Welcome to the first volume of the BallHype Spotlight Series: What If... History Weren't. Tortured franchises and athletes surround us. The blogdome's best imagine alternate histories for their rooting interests. We've already looked at re-tellings of recent times for the New York Knicks, the Chicago Cubs, and the Los Angeles Lakers. Here now is  Larry Borowsky of the vital Viva El Birdos with considerations of extended St. Louis Cardinal grandeur. Enjoy.

Cardinal fans have had it pretty good over the last 25 years. Going back to 1982 (actually 26 years, but who’s counting) our team has won two world titles and five pennants, with nine appearances in the NLCS and 10 playoff appearances overall. We’ve witnessed more than our share of dogpiles on the diamond and champagne in the clubhouse --- more than any fans in baseball except those of the Yankees and Braves. So I feel a bit sheepish coming before you to talk about might-have-beens. Most of our might-have-beens really have been; we’ve got no right to complain.

But what the hell; I can be greedy. As good as it’s been, it could’ve been better.

If I could undo one Cardinal-related event of the last quarter-century, it would be the death of Darryl Kile. That was more painful than any loss the Cardinals sustained on the field. Yes, his death had significant on-field implications --- it left a gaping hole at the top of the rotation that the Cardinals spent vast amounts of talent (Coco Crisp, Daric Barton, Dan Haren) trying to fill --- but that’s not why St. Louisans still mourn his death, five-plus years after the fact. They mourn because Kile was such an admirable person; because he left young children behind; because 33 years isn’t enough for anybody. It diminishes the tragedy to measure it by how many championships it might have cost the Cardinals.

So I’m gonna leave that aside and talk instead about a different kind of tragedy, one that affected a pitcher who joined the Cardinal rotation the same year Kile did: Rick Ankiel. What if this immensely talented pitcher hadn’t abruptly, inexplicably lost his ability to throw a baseball? As a 20-year-old rookie in 2000, Ankiel struck out 10 men a game (2nd in baseball) and held opposing batters to a .219 average. He was still learning to pitch, still rapidly improving --- in his last 10 regular-season starts that year he went 4-0 with a 2.36 ERA and a .188 / .284 / .296 opponent line. He had two superior weapons, a mid-90s fastball and a knee-buckling curve; his ceiling was unlimited. He coulda been Johan Santana, Doc Gooden, Sandy Koufax...

And then came the 3rd inning of Game 1 of the NLDS vs Atlanta. In the span of eight hitters Ankiel walked four, chucked five monumentally wild pitches, and left the mound in disgrace, his career irreparably damaged. He spent four years trying to put things back together and showed one last flash of ability in 2004, striking out 9 (vs 1 walk) in 10 relief innings in 2004. The next spring he “retired” from pitching and declared himself an outfielder.

Suppose he’d lived up to his vast potential? Let’s wind it back:

2000: Real life: Cards lose to Mets in the NLCS, 4-1. What-if: Ankiel follows up his Game 1 win in the NLDS with two victories against the Mets in the NLCS, which the Cardinals win in 6. That sets up a classic World Series matchup, the sixth meeting between the Cards and Yankees. Ankiel wins his lone start, but the nervous Cards freeze on the big stage vs the Bronx Bombers and lose the Series 4 games to 1.

2001: Real life: Ankiel goes back down to rookie ball. The Cardinals lose to Arizona 3-2 in the NLDS. What-if: Ankiel wins 18 games, and he and 21-game winner Matt Morris form the best 1-2 rotation combo in the league. The Cards defend their NL Central crown and sweep the Braves again in the NLDS, then pit their two young guns against the Diamondbacks’ pair of veteran aces (Johnson and Schilling) in the NLCS. St. Louis wins it in 7 games, setting up a Cards-Yankees rematch in the Series. Ankiel, Morris, and Darryl Kile battle Clemens, Pettitte, and Mussina to a draw, and Mark McGwire --- in his final at-bat in the big leagues --- hits a Series-clinching walkoff homer against Mariano Rivera to give the Cards their 10th world title, 4 games to 2.

2002: Real life: Ankiel misses the season with an elbow strain. The Cards lose to San Francisco 4-1 in the NLCS. What-if: Ankiel misses the season with an elbow strain, and Darryl Kile’s shocking death in late June stuns the Cards. They scramble to defend their division crown behind midseason acquisitions Chuck Finley and Scott Rolen but then, exhausted, bow out in round 1 of the playoffs.

2003: Real life: Ankiel struggles at Double A for half a season and then has Tommy John surgery. The Cards finish 3rd. What-if: Ankiel returns but clearly isn’t himself; after 10 lackluster starts he has season-ending Tommy John surgery. The Cards, caught short in the rotation, struggle to a third-place finish.

2004: Real life: Ankiel comes back from TJ surgery and, pitching in relief, makes a triumphant late-season return to the big leagues. The Cardinals win 105 games and lose to the Red Sox in the World Series. What-if: Off-season additions Chris Carpenter, Jeff Suppan, and Jason Marquis solidify the rotation; Ankiel joins them at the All-Star break and is pitching like an ace by playoff time. He goes 5-0 in October, and the Cardinals prolong Boston’s misery and win their 11th World Series title. The Cards re-sign Edgar Renteria to a four-year deal.

2005: Real life: Ankiel quits pitching and becomes an outfielder. The Cardinals, needing an ace, trade Dan Haren and Daric Barton for Mark Mulder, then lose to the Astros in the NLCS. What-if: Ankiel and Carpenter finish 1-2 in the Cy Young voting, while rookie Dan Haren adds 15 wins. That trio outpitches the Astros’ formidable threesome of Clemens / Pettitte / Oswalt in a classic NLCS. In the ensuing Series, they have a comparatively easy time dispatching the Chisox’s Buehrle / Contreras / Vazquez. That’s 12 St. Louis championships --- and, for the second straight year, a long-suffering franchise denied.

2006: Real life: Ankiel injures his knee while playing the outfield and misses the entire year. The Cardinals overcome a patchwork rotation to win the World Series. What-if: Walt Jocketty pulls off another of his trademark blockbusters, sending blue-chip prospects Daric Barton and Anthony Reyes to the Phillies for Bobby Abreu. Ankiel, Carpenter, and Haren win 20 games apiece; the Cardinals go 11-0 in October to win their third straight title and 13th overall.

2007: Real life: Ankiel returns to the big leagues as an outfielder. The Cardinals lose Carpenter for the season and finish third. What-if: Not even the loss of Chris Carpenter can derail the Cardinals; they simply replace him with Adam Wainwright and keep rolling. Ankiel not only wins 25 and notches his 100th career victory, he also chips in with 15 homers as a part-time outfielder during his non-pitching days. He and Haren both make the All-Star team. The Cards’ fourth consecutive title (14th overall) is a foregone conclusion.

And in 2008? GM-for-life Walt Jocketty ships Wainwright, blue-chip centerfielder Colby Rasmus, and a couple of other prospects to the Marlins for Miguel Cabrera, as the Cards gun for their 5th consecutive championship and 6th of the decade. . . 

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