In honor of Michael Jordans The Last Dan

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In honor of Michael Jordans The Last Dan

The final two episodes of ESPN's Michael Jordan documentary -- "The Last Dance" -- will airSunday night. It's been nice to have such excellent content on one of sport's greatest all-time players during a time with no live-action sports to watch here in North America. To be clear, few stories -- if any -- would grab the attention Jordan does. He's a transcendent figure who stayed private for so long. Still, watching it unfold, at times I couldn't help but wonder about some Major League Baseball stories that could be fun with the same treatment.I'll be sticking with pretty recent history instead of going too far back. Here are my top 10 picks, not nece sarily in order.1. The Curse of the BambinoThe top two are easy and obvious, though they've also probably been di sected in every which way they could. Still, there is so much history that could po sibly be delved into from when they sold Babe Ruth to the and then finally won the World Series again in 2004. That 2004 was truly a cast of characters, too.2. The Curse of the Billy GoatPerhaps the top two could be tied together with the Theo Epstein angle? Regardle s, the 2016 were a special group, making Mack Wilson Jersey the World Series for the first time since 1945 and winning it for the first time since 1908. There are an awful lot of angles with the franchise in futility, the 1969 "black cat" curse and collapse, some high-profile playoff failures and then finally getting it done for their loyal fans. 3. Randy Moss Jersey The Curse of the Black SoxOr "The Forgotten Championship," since the 2005 World Series title so often gets glazed over, likely due to the Red Sox and now Cubs. But there was a trio of long-time franchises with a "curse" hanging over its head. The White Sox threw the 1919 World Series in the Black Sox scandal and then didn't win it again until 2005 with a sweep -- all four close and dramatic games, though -- of the then-NL . Lots of good stuff could be done with colorful manager Ozzie Guillen and the team was really fun as well.4. The Yankees Dynasty is Built, FallsHBO did "Nine Innings from Ground Zero" about 9/11, the Yankees and the 2001 World Series. It was excellent. Some of that could be included, but we'd want to dip back to the origins of the Yankees dynasty that won five pennants and four World Series titles in a six year range from 1996-2001. Since then, they've won just the 2009 World Series. The series could run through the acquisition and development of the likes of Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte much in the way the The Last Dance has hit on Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman et al. Then there's 9/11 and one of the most dramatic World Series in history in the 2001 fall to the . The Yankees' last dance there fell short, but it's still compelling TV.5. The 1994 Strike and What Could Have Been With the Expos and There would be a ton to unpack here. The history of the Expos, building to the 1994 team that was on pace to win 105 games. Instead, the strike ended the season and effectively ended baseball in Montreal. Larry Walker signed with the in free agency and the team traded Marquis Gri som, John Wetteland and Ken Hill in early April and that was that. Attendance plummeted and the franchise never made the playoffs until it was the Washington Nationals. A series could cover the Nationals building into an NL power, though one that never got over the hump in the postseason until wild card hit seemed to change everything. How about a big portion devoted to two huge home runs? Strasmas, the shutdown, drafting wunderkind , not winning it all until he left, etc. There's so much here both in Montreal and D.C. 6. The Rise and Demise of the Astros' New England Patriots Golf Sporting Goods Brain TrustThis one has to wait because the story of the players isn't complete yet. We need to see what happens moving forward with the likes of , , , , etc. The story will end up being fascinating, though. We could start with Jim Crane buying the team and agreeing to switch to the American League. Then the hiring of Jeff Luhnow as general manager, where he instilled a culture that was savagely trashed by Rob Manfred in doling out his punishments for the sign stealing scandal this past winter. Luhnow built a powerhouse team, but at what cost? There are lots of threads to pull with this one. There's lots of positive for Astros fans and lots of the opposite for their now-legions of haters. Again, though, this story isn't yet complete.7. La Ru sa's Last RideTony La Ru sa managed a lot of interesting teams. There could be Ben Coates Jersey an extended look at Mark McGwire's time with the A's (Bash Brothers with Jose Canseco), their three straight pennants and 1989 World Series title and lots of characters on those A's teams. Then the years with the dominant teams of the 2000s with looks at the likes of , , Chris Carpenter and . Everything then comes together when it looked like the season was over in 2011. After a lo s on Aug. 24, the 2011 Cardinals were 67-63. They had gotten Lance Berkman through waivers and were mulling over trading him. They were 10 1/2 games out of the wild card, after all. They would then go 23-9 the rest of the way, taking over the wild card spot on arguably the most wild final day of a season in history. An entire episode could even be dedicated to that final day, looping in the also chasing down the Red Sox in an equally shocking closing stretch. The Cardinals then toppled the 102-win -- which started that franchise in a downward spiral, too, which could be covered -- and before one of the most dramatic World Series ever. An entire episode could probably be spent on Game 6. There's a lot here.8. The Yin and Yang of Bumgarner and KershawIn the 2010s, the were pretty clearly the superior team to the ... in the regular season. Dodgers: 919-701, 7 NL West titlesGiants: 821-799, 2 NL West titles, 2 wild card spotsAnd yet, the Dodgers have only won two pennants and have not won it all. The Giants won three titles. is an all-time great pitcher who will easily make the Hall of Fame. He's won three Cy Youngs and has been in the top five Malcolm Perry Jersey seven times. is a very good pitcher who sits 216th in JAWS (right behind John Lackey, Charlie Hough and Josh Beckett). He hasn't won a Cy Young. And yet, look at the postseason numbers.CK: 9-11, 4.43 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 170 K, 45 BB, 158 1/3 IP, 0 CGMB: 8-3, 2.11 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 87 K, 18 BB, 102 1/3 IP, 3 SHOKershaw has had some gems, but lots of clunkers and is clearly something different. Bumgarner is clearly something different in the postseason, too. What's going on? Exploring it against the backdrop of the regular season and postseason differences with the two rivals would be fun, too (well, except for probably Dodgers fans). 9. The Rise of Ichiro is the international "Hit King." He came to America when joining the 2001 . He would win MVP while the Mariners set the MLB record with 116 regular-season wins. We could actually loo
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