For instance, it’s five times easier for an 80% shot to go 19 for 20 than 20 for 20. That’s why John Wooden is probably the best coach of all time despite having the best talent. And why no one will ever top Joe Dimaggio’s hitting streak.
No further explanation needed. All comments welcome.
No argument with the math. I was going to argue that it is a new world in college basketball with many of the top tier players playing one season and then going to the NBA as opposed to Wooden getting 3 or 4 seasons from his superstars, but I think that the only three Wooden-coached players in the NBA Hall of Fame are Kareem, Bill Walton, and Gail Goodrich, so that argument doesn’t carry as much weight as I thought originally.
Baseball is definitely a different game than DiMaggio’s era – now batters might see a different pitcher for each plate appearance. Not only less tired arms, but so many pitching decisions utilize much more analytics now. That being said no reasonable person could argue that the fact that DiMaggio was one of the best baseball players of all time regardless of the era.