year old centerfielder John Leighton had a breakout season this year, hitting .361 with 16 RBI and 13 runs scored.

Hardie Henderson had the second lowest ERA among starting pitchers in the NBC, but the Eagles managed just an 8-8 record with the 15th fewest runs scored. The Eagles have three starters hitting below .200 in their lineup - C-Frank Ringo (.102), 2B-Mike Milner (.196), and LF Rick Nelligan (.179).

The Cowboys stuck with Cameron Cotter as their starting pitcher this year, but the 42 year old struggled going 6-9 with a 2.84 ERA, and the end of the road may be near for Cotter.

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I will be continuing the story here:
http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...-big-four.html