1994 would have been one of the most memorable seasons ever in MLB

'94 could've been an epic year for MLB. I mean, it could have had some lasting impacts and long term consequences for the league today. I present my case:

* Does Tony Gwynn have a chance at hitting .400? He was at .394 with only 50 games to go against a terrible division.

* The AL West could've sent a team to the playoffs with a losing record. The Rangers led the division and were 10 under .500.

* White Sox and Indians were battling it out in the AL central with KC only 4 behind after winning 13 in a row. With Cone and Appier in their primes pitching lights out, does KC work their way in to a deep post season run as hot as they were?

* Would Frank Thomas have slugged near .720 for a whole season?

* Since the Indians were primed for a WS run, does the WS experience help them to win either '95 or '97 down the road?

* Would the sport's popularity have taken a hit due to a Canadian team winning the WS for the 3rd year in a row?

* This one's a long shot, but what if the Yankees would've went on to win the American League, and beat the Expos or Reds in the Series that year; knowing the Yankees at that time, isn't it a safe assumption that they wouldn't have been so eager to call up kids such as Jorge Posada, Andy Petitte, Mariano Rivera, or their big prospect at the time, Derek Jeter, but more than likely would've packaged them up in trades for veterans? The great Yankees era of '96-(present) might not have happened.

* Would Fred McGriff have 500 HRs and thus be a Hall of Famer? He only needs 7 more HRs in 50 games to do it.

* Griffey and Matt Williams had 40 and 43 HRS, respectively with 50-51 games to go. Could they have broken Maris' record that year? If Griffey broke it, would there be steroid controversy around it? Would 1998 not be as memorable because the record would only be 4 years old? Would baseball be much more popular than it is today?

* Montreal led the league with 74 wins with an amazing team. (Cliff Floyd, Mike Lansing, Wil Cordero, Sean Berry, Moises Alou, Larry Walker, Marquis Grissom, Pedro, Jeff Fassero, Ken Hill, Kirk Rueter, John Wetteland, Mel Rojas, Gil Heredia) This team was incredibly balanced. It had great defense, speed, power, an ace pitcher, and a star closer. If Montreal makes a deep run or wins the world series, does Larry Walker and Pedro re-sign? Does increased fan base and interest mean the Expos are still in Montreal today? Expos-Indians WS would've been fricking incredible.



I realize not all of these things or even most of these things would've happened, but '94 would've still been one of the better seasons in MLB history IMO.