MLB commissioner Rob Manfred says the Rays-Brewers World Series is good for the game — but he’s still insisting baseball needs a salary cap, arguing that small-market teams can’t compete consistently without one.
Speaking before Game 1 at American Family Field on Friday, Manfred praised the matchup while making the owners’ case ahead of the December 1 labor deadline: “It’s been 40 years since we’re here. Once every 40 years is not enough.”
Rob Manfred (Credits: ESPN)
Manfred’s Salary Cap Case vs. the Small-Market World Series
Manfred acknowledged the matchup is good for baseball but framed it as the exception proving the rule: “I think the small markets operate at a disadvantage economically. They just don’t have the resources that our bigger markets do.” His claim: larger markets hold a “statistically significant advantage” in reaching and advancing in the playoffs.
The numbers tell both sides of the story. The Brewers rank 19th in payroll ($146.2 million) and the Rays 25th ($95.6 million) — and three low-payroll clubs reached this year’s League Championship Series. Milwaukee eliminated the deep-pocketed, two-time defending champion Dodgers ($339.3 million payroll); Tampa Bay beat the lowest-payroll Guardians ($74.4 million) in the ALCS. Nearly 80% of LCS participants over the past decade have come from top-15 markets, per the owners’ argument.
Lockout Looms Over the Labor Talks
The timing is no accident. Baseball’s labor contract expires December 1, and management is widely expected to lock out the players — a work stoppage that could threaten spring training workouts on February 9 and Opening Day on March 24.
MLBPA head Bruce Meyer fired back before the game, calling the owners’ summer salary-cap proposal a “nuclear bomb” and saying players have no interest in the system Manfred wants: “It is kind of sad that the league and the owners have once again been focusing not on the greatness of the game… but telling the consumers of their product that their product is broken.”
Also Read: Rays Clinch ALCS With 7-3 Game 6 Win Over Guardians, Set All-Time First World Series vs. Brewers | Rays Go With Nick Martinez Over Ace Drew Rasmussen for World Series Game 1 vs. Brewers
Source: ESPN — read the full story there.
