The Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers are once again battling for the NBA title, but who would win in a matchup of each city’s baseball teams?
With the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers entrenched in their second straight NBA Finals matchup and the San Francisco Giants and Cleveland Indians playing well, it only begs the question, which city would win in a World Series matchup?
While the Warriors look poised to capture their second straight championship, the Cavs likely won’t be going down that easily. With all three members of Cleveland’s big three healthy, LeBron James and company won’t go down after winning two games in last year’s finals minus Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love.
In a potential matchup of the cities two baseball teams (since the Oakland Athletics are under .500 and struggling, it’s unlikely they’ll make it to the playoffs), San Francisco still holds the advantage. But like the Cavs, the Indians have the pieces to make things interesting.
The three-headed monster atop San Francisco’s rotation featuring Madison Bumgarner, Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija draws some similarities to the trio of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green (note: in a 3-on-3 of any sport, Steph’s team would almost assuredly win) – though not quite as dominant.
While the Giants’ offense isn’t quite as dominant as the Warriors, they can hold their own to support the dominant pitching staff.
Over in Cleveland, the rotation features former AL Cy Young winner Corey Kluber, along with Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar. If they had deep playoff experience, they’d arguably be as scary a trio as Bumgarner and co.
The Tribe’s offense is just as good, if not better, than the Giants, as Francisco Lindor continues to improve with each passing week and will only improve once Michael Brantley gets healthy.
With that, here’s a deeper look at a what a potential series matchup between the Giants and Indians could look like – and how it compares to the NBA’s version.
Next: A Matchup Dominated by Pitching