What if…
Charlie Finley hadn’t broken up the 1970s Oakland A’s dynasty?
Bob Uecker hadn’t appeared in Major League?
there was no Designated Hitter position?
the Mets had never traded Nolan Ryan to the Angels?
Yogi Berra had played for the Brooklyn Dodgers?
George Steinbrenner had never bought the Yankees?
the Dodgers had never moved from Brooklyn?
the Giants had moved to Minneapolis instead of San Francisco?
the Red Sox had never sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees?
Walter O’Malley had never owned the Brooklyn Dodgers?
the Red Sox had integrated in 1949 instead of 1959?
Satchel Paige had pitched against Babe Ruth, Jimmie Foxx, and other Hall of Famers in their prime?
Bob Feller and Ted Williams had never lost years to military service in World War II?
Mickey Mantle hadn’t blown out his knee in the 1951 World Series?
Bobby Thomson had struck out against Ralph Branch?
Commissioner William Eckert had never invalidated Tom Seaver’s contract with the Atlanta Braves?
Major League Baseball banned synthetic grass?
the Mets had never traded Tom Seaver to the Reds?
Reggie Jackson had never played for the Yankees?
Thurman Munson hadn’t died in a plane crash?
Mickey Mantle had stayed healthy in the home stretch of 1961?
The Natural had ended the same was as the eponymous novel?
the Indians hadn’t traded Chris Chambliss, Dennis Eckersley, Buddy Bell, and Graig Nettles?
the Braves hadn’t never left Boston for Milwaukee?
the first incarnation of the Washington Senators hadn’t left for Minnesota to become the Twins?
the second incarnation of the Washington Senators hadn’t left for Texas to become the Rangers?
the Seattle Pilots hadn’t left for Milwaukee to become the Brewers?
Jim Bouton hadn’t written Ball Four?
Roger Kahn hadn’t written The Boys of Summer?
Mark Harris hadn’t written Bang the Drum Slowly?
Jackie Robinson had sought a football career instead of a baseball career?
Billy Martin hadn’t managed the Yankees in the late 1970s?
Gil Hodges hadn’t died in 1972, during a high point in the history of the Mets?
Vin Scully had stayed in New York City and announced for the Yankees or the Mets?
Bob Feller had pitched for the Yankees?
Ted Williams had played for the Yankees?
Joe DiMaggio had played for the Red Sox?
Charles Ebbets hadn’t owned the Brooklyn Dodgers?
Honolulu had a Major League Baseball team?
Pete Rose were elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame?
the commissioner’s office rescinded the lifetime banishment of the 1919 Black Sox from Major League Baseball?
Hank Aaron had played in the same outfield as Willie Mays?
Wiffle Ball hadn’t been invented?
Nashville had a Major League Baseball team?
Dwight Goodman and Darryl Strawberry had stayed away from drugs?
Roberto Clemente had played for the Dodgers instead of the Pirates?
A version of this article appeared on www.thesportspost.com on October 17, 2016.