Major League Baseball could be reaching a point of no return, where permanent changes arrive, leaving behind massive team investments and the payroll disparities that exist. The expiration of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement between Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association (MLBPA) might trigger a lockout by owners, who aim to implement a salary cap limiting what percentage of revenue goes to players.
The Dodgers could be triggering these changes
Right now, it’s hard to imagine a team stopping the Dodgers from winning the next World Series-at least they’re heavy favorites as the postseason advances with the championship series underway. If they secure a second consecutive title, ESPN‘s Jeff Passan writes that “MLB owners-who already were vocal publicly and even more so privately about Los Angeles spending as much as the bottom six teams in payroll combined this year-will likely cry foul even louder.”
The big question is whether what the Dodgers are doing is wrong: boasting a payroll that dwarfs the rest of baseball while others scramble to find a formula to beat big-spending teams.
“Already, MLB is expected to lock out players upon the agreement’s expiration,” Passan wrote. “Back-to-back championships by the Dodgers could embolden MLB and add to a chorus of fans who see a (salary) cap as a panacea for the plague of big-money teams monopolizing championships over the past decade.”
However, massive investments don’t guarantee a World Series for a franchise-just look at the New York Mets (the second-highest payroll in MLB at $342.4 million), who haven’t won a title under owner Steve Cohen. On the other hand, the New York Yankees ($305.2 million, third) have a 16-year championship drought.
The Milwaukee Brewers ($121.7 million, 22nd in payroll), Seattle Mariners ($164.3 million, 15th), and Toronto Blue Jays ($255.3 million, fifth) are the teams with a chance to prevent a Dodgers title, complicating the case for a salary cap.
No team has won consecutive World Series titles in a quarter-century, something the Dodgers could use as an argument in their favor: a salary cap would only benefit MLB’s stingy owners.
Other factors contribute to the Dodgers‘ success, like their scouting acumen through the Draft, stability in management and front office, and skill in signing players even when other teams offer more money.
We’ll have to wait and see what happens with baseball’s changes, as well as what the players’ union says-they might be more interested in multimillion-dollar contracts across baseball rather than being limited by a salary cap.
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