As the Golden State Warriors go for win No. 73 tonight against the Memphis Grizzlies to break the regular season record set by the '95-'96 Chicago Bulls, it's important that we don't compare Steph Curry and the Warriors to any other player or team in any other sport, especially those in Major League Baseball.
There will never be a team as dominant in baseball as the Warriors have been this season in the NBA. And the answer is simple: there are too many variables in baseball and too many scenarios that would not permit a team to be as consistent and supreme for a full 162-game season.
Think about how much tinkering MLB managers do with their lineups, especially a manager like the Cubs' Joe Maddon. Moving players to different positions, different spots in the lineup, in and out of the lineup based on who's pitching, etc. - all of that serves as a catalyst in changing how the game is played and how players can maximize their efficiency.
With nine players on the field, there's nearly double the matchup possibilities than there are in the NBA, which helps disrupt the status quo in baseball.
Basketball features five starting players that are typically on the court every night. In fact, if one of those players isn't on the court, any given team's chances of winning plummets.
But it also works the other way around. If LeBron James is on the court every night for the Cavaliers and Steph Curry is on the court every night for the Warriors, their chances of winning exponentially increases. That's the difference between dominance and futility in the NBA.
Not the case in baseball. We saw the St. Louis Cardinals lose All-Star pitcher Adam Wainwright last year after just four starts due to a ruptured Achilles. They still won 100 games. They weren't entirely dominant, as they had one of the worst offenses in the league, but they played consistent baseball and played to their strengths. And still, a 100-62 record, which was the best in baseball last year, is just a .620 winning percentage. If the Warriors win tonight, their winning percentage will be an absurd .890.
That means an MLB club will would need to win 144 games to match that percentage. The record is 116, and even that's incredible.
Then we look at the Washington Nationals. They have Bryce Harper, who was hands-down the best player in the MLB last season. He led the league in various categories, including WAR, which is regarded as the most valuable statistic. Harper's 9.93 WAR ranked ahead of Mike Trout's (9.39) and Zack Greinke's (9.3) - who were second and third.
And guess what? The Nationals missed the playoffs. So did the Los Angeles Angels. And then Greinke failed to defeat the Mets in Game 5 of the NLDS, which eliminated the Los Angeles Dodgers from the playoffs.
The last time an NBA MVP missed the playoffs? Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1975-1976.
Here's a list of MLB MVPs that have missed the playoffs.
The bottom line is that one MLB star cannot carry a team to such greatness as Curry has the Warriors or Jordan has the Bulls, nor can the loss of one such player in baseball significantly affect the team's output.
There are more arguments to be had, such as the transition from college to the pros in both sports, but we don't need to get into that. A batter steps to the plate three to four times a game, and a starting pitcher takes the mound once every five games. Curry and James can get their hands on the ball any time they want to. MLB's best players don't have the opportunity to have such influence on a daily basis as NBA players do, which is why the great parity in MLB will always prevent a team like the Warriors from taking over the sport.
