The best individual seasons for New York Yankee players

The Yankees have had many great players who have had record-setting individual seasons. While there are intangible factors to consider when looking at a player's individual success, for this article available statistics, post-season honors, and the team's overall achievement during the season were considered. Since most players have had more than a few outstanding years, only one season has been included for each player.

10) Rickey Henderson, LF, 1985: The Man of Steal hit .314 with a superb on-base percentage of .419. He stole 80 bases, to go along with 24 home runs, 72 RBI's, 99 walks, and 146 runs scored.

9) Don Mattingly, 1B, 1985: Donnie Baseball won the American League Most Valuable Player Award and the Gold Glove this season. He batted .324 with 35 home runs and 145 RBI's, along with 211 hits and 107 runs scored. Mattingly led the league with 48 doubles and 370 total bases.

8) Whitey Ford, SP, 1961: Winner of the Cy Young Award, Ford's record was 25-4, and .862 winning percentage. He struck out 209 batters while leading the league with 283 innings pitched. His ERA was 3.21. Ford was named MVP of the World Series, as he went 2-0 and held the Reds scoreless in 14 innings.

7) Roger Maris, RF, 1961: Named Most Valuable Player, Maris led the American League with 61 home runs, 141 RBI's, 132 runs scored, and 366 total bases. He batted .269 with a .620 slugging percentage.

6) Alex Rodriguez, 3B, 2007: Winner of the MVP award, Rodriguez hit .314 with 54 home runs and 156 RBI's. He led the American League with 143 runs scored, 376 total bases, and a .645 slugging percentage.

5) Mickey Mantle, CF, 1956: The AL MVP, Mantle won the Triple Crown with a .353 batting average, 56 home runs, and 130 RBI's. he also led the league with 132 runs scored, 376 total bases, and a .705 slugging percentage. Mantle also walked 112 times and had an on-base percentage of .464.

4) Ron Guidry, SP, 1978: Louisiana Lightning won the Cy Young Award with a 25-3 record, a .893 winning percentage. Guidry struck out 248 batters in 273 innings. He led all pitchers in ERA with 1.74, an amazingly low number for a starter, and also led the majors in tossing 9 shutouts.

3) Joe DiMaggio, CF, 1937: It's difficult to select any one season for DiMaggio, since he had a number of outstanding years. But in 1937 he batted .346 with 215 hits and 167 RBI's. He led the American League in runs scored with 151, home runs with 46, total bases with 418, and slugging percentage at .673. DiMaggio also led all American League outfielders with 22 assists.

2) Lou Gehrig, 1B, 1927: Gehrig had many incredible years so it's tough to pick just one as his best. In 1927 he batted .373 with 46 home runs, 218 hits, 149 runs scored, 109 walks, 18 triples, and 10 stolen bases, with an on base percentage of .474 and slugging percentage of .765. He led the American League with 52 doubles, 175 RBI's, and 447 total bases, and was named Most Valuable Player.

1) Babe Ruth, RF, 1921: Ruth's numbers were astounding in just about every season that he played. So we'll pick 1921 as the best. He batted.378, and led the American League with 59 home runs, 171 RBI's, 177 runs scored, 145 walks, 457 total bases, on base percentage at .512, and slugging percentage at .846. He had 204 hits, 44 doubles, 16 triples, and 17 stolen bases. Ruth's statistics sometimes do not even seem real.


source for statistics: www.baseballreference.com

The best individual seasons for Minnesota Vikings' defensive players

It can be difficult to measure a defensive player's season statistically, since a variety of factors can affect the numbers of a lineman, linebacker or defensive back. Also, some stats such as sacks were recorded by teams but not recognized as official by the NFL. So for this article available statistics, honors such as being named to the Pro Bowl, and the team's overall success during the season were considered. Since some players have had more than a few outstanding seasons, only one season has been included for each player.

10) Bobby Bryant, CB, 1973: A key player on a Vikings defense that dominated opponents, Bryant led the unit with 7 pass interceptions, returning them for 105 yards and one touchdown, plus returning another pick for a score in the NFC championship game that sealed a win against the Cowboys.

9) John Randle, DT, 1997: Constantly disrupting opponents, Randle's play helped shut down offense's running games and harassed quarterbacks. He led the NFL with 15.5 sacks, which was also his career high. Randle also forced two fumbles and recovered two while being named to the Pro Bowl and first team All-Pro.

8) Carl Lee, CB, 1988: Part of one of the best defensive units in franchise history, Lee intercepted 8 passes, returning them for 118 yards and two touchdowns. He was named first team All-Pro and was selected to the Pro Bowl.

7) Paul Krause, S, 1975: The NFL's career leader in interceptions, Krause picked off a career high 10 passes, returning them 201 yards for the NFL's number one ranked defense in 1975. He was selected to the Pro Bowl and first team All-Pro.

6) Jim Marshall, DE, 1969: Part of one of the best defenses in NFL history that shut down the run and hurried quarterbacks, Marshall registered 14 sacks in 14 games. He also recovered two fumbles and intercepted a pass.

