World Series matchup doesn’t change need for salary cap/floor system
· Yahoo Sports
The Milwaukee Brewers are one game away. One win from becoming World Series Champions for the first time in team history.
Pittsburgh’s NL Central rival was the best team in baseball throughout the year, winning 103 games and dominating the competition.
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The Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays meet in the “Small Market World Series” conveniently leading into the most tense labor negotiations the sport has seen in over 30 years. At least unlike 1994, the World Series is being played.
In a world where owners are locked and loaded to argue that the sport is unfair for small market clubs and teams with a payroll disadvantage compared to major markets, the smallest market in baseball will be the last team standing.
Milwaukee is the smallest media market size across MLB. The Brewers rank 19th in payroll ($146 million) while the Rays rank 28th ($95 million). The Cleveland Guardians clinched a spot in the ALCS despite owning the lowest payroll ($74.2 million).
So, it looks like the sport is in great hands! Not so fast.
I’d like to formally welcome you to one of the greatest outlier seasons in baseball since the turn of the century.
Since 2000, only three teams have won the World Series with an Opening Day payroll outside the top 15: the 2003 Florida Marlins (25th), the 2015 Kansas City Royals (17th), and the 2017 Houston Astros (17th). Both the Royals and Astros moved into the top half by mid-season.
10 times a team in the Top 5 of payroll won the World Series. The Dodgers and Yankees combined for five. During that span, major markets like Boston (four) and San Francisco (three) built dynasties while Philadelphia and both Chicago teams hoisted the trophy.
Where’s Cincinnati? Where’s Tampa? Where’s Pittsburgh? Where’s Baltimore? Where’s Oakland/wherever the A’s are playing?
While baseball shifted after the 1994 strike and free agency became an ultimate spending spree without limitations, small markets began to come to light.
Why should New York have such a distinct advantage over Pittsburgh and Cincinnati for players? Shouldn’t the economic playing field be equal for teams?
A salary cap and floor isn’t an immediate fix to all problems; teams like the Cleveland Browns still find ways to get in their own way every year. But it makes the playing field more fair. Isn’t that what’s best for the fans?
If the NFL had baseball’s system, Josh Allen would have had a nice run with the Bills and would be playing for the New York Giants. Remember that Paul Skenes Yankees jersey I captured in the parking lot on Opening Day two years ago? It’s unfathomable to think of.
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It’s ironic that the year before baseball shuts down to argue over a cap and floor system that the smallest market in baseball makes it look easy.
That shouldn’t rewrite the past or make people forget about
While the Rays, Brewers, Guardians, and other small market teams have had successful regular seasons and some postseason success, it’s all about hoisting the trophy in late October. Up until this season, the last small market team to win the World Series was the Kansas City Royals in 2015.
The Brewers and Rays are proving it’s not impossible to win without a cap/floor system, but it’s significantly more difficult. The Brewers traded ace Freddie Peralta’s expiring contract to the Mets before the season, knowing they wouldn’t re-sign him. The Rays did the same by trading Brandon Lowe to the Pirates and acquiring assets.
Would the Dodgers do that? Yankees? Mets? Rangers? Braves? Phillies? Cubs? Short answer: no. The smaller market clubs must maximize ROI by making smart trades, analytics, and development.
The most staggering number of all is what the Dodgers spent compared to what Cleveland spent. LA won 100 games with an estimated payroll of $412 million, over $330 million more than the Guardians, who finished with 85 victories.
They both ended up in the same place, Cleveland, thanks to a very weak American League, but should any league have that type of payroll difference?
A cap and floor system makes the NFL, NHL, and NBA thrive. In the last 10 years, small markets like the Pittsburgh Penguins, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Florida Panthers have won back-to-back cups. The Kansas City Chiefs built a dynasty and sustained it. The Milwaukee Bucks and OKC Thunder won titles.
Spare me the idea that a small market World Series changes the game. It doesn’t, and it shouldn’t.
Multiple things are true. Can small markets compete? Yes. Is it significantly more likely big markets will win? Also yes. Does market size make any difference in other sports? Nope. So why should it be in pro baseball?
When the curtain comes down in 2026, we don’t know when Major League Baseball will play again. But despite what happened in one single postseason, the need for a cap and floor will never change at all.