MLB Showdown Obsession

 Ohtani is referred to as the greatest 2-way player ever, and if we just ignore the massive disrespect that claim is to Babe Ruth, if Ohtani really wants to impress anyone he should try double dipping in two different sports as opposed to two different positions. Bo Jackson did both football and baseball, as opposed to players who feel the need to choose. The drawback is it cut his career short from all the injuries. But like Ruth and Ohtani, Bo in his short time managed to captivate the culture. And now, Bo knows Showdown. September callup Bo. He brings the speed but not much else in his short time. Full season Bo. He didn't get a whole lot of seasoning in the minors so 1987 was more of some learning for Jackson. He shows the great power...and also the great strikeouts. Similar year in '88. The power stays high, but so do the strikeouts. Hard to justify with just an 8 on-base. All star Bo. If you ask people who many years Jackson was an all star, very few would assume it was j...

Some of the most memorable (and not so memorable) players in baseball history, with every part of their careers recreated in Showdown form. The only exception is if the player played from 1999-2004 in which they already have an official Showdown card representing them. Jose Canseco Bartolo Colon Bo Jackson Roger Maris Pedro Martinez (Aquino) Jim Morris Rick Wilkins Ron Wright Walter Young

 We've discussed the 1998 Yankees , who won the most games in baseball history (114 regular season + 11 postseason = 125 wins) on top of their championship...but on the other end of the spectrum, we have the worst record in history: the 1962 Mets. 120 losses is the mark for failure, and the Mets have found no equal. We tend to grant them a pass because this was their inaugural season and its expected that brand new teams perform terribly. Other terrible teams like the A's and Tigers have threatened this mark, but for now the Mets hold the record, kinda like a ying-yang with the Yankees being the greatest, and it's all contained in NYC...or that would all be true if not for the 2024 Chicago White Sox, who as we speak are challenging the record for failure. The 120 losses could have been worse, their official record was 40-120-1. One tie and a cancelled game saved the Mets from finishing even worse than 120 Ls. The fans didn't care though. The Yankees were on their way to...

 The city of San Diego is one with a tortured sports history. There was a time when they had three Big 4 teams at once. But Los Angeles claimed the San Diego Clippers in the 80s, and not too long ago the San Diego Chargers also ran to LA. Don't worry though, LA already has two baseball teams and it's highly unlikely baseball will let another New York situation happen when three teams play in one city. The Padres are all the city have left and they don't plan on leaving. Now if only they could find a way to bring a title to the city, not for two notable attempts... #6 - Steve Garvey In the 1982 offseason, the Padres were reeling. Former greats Randy Jones and Dave Winfield were both playing in New York, and they had a young outfielder named Tony Gwynn who was too busy being injured for anyone to realize his potential. The team needed to rebuild around something big. Enter Steve Garvey. LA might take the cities two other teams away eventually, but perhaps it was retaliation f...

 The MLB season in 1994 was derailed by a players strike on August 11,1994, and 34 days later it was made infamous when [acting] commissioner Bud Selig cancelled the postseason. So today, on the 30th anniversary of the cancellation, let's look back on the season that left a void in the baseball soul. The most visible symbol of regret from this lost season was the fact that this was the best season of the Montreal Expos. This perennial non-contender was finally putting everything together in '94. After this season, the team did their usual sell-off and their best players were shipped away. The popular opponent for the Expos in the "what if" World Series was the Yankees, who were also on an incredible run that year. People go with the feel good story of this being the year the Expos win it all, but to expect either team to even reach the World Series was a long shot, as this would've been the first playoff season to feature the Division Series, and history has shown...