It’s one of the best debates in Cleveland sports history: What if Vernon Stouffer accepted George Steinbrenner’s bid to buy the Cleveland Indians instead of rejecting it for the bid of Nick Mileti?
While one would guess that the Indians would’ve gone on to win World Series’ in 1977, ‘78, ‘86, ‘98, ‘99, 2000 and 2009 with additional pennants in 1976, ‘81, 2001, 2003 and 2008.
But let’s say we go out to the garage, fire up the flux capacitor and take the DeLorean out for an 88-mph spin.
How would the baseball world be different if Stouffer picked the Cleveland-born shipping magnate instead of the Cleveland-born real estate developer?
Would the Indians be the Steelers of baseball? Would the Yankees be the baseball equivalent of the L.A. Clippers? Or somewhere in between?
While this is inherently pure conjecture, I still think what I’ve come up with has a lot of reason and logic behind it. I’m not trying to make you agree; but I hope it makes you think with a perspective on the life of George Michael Stenibrenner, a man who was just as admirable off the field as he was controversial on it.
Now let’s humor my inner Marty McFly.