What if MLB had a Super Bowl? Here is an alternate reality where that is the case

The Super Bowl is of course a trending topic right about now. In this space, however, we talk about baseball, so the Super Bowl, which is a game of tackle football superbly played in a bowl, would seem to be of not much interest to us.

What is of interest to us -- besides This, Our Baseball -- are clicks. So in the service of that righteous trinity, let us contrive a way to work "Super Bowl" into a headline.

To the end of that very thing, we're going to spelunk through baseball history and ask: What if MLB had a Super Bowl?

That is, we're wondering how MLB's doling out of championship trophies would've gone if said championship was determined by a single game between the NL champ and AL champ. For these purposes, that means the winner of Game 1 of the World Series wins the Super Bowl.

Obviously, this isn't a strict one-to-one comparison, as MLB managers would perhaps trot out different starting pitchers than they actually did in Games 1 of the World Series and have a more "all-in" tactical approach in a one-and-done championship format. However, as a sage village elder once said, "Let not the perfect be the enemy of the good clicks."

Also, there's the tricky matter of MLB's divisional era and beyond. Since 1969, MLB's postseason has consisted of multiple rounds, which means multiple best-of-five and best-of-seven series. In an ideal world, we'd take the winners of each Game 1 of those series and sort it all out in keeping with the one-and-done guiding principle of the Super Bowl. We'll not wander into that thicket of possibilities, though. We're nothing if not comfortable with imperfections.

Anyhow, see up top where it says "11 min read"? That's how many minutes of your life -- a life no doubt of capital importance -- that you're going to waste reading this. You've been warned, and as such you have assumed all risks.

So here's what comes out of the wash when we consider Game 1 of the World Series to be the Super Bowl. An asterisk indicates that the team winning the Super Bowl in a given year is different from the team that in reality won the World Series that same year. Also, we've combed through the relevant box scores and named a Super Bowl MVP for each Game 1.

Come with us as we frolic through the dappled meadows of the hypothetical ...

Alternative history abounds! Now for a far-flung smattering of observations regarding the triumphs and tragedies listed above ...

• Things get interesting pretty much right away in 1907. Game 1 of the World Series that year ended in 3-3 tie after 12 innings because of darkness. That means we'll consider the early innings of Game 2 to be continuation of Game 1. The Cubs and Tigers each plated a run in the second inning of Game 2, and it wasn't until the fourth that the Cubs pushed across another pair of runs for the win. So the Cubs took the Super Bowl in a total of 16 innings.

• The outcome of Super Bowl XXIV now means that Babe Ruth has won a Super Bowl MVP for his hitting and for his pitching. He pitched himself to a Super Bowl MVP in 1918 as a member of the Red Sox.

• Super Bowl XVI: Yep, the Black Sox still lose. So much for a chance at dodging dark baseball history.

• Super Bowl XX, 1923: That's right -- Casey Stengel, Super Bowl MVP.

• Not only did Super Bowl XXI in 1924 span 12 taut innings, but Art Nehf and Walter Johnson each went the distance. Imagine witnessing that in the modern era of pitcher usage. This reversal of fortune also means that Johnson never gets his ring -- until he does, one year later.

• Yes, the Cubs still lose in 1929, but at least under the Super Bowl format they're spared the indignity of blowing an 8-0 lead in the seventh inning, which is exactly what they did in Game 4 of the '29 World Series.

• The Yankees dominate the Cubs in the 1932 Super Bowl, and Babe Ruth's "called shot," which may or may not have happened in Game 3 of the World Series that year, never comes to pass.

• Super Bowl XXXII, 1935: Note that in this alternate reality, the Cubs' curse does not span back to 1908. This also means that Goose Goslin's series-clinching walk-off single in Game 6 never happens.

• Note further that in this alternate reality that the Cubs have moved their curse date up to 1945.

• Super Bowl XLVI in 1949 brings us our first Super Bowl walk-off home run. The Yankees' Tommy Henrich makes history when he takes a 2-0 fastball from Don Newcombe over the right field wall of the Superdome. Yep, definitely happened in the Superdome.

• In 1951, we have a more fitting conclusion to the Shot Heard 'Round the World. In this world, Bobby Thomson's Giants best the Yankees in the Super Bowl.

• Brooklyn winds up winning its first title in 1952 rather than 1955. As well, the Yankees in Super Bowl World don't wind up winning five championships in a row from 1949-53, as they did in real life.

• In 1954, pinch-hitter Dusty Rhodes gives us our second Super Bowl walk-off homer, as he clouts the game-winner in the 10th. Of course, we might not have gotten to that point if Willie Mays hadn't made his legendary catch of Vic Wertz's blast in the eighth ...
  
• Brooklyn wins a second championship with their triumph in the 1956 Super Bowl. Also, Don Larsen's perfect game in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series never happens.

• The Pirates win Super Bowl LVII in 1960, and Bill Mazeroski takes MVP laurels. No longer, though, does Maz get to hit his Game 7 walk-off.

• In 1962, Whitey Ford becomes the first and still only three-time Super Bowl MVP.

• With the conclusion of Super Bowl LXXI, baseball has now seen just three different champions over the last nine years.

• Storied Game 6 of the 1975 World Series drifts away into the ether. Instead, the Red Sox thump the Reds in Super Bowl LXXII.

• The Cardinals top the Royals in Super Bowl LXXXII. Breathe easy, Don Denkinger. Your controversial blown call in Game 6 of the 1985 World Series doesn't happen.

• Kirk Gibson's home run off Dennis Eckersley in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series is already one of the most towering moments in baseball history. In this world, though, Gibson's clout not only won the game, it won the belt and the title. As such, in the world of the MLB Super Bowl that home run may be the biggest moment in the history of the game. At this point, we're honor-bound to roll tape ...
  

• Since Babe Ruth, Reggie Jackson, and Albert Pujols each hit three home runs in a World Series game but did not do so in a Game 1, Pablo Sandoval's three bombs in Super Bowl CVIII stands as the record.

• Their loss to the Royals in 2015 drops the Mets to 0-5 in Super Bowl play. If you're tired of the Mets rooter's penchant for self-pity, then just imagine what it would be like if they had no rings at all.

• No, the Cubs do not end their title drought against the Indians in Super Bowl CXII. The consoling knowledge, as noted, is that the curse now goes back to '45 instead of '08.

That's is all just a sampling, of course. Other moments have been lost (hello, Bill Buckner), but others have grown in importance.

Anyhow, this is what it would be like if baseball had a Super Bowl. Baseball doesn't have a Super Bowl, of course, but people search for things related to the Super Bowl. That's what we've been doing at marathon length -- giving the people what they weren't looking for.

Congratulations to Damon Berryhill.