u/DonT012

In the NBA, winning Finals MVP is an extremely prestigious award, like it's regular season MVP but much better. Many fans talk about how Steph Curry's legacy was somewhat in jeopardy because all 3 of his rings he did not get Finals MVP. That was until 2022 happened where he finally got it and many fans gave a giant exhale.

What about in the MLB? Should winning World Series MVP boost a player's legacy as a whole? Like 2x Corey Seager MVP for example. Not to mention it's for TWO different teams. Should he be a near Hall of Fame level player because he's also great in the regular season, despite only having 44 WAR in total?

Or Freddie Freeman among best first basemen in the last 25+ years.

We've seen these no-look passes with infielders trying to turn double plays. What about outfielders? Let's say he was looking to at home and lined up to throw at home. But for some reason, he threw to 3rd on the windup instead and actually caught the runner off guard.

Has a no-look outfield assist happened in MLB before?

Now that the Leafs got the first pick again. I mean we all know how good was Matthews because he's still in his prime.

But what about the other first overall pick many years ago?

He's always had the reputation for being an elite defender. But he still remains at least noticeably above average despite all the injuries he's faced in the last 3 years. It sapped his athleticism/quickness and even arm strength. You'd think a 5'8 needs all that speed in the world to get to fly balls right?

This year, he's below average in speed and especially slow for a CF. Yet he's still above average at defense. I know it's a small sample size but even last year, he started to lose a step. It feels like he's hobbling at times yet makes every play look so easy.

What makes Varsho still great on defense despite the loss in physical tools? It's not like he's 6'2 where he can make long strides to cover the loss of speed. Mind you he's only 5'8. How is that possible?

If there's something I'm really surprised baseball stats have not invented, it's Playoff WAR. Now you might be screaming at me "but it's a small sample size". And yeah it is.

But so are the NBA playoffs. I mean they have playoff win shares. For a sport that doesn't really care much about advanced analytics, I'm surprised they implemented this.

If both NBA and MLB playoffs are a small sample size, how come one sport that doesn't overemphasize on WAR (win shares) uses this in the playoffs while another doesn't?

I keep hearing lots of stories of NBA players tearing their ACL or achellies tendon or meniscus or muscles like that. I don't really know muscle groups very well. Either way. This would cause players to be out for like almost a year and basically not walk?

Is this common of an injury in recreational basketball? I've been afraid to play lots of basketball but I started to slowly pick up on my reps. There's a reason I've played a lot of baseball/softball throughout the last few years because I've feared this injury. I know that sport also injures shoulders/elbows but at the very least I can walk without crutches if I injure it.

How preventable are ACL-based injuries? I know one of my friends is at the basketball gym playing like almost every day or in the summer's he'd be at the park frequently. So I guess this injury isn't very common at the recreational level?

I noticed that if you pronounce both these names as quickly as possible, it would sound like they rhyme or something.

How cool is that?

In light of what happened in the NBA between the Nuggets (3rd) vs Wolves (6th), I thought I'd ask the MLB equivalent.

While the 6th seed has only been out for 4 years, this has happened multiple times so far:

• 2022: Phillies over Cardinals
• 2023: Dbacks over Brewers
• 2024: Tigers over Astros, Mets over Brewers
• 2025: Tigers over Guardians

Which upset was the biggest in your opinion out of this list so far?

In the NBA, Dirk Nowitzki was for many years known to be a playoff underperformer. Then 15 years ago happened. In 2011, he carried his underdog team to the World Series to embarrass Lebron. Many other active NBA players would benefit from a single ring like Embiid, Harden, Doncic, Butler, etc.

What are some MLB examples of this? What's one MLB player (active) that would benefit from winning just 1 World Series? By benefit I mean improve their legacy tenfold.

What do these teams have in common despite playing different sports?

• Both are team USA
• Both were expected to win it all by a landslide
• Both rosters were very stacked and supposed to be a dream team
• Both were eliminated by a Spanish-speaking country (Argentina and Venezuela)

Which loss was more disappointing? The 2004 basketball team. Or the 2026 baseball team?

In the NBA, almost all new draftees get to play immediately after getting drafted. In the MLB, given the difficulty of this sport this type of talent happens once every what 3 years?

But in the MLB players can get drafted at 17. Internationals can sign at 15/16. I think that's the right not sure. Whereby in the NBA, the rule is designed so almost nobody (except late birth months like Giannis or Cooper Flag) to debut at 18.

What about the debut age? Is it legally possible for an MLB player to debut at 18? What if you found a once in a generational prodigy that destroyed all the levels of minor league baseball? Can that player legally debut in an MLB game before turning 18/19? Or is there a rule preventing this from happening?