5) Keith Millard, DT, 1989: Named the NFL's defensive player of year for this season, Millard stuffed the run and sacked the quarterback 18 times, to go along with an interception and fumble recovery. Among his many postseason honors was a selection to the Pro Bowl and first team All-Pro.

4) Chris Doleman, DE, 1989: A major piece of the Vikings strong defenses in the late 1980's, Doleman recorded 21 sacks from his right end position. He also forced 5 fumbles and recovered another 5 balls. Selected to the Pro Bowl and named first team All-Pro.

3) Jared Allen, DE, 2011: The Vikings single season leader in sacks with 22, Allen also forced 4 fumbles, recovered 4, intercepted a pass and recorded a safety. What is most impressive is that he reached these numbers without a strong supporting cast around him, unlike most of the others on this list. Named first team All-Pro and to the Pro Bowl.

2) Carl Eller, DE, 1969: Eller had a number of great seasons for the Vikings so it's difficult to select one. He recorded double digit sack numbers five years in a row from 1973-1977; and in 1977 he had 86 total tackles and 17 sacks - his career high - in a 14 game season, plus three more in the NFC championship game against the Cowboys. But 1969 may have been his most dominant season. He had 15 sacks and was part of a defense that allowed only 133 total points. Eller was named to eight post-season first-team all star teams, including the Pro Bowl and All-Pro.

1) Alan Page, DT, 1971: Like Eller, it's difficult to pick any one best season for Page. In 1971 he became the first defensive player to win the NFL Most Valuable Player Award. To date only one other defender has won the MVP award - Lawrence Taylor. In 1969 Page was part of one of the best defenses in NFL history, pressuring quarterbacks and making tackles behind the line of scrimmage. In 1970 he recorded 10.5 sacks and recovered 6 fumbles; in 1974 he had 146 total tackles, impressive for an interior lineman, plus 13 sacks. In 1975 he also registered 13 sacks and forced 7 fumbles, the Vikings' single season record. In 1976 he recorded 19 sacks in a 14 game season to go along with 121 total tackles. So we'll go with his MVP season as his best.


sources for statistics: http://min.scout.com/
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/

The best seasons for players on offense for the Minnesota Vikings

Many players who have been a part of the of the Minnesota Vikings offense through the years have had spectacular statistical seasons. Since, for the average fan, it is difficult to measure how good a season a lineman has had, here we take a look at the "skill" positions on offense. Statistics, honors such as being named to the Pro Bowl, and the team's overall success during the season were considered. Also, since some players, such as Adrian Peterson, have had a number of great seasons, this article includes only one season for a player.

Here are the top ten:

10) Tommy Kramer, QB, 1981: The second-best quarterback in Vikings' history completed 322 passes in 593 attempts for 3,912 yards, and tossed 26 touchdowns, his career high.

9) Anthony Carter, WR, 1988: A.C. caught 72 balls for 1,225 yards, both career highs, for a 17 yard per catch average. He scored 6 touchdowns.

8) Sammy White, WR, 1976: One of the few rookies ever to start for coach Bud Grant, White had 51 receptions for 906 yards, a 17.8 yard per catch average, and scored 10 touchdowns on his way to the Pro Bowl.

7) Ahmad Rashad, WR, 1979: Catching 80 balls for 1,156 yards and 9 touchdowns, all career highs, Rashad was named to the Pro Bowl.

6) Fran Tarkenton, QB, 1975: Named the NFL's Most Valuable Player during this season, Tarkenton completed 273 passes in 475 attempts, a 64.2% completion rate. He threw for 2,994 yards and 25 touchdowns, and scored two rushing touchdowns as well.

5) Bill Brown, RB, 1964: Rushing for a career high 866 yards on 226 carries Brown scored 7 touchdowns on the ground while being named to the Pro Bowl. He also caught 48 passes for 703 yards, a 14.6 yard average, pretty good for a running back, as well as taking 9 in for scores, giving him 16 total touchdowns in a 14 game season.

4) Randy Moss, WR, 2003: With 111 receptions for 1,632 yards, both career highs, Moss averaged 14.7 yards per catch and scored 17 touchdowns while being selected to the Pro Bowl.

3) Cris Carter, WR, 1995: The Vikings' all-time best receiver caught 122 passes for 1,371 yards and 17 touchdowns, all career highs. This season included one of his nine Pro Bowls.

2) Chuck Foreman, RB, 1975: Scoring 13 touchdowns while rushing for 1,070 yards on 280 carries, Foreman also caught 73 passes for 691 yards and another 9 scores, giving him 22 total touchdowns in a 14 game season. He was named first team All-Pro and to the Pro Bowl.

1) Adrian Peterson, RB, 2012: On 348 carries Peterson ran through, over, around, and past defenders on his way to 2,097 yards, second best in NFL history. Peterson averaged an amazing 6.0 yards per carry and scored 12 touchdowns. He also had 40 receptions and another score while being named to the Pro Bowl and unanimous first team All-Pro.


source for statistics: www.pro-football-reference.com

New baseball book available online

Here’s a new baseball book, available for 99 cents, at Smashwords.com:

Christopher J, Author of The Perfect Game
Sample or purchase The Perfect Game: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/260583

Also available at Amazon.com.