# What is the biggest what-if in sports history?

> Careers cut short by a knee, a war, a ban, or a decision nobody could talk the player out of.

*By YPB Team · Published August 9, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/what-is-the-biggest-what-if-in-sports-history*

---

## Current results (0 votes)

1. **Babe Ruth staying a pitcher**
   He was 94-46 with a 2.28 ERA when Boston moved him to the outfield full time to get his bat in the lineup.
2. **Bo Jackson's hip injury**
   An All-Star outfielder and Pro Bowl running back at 27, and finished as both by 30.
3. **Muhammad Ali's three years in exile**
   Stripped of the title at 25 and kept out of the ring until 29, the years usually reckoned as his physical peak.
4. **Ted Williams' war years**
   Nearly five prime seasons lost to two tours of military service.
5. **Sandy Koufax retiring at 30**
   Walked away after a 27-win season because his elbow could not take another year.
6. **Marco van Basten's ankle**
   A Ballon d'Or winner forced to stop at 28 after operations that never took.
7. **Ronaldo's knees**
   The Brazilian striker lost two seasons at his peak to the same knee, and still won a World Cup afterwards.
8. **Michael Jordan's first retirement**
   Left basketball at 30 for a season and a half of minor league baseball.
9. **Barry Sanders retiring at 30**
   Fourteen hundred yards short of the rushing record, he simply stopped.
10. **Greg Oden's knees**
   The first pick ahead of Kevin Durant, limited to 105 NBA games.
11. **The 1994 baseball strike**
   A cancelled World Series, a .394 average left unfinished and a franchise in Montreal that never recovered.
12. **Robert Griffin III's knee**
   Offensive Rookie of the Year, then a playoff game he should not have finished.

Tags: sports, legends, injuries, careers