The Marvel Universe continues to expand and reinvent itself. One of their many successes is the various “What If?” plot twists. “What If Doctor strange loses his heart instead of his hands? Perhaps it’s Spider-Man joining the Fantastic Four or “What If?” Ultron actually won?
What if ?
What if the Astros with all of their limitations this season won it all? Sure there’s organizational unrest internally and the product on the field has been disappointing, but could the Astros transform October into Shocktober?
In my lifetime, it’s happened multiple times. Entrenched in our memories is Kirk Gibson’s hobbled AB vs. Eckersley in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series, but there’s been countless others.
A year before Gibson’s heroics, the 1987 Twins had a run differential of -20. It was Tom Kelly’s first full season on the job and during the months of July and August that year, they posted losing records. The struggles on the road were even more daunting. In fact, in their World Series matchup vs. the St. Louis Cardinals, they’d drop every contest at Busch Stadium. Yet Minnesota won it all.
The 1990 Cincinnati Reds were remarkably average. After a red hot 9-0 start, they’d merely play .500 baseball over their final 100 games, posting a mark of 50-50. The start to the postseason was even more ominous as they dropped game one of the NLCS at home to the Pirates. The game wasn’t even a sellout. That was on October 4th and by October 20th, they had swept the A’s. Oakland simply had no answers for Jose Rijo.
Remember Josh Beckett? The New York Yankees certainly do. His two-hit complete game shutout at Yankee Stadium shocked the world and brought a title to South Beach in 2003. The Marlins payroll that season wasn’t even $50 million. By contrast, the Yankees spent $164 million.
What If Mattress Mack has to give everyone a free Mattress this Fall?
