Mariners' Ryan Sloan takes after future NBA Hall of Famer to shine in spring training

NBA players have often provided a source of motivation for professional athletes in other sports, highlighted by Tom Brady being driven to his seven Super Bowl rings by wanting to surpass Michael Jordan's six championships. Patrick Mahomes' pursuit of greatness is due to replicating the late, great Kobe Bryant's "Mamba Mentality", while Alex Ovechkin became the NHL's all-time leading goal-scorer thanks to being inspired by LeBron James' longevity, which now sees him in his 23rd season.

As such, it should come as no surprise when MLB players also look to the NBA when seeking players who can help shape their mentality and desire to dominate. And this extends to those who haven't yet made it to "The Show", including one of the Seattle Mariners' top-rated prospects Ryan Sloan.

Steph Curry helping to mold Ryan Sloan's approach

The 20-year-old has put in a couple of eye-catching live batting practices at his first spring training camp in Peoria, with him crediting NBA superstar and four-time champion Steph Curry for the belief in his abilities. As per Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times, he said:

"I have a lot of confidence in my stuff. And like Steph Curry says, ‘When you miss a three, it’s usually not your fault, so just keep doing the same thing.’ I knew I had to make a little adjustment to make that happen and just try to get the pitch away. I know if I do, it’s a really good pitch."

Ryan Sloan

We weren't able to find the actual quote of Curry saying this, but it doesn't mean he didn't. (Perhaps it was just worded differently.) In any event, the point is that Sloan is drawing inspiration from arguably the best shooter in NBA history, and that isn't a bad thing in the slightest.

If you wanted to get too serious or grumpy man "get off my lawn", you could contend that Sloan's logic doesn't entirely make sense, but who are we to comment from our armchairs if it works for him? And this mentality is proving beneficial in Peoria, where the righty has been getting put through his paces in batting practice by the likes of the original "Big Dumper" Cal Raleigh, Josh Naylor and Brendan Donovan.

Sloan's live batting practice on Sunday was particularly notable for his fastball sitting at 96-98 mph when pitching to Donovan and the recently re-signed Mitch Garver. The 2024 second-round draft pick faced them a combined eight times and allowed just the one hard hit from Donovan.

Speaking to Divish, Sloan's Curry-inspired mentality and focus on dominating really shone through in his comments. He said: "My goal is to punch tickets, honestly. But with that, you have to get ahead. You can’t punch a guy out on 0-0. So, if they want to swing early and swing 0-0, and I make a good pitch, I’m A-OK with that. I think I have swing-and-miss stuff. So more often than not, if I’m throwing strikes early, I’m going to get to two strikes and be able to punch guys out."

Mariners rotation set up to dominate for the long-term

How can Mariners fans, teammates and the front office alike not love to hear this kind of thing from a player who is currently ranked by MLP Pipeline as the 33rd-rated prospect in all of baseball? Since being drafted he's worked hard on his game — including a particular improvement with his control — and it's extremely encouraging to see him make the most of spring training.

Aside from drawing inspiration from pro athletes in other sports, part of the drive for greatness in your own sport comes from healthy competition with your teammates. And this has been evident with Sloan specifically and his battles with fellow top-rated pitching prospect Kade Anderson, to perform better in live batting practice and in the process produce a lot of headlines for the media.

The duo are both set to become part of the Mariners rotation in the near future, with Anderson projected for 2027 and Sloan a year later, and both have impressed so far in their respective live batting practices. It can do nothing but benefit the Mariners if Anderson's own potential and desire can help push his teammate to greater heights, as a second source of inspiration alongside a two-time league MVP from another sport.