Kerry Wood -- Greatest what-if ever?

When I saw the title of the thread, my first thought was, "Doc Gooden is a wayyy bigger what-if." After all he did to fuck up his career, he still threw a no-hitter. Imagine if he never got involved in drugs.

And, I haven't read the whole thread yet, but Darryl Strawberry would probably warrant mentioning as well (thought Doc would be higher on the list)

 

Ditto for Marlins prospect Jeff Allison, who's battling an addiction with OxyContin.

It also appears Ellijah Dukes, TB farmhand/felon in training, ain't exactly making the most of his talent.

 

My favorite Strawberry moment, and I'll try to remember it correctly though it's been a long while:

He's absolutely tearing it up in Tidewater, and it's obvious the guy is gonig to be a star. I'm there one night and he only needs a single for the cycle and it's only something like the sixth inning. Tides are winning in a rout. Comes up that inning and just crushes a ball. Bangs it off the wall in the gap and motors for a triple. Everyone is pissed because we wanted him to stop at first.

Comes up again in the eighth or ninth. Flat crushes another one to pretty much the same freaking spot. Motors around first at full speed and then proceeds to throw on the brakes and trot back to first laughing the whole way.

 

What kind of numbers would Fred Lynn have put up if he never left the Red Sox?

Also, is Conigliaro still the youngest to hit 100 HR?

Willis McGahee if he hadn't blown out his knee in the Fiesta Bowl, or even Frank Gore the year before, does Miami go to the Fiesta with him as their feature back?

 

savlvador sanchez. died in a car crash at 23 as the wbc featherweight champion one month after defeating the great azumah nelson. he had already beat
wilfredo gomez, juan laporte and danny lopez. it would have been mind-boggling to see him reach his prime.


and i guess we should add mark prior to the list.

 

Great call, fever. He had already accomplished so much by the age of 23. He defused the explosve Lopez and destroyed the unbeaten Gomez (who was 32-0-1 with 32 KOs after he drew in his pro debut), breaking his cheekbone and KOing him in 8. Nelson, an unknown with 13 fights who gave Sanchez a good battle until he was stopped in the 15th, went on to become an all-time great.

 

I think Steve Owens might have been more representative of a what if...
Of course, with the Lions -- What if Joe Don Looney wasn't?

 

Since somebody brought up Brien Taylor, I'll bring up the other half of that equation ... Steve Chilcott.

 

I seem to remember Lynn being pretty damn good with the Angels...

 

FWIW, he's back with one of the Rays' rookie-level teams.

I doubt he can stay clean and make up for missing nearly four full seasons, but he is indeed back.

I read where Carl Crawford said he was by far the most talented of the young OFers the Rays drafted from 1998-2001. What a waste.