Brandon Sproat

Add Vida Blue to that roster.

I get the Fidrych story arc. He was pitching weekend "fun" ball and looking good. He didn't go through the grind of several minor league seasons where live arms go to die. He had his arm die at the Major League level.

 

What if... Mickey Mantle had not stepped on a sprinkler head in Yankee Stadium CF as a rookie and ruined his knee? He never had healthy legs for the rest of his career. A healthy, sober Mantle would have been pretty good. What if he had access to modern ortho in the '50s? Even injured, he was better than most.

 

This thread took a wrong turn and just kept going.

 

What if frogs had wings?

 

Something wouldn’t bump!

 

Im off the hook then??

 

And Josh Gibson?

 

Buffalos have wings.

And chickens have fingers.

 

Can't wait for Sproaty to get called up. He has been on fire.

 

Here’s an oldie. What if Herb Score hadn’t been hit in the face by a line drive off the bat of Gil McDougle?

 

Great article

 

Re-read Mike Lupica's Summer of 98 a while ago and there was a section on Strawberry. He didn't fulfill potential but he hung around doing his thing with his enormous talent.

 

Josh Gibson may have been a great hitter, but remember they only played 40-60 games per year. MLB was a 154 game league which not only wears players down but it also, over time, exposes weaknesses.

One more "what if". What if Willie Mays didn't have to hit into the left field of San Fran Candlestick Park. How many HRs died in the air over about 600 games there?

 

They actually played 60 to 80 league games and about as many "barn storming" games.

The ultimate "what if" is how many home runs Ted Williams would have hit if he was a Yankee hitting toward right field and also didn't have to lose years to military service.