The Los Angeles Dodgers shocked the sports world and won what is being considered one of, if not the greatest, World Series of all time.
Though this should be a celebration, the Dodgers might have just started chaos between the owners and players.
Many other sporting leagues, like the NFL and NBA, have a salary cap, which basically limits the amount of money many teams can spend, making the teams all on an even playing field with a similar amount of talent.
Even while many fans have been wanting a salary cap in baseball, it still isn’t the answer for many different reasons.
One, it’s impractical for the players.
According to a video on YouTube called “Why MLB Will NEVER Have a Salary Cap,” the best players are in high demand, which makes them cost more money, and the average players get paid average salaries.
If the cap was implemented, this would reduce the spending that teams could have and decrease the value of the best players like Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge and Juan Soto. This benefits the player because they are getting the amount of money they deserve.
Second, the players believe the cap will benefit the owners.
According to the Sports Business Journal, Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Chris Bassitt, who is on the MLB’s Player Association, believes that if there is a salary cap, the revenue coming into the league will be split between owners and players.
He also believes that some of the owners’ intentions will be to keep the revenue for themselves and hide it really well instead of spending it on their teams.
Third, it could cause yet another work stoppage, also called a lockout.
The MLB and the Players Association have a collective bargaining that is ending in December 2026. If the owners and players don’t come up with a solution for this issue by then, this will more than likely cause the 10th workage stoppage in history.
The last lockout, which took place in 2022, delayed the start of the season. With this salary cap issue at stake, we could see a shortened season (excluding the COVID-19 year in 2020) for the first time since 1994.
Though an even playing field might excite fans of small-market teams and help prevent super teams from forming, I still believe it would be a bad idea for baseball and for the teams fans love.
