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tm1681 · 05-12-2023, 01:59 PM

THE SEAL GOES TO A ONE-GAME PLAYOFF!

The 1894 Southeastern & Atlantic League season was dominated by two teams: the Memphis Showboats and the Atlanta Flames. The problem: neither could prove to be better than the other over the course of the 126-game season…

The SEAL had no playoffs, so this meant a one-game championship decider was in order. The game was played on the first day of September in Memphis’ Red Elm Park, with both teams’ aces – Richard Capriotti (23-15, 3.84) for Atlanta and Henry Flowers (26-11, 2.43) for Memphis – going head-to-head in the final game of the season.

After some back and forth over the first three innings, Atlanta broke the game open with three runs in the fourth and never looked back, winning the game and thus the 1894 Southeastern & Atlantic League championship by the score of 8-3.

The player of the game was Atlanta third baseman Caleb Cornell, who went 3/4 with a pair of runs scored and a key two-out RBI in the top of the fourth which started the three-run rally that put the Flames five runs in front. Capriotti went the distance for Atlanta, shutting Memphis out the rest of the game after allowing three earned runs over the first four innings. In his championship-winning complete game Capriotti walked four and struck out five while throwing 163 pitches. The Flames defense also deserved plenty of credit in the win as they didn’t commit a single error, a distinct rarity in 1800s baseball.

The victory gave Atlanta their fourth SEAL championship, and their first since the tail end of their three-peat of 1888, ’89, & ’90.

05-12-2023, 01:59 PM	#32
tm1681 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Salt Lake City, UT Posts: 1,126	THE SEAL GOES TO A ONE-GAME PLAYOFF! The 1894 Southeastern & Atlantic League season was dominated by two teams: the Memphis Showboats and the Atlanta Flames. The problem: neither could prove to be better than the other over the course of the 126-game season… The SEAL had no playoffs, so this meant a one-game championship decider was in order. The game was played on the first day of September in Memphis’ Red Elm Park, with both teams’ aces – Richard Capriotti (23-15, 3.84) for Atlanta and Henry Flowers (26-11, 2.43) for Memphis – going head-to-head in the final game of the season. After some back and forth over the first three innings, Atlanta broke the game open with three runs in the fourth and never looked back, winning the game and thus the 1894 Southeastern & Atlantic League championship by the score of 8-3. The player of the game was Atlanta third baseman Caleb Cornell, who went 3/4 with a pair of runs scored and a key two-out RBI in the top of the fourth which started the three-run rally that put the Flames five runs in front. Capriotti went the distance for Atlanta, shutting Memphis out the rest of the game after allowing three earned runs over the first four innings. In his championship-winning complete game Capriotti walked four and struck out five while throwing 163 pitches. The Flames defense also deserved plenty of credit in the win as they didn’t commit a single error, a distinct rarity in 1800s baseball. The victory gave Atlanta their fourth SEAL championship, and their first since the tail end of their three-peat of 1888, ’89, & ’90. Last edited by tm1681; 06-07-2023 at 01:05 AM.