Congratulations to the New York Yankees. No seriously, congratulations.
In Mark Teixeira, the Yankees got their man and they did it within the rules of the game. Whether or not they have an unfair competitive advantage doesn't matter right now. According to the system that we have in place, it's fair.
As the fans of every other team in baseball are focused on holding their lunch today, there is one solution to this problem.
Major League Baseball needs a salary cap.
It's funny actually, because just a couple years ago the baseball world was up-in-arms about a certain other kind of unfair competitive advantage: steroids.
Essentially, the Yankees are Mark McGwire.
Mark McGwire was torn apart and made to look weak back in 2005 for having success with an unfair competitive advantage that was, at the time, within the rules of the game.
So what does that make the Yankees? What does that make the league's premier franchise and poster-child?
This problem may actually be worse than steroids. It affects not just a few at-bats per game, but entire teams. It affects the fans in ways worse than the feelings of dishonesty that came with steroids.
Always, but especially in a time of recession, it affects our wallets.
Hey Yankee fans, how does a ten-dollar beer sound?
We're paying for it all in the end. Not having a salary cap hurts our wallets, it hurts the competitive balance of the game, and it hurts the sport.
It's time for Bud Selig to realize a salary cap would be good for the owners he represents. Not having a salary cap has driven player salaries through the roof.
Albert Pujols, arguably the best player in the game, signed a contract worth an average of $14 million annually over seven years before the 2004 season.
Fans of the Cardinals should be shaking in their boots right now. If Teixeira can command an average of $22.5 million annually over eight years, what will Pujols command in a few years?
Steve Phillips, the former general manager of the New York Mets, was on ESPN's Mike and Mike in the Morning on Wednesday. He was challenged to address the fact that while the Tampa Bay Rays were competitive this year, they will not make the playoffs 14 out of 15 years like the Yankees. His reply was, "Nor should they. If you own a large-market team you get special privileges."
That's right. It's not about the fans, the revenue providers, anymore.
I propose a $110 million cap with a $60 million minimum spending limit.
It's time for Major League Baseball to put the big-boy pants on and get to work. Bud Selig needs to tell Donald Fehr enough is enough.
It's about time the Tampa Bay Rays can keep the fruits of their labor and resign the prospects that they develop.
It's about time the fans of the Kansas City Royals, Washington Nationals, and Pittsburgh Pirates can go into a season feeling good about their team.
It's about time the Yankees, and a handful of other teams, develop their own talent and stop their reckless spending.
But hey, congratulations to the New York Yankees. No seriously, congratulations.
15 comments Last one added 6 months ago — Leave a Comment
Wendy Adair 6 months ago
Aaron,
Great article i agree 110%, something needs to be done. Did you read my article about Performance Based contracts? i know it will never fly with the Players Union, but the madness needs to stop and both management (thinking they can buy World Championships) and players (the greedy and wimpy ones) have to put a stop to their current attitudes.
Edit Comment Cancel
Aaron Santerre 6 months ago
No I haven't read it. I'll have to take a look. The only thing about performance based contracts is it would be impossible for teams to set a budget. Thanks for reading.
Edit Comment Cancel
Wendy Adair 6 months ago
Yes, that's very true, but something has to be done, things have totally gone out of control with these contracts.
Edit Comment Cancel
Aaron Santerre 6 months ago
I agree with that. If we have a cap teams wont be able to pay guys 20 mill/year anymore and still fill out a roster. I heard today it might take another strike to get a cap done. I'd honestly be fine with that. If they don't do something, there will be a fan strike.
Edit Comment Cancel
Bob Warja 6 months ago
Excellent article Aaron. Though I don't agree that baseball needs a salary cap, I'm glad you also proposed a salary floor too. I just think that all an artifical limit would do is create more profit for the owners. As I mentioned in my article, over the last two years, teams in the top 5 in Opening Day payroll made the playoffs only 50% of the time. Teams in the top 10 made the playoffs
only 45% of the time. When you consider that teams increase their payrolls
when they intend to contend in the upcoming season, skewing the rankings,
you can see that baseball doesn't have a "competitive balance" problem that's going to be addressed by artificial salary restrictions designed to increase owners' profits.
As for Pujols, I see him going for at least $30MM per year if he elects free agency.
Edit Comment Cancel
Aaron Santerre 6 months ago
Yeah, I'm hoping he'll give us a loyalty discount haha. The thing about the owners making more money would be okay though as long as they bought their own stadiums. The people of New York shouldn't have had to pay for that and they wouldn't have had to if the Yankees only spent 110 mill a year. Thanks for reading.
Edit Comment Cancel
Bob Warja 6 months ago
Well, to be fair Aaron, Steinbrenner did pay $800MM out of his own pocket for the stadium. The remaining $200MM that was subsidized you may not agree with, but it is hardly unprecidented, especially in New York.
In case you missed this in my article, Here's the "entertainment preferences" that New York City subsidizes: 614 ballfields, 991 playgrounds, 550 tennis courts, 51 outdoor swimming pools, 10 indoor swimming pools, 36 recreation centers, 14 miles of beaches, 13 golf courses, 6 ice rinks, 3 major stadia, and 4 zoos!! So, you might as well as add Yankee Stadium to the list.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/96653-come-to-think-of-itquit-whining-over-the-yankees-spending-spree-already
Edit Comment Cancel
Aaron Santerre 6 months ago
Did you forget that they just asked for another $400 million in subsidies? $600 million dollars in public money in this economy from a city that is supposedly bankrupt is ignorant.
Edit Comment Cancel
Bob Warja 6 months ago
I hadn't heard about the additional $400MM, but I doubt that NY is bankrupt.
Edit Comment Cancel
Aaron Santerre 6 months ago
They haven't had to file so no it's not but they've been on the brink of it a few times the last 30 years. $5 billion worth of building projects are being delayed right now because there's no money. Yet the Yankees can spend this money on players and go ask the City to bailout the rest of the stadium.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/27/nyregion/27developers.html?em
Edit Comment Cancel
Bob Warja 6 months ago
Actually, Aaron, I can understand your position on this. I was merely pointing out that there is precident for New York to provide funding for other "entertainment" purposes. I realize it looks bad - here is a team spending half a billion dollars on players and yet asking taxpayers to pay part of the bill for a new stadium in which the Yankees will then charge people more money to attend the games. But face it, the Yankees are important to NY, and the whole city benefits from having the Yankees.
Edit Comment Cancel
Aaron Santerre 6 months ago
I understand your side of the argument as well. I read your new article. My feeling about the luxury tax is that it's like racing a kid on a bike while driving a Ferrari, and after you beat him by a huge margin you give him money to buy a new bike horn. I'd also argue that the Yankees benefit from NY more than NY benefits from the Yankees. A big part of the NFL's success has revolved around teams building through the draft. The importance of scouting and intelligence adds intrigue and parody to the league. Many fans resent baseball for allowing teams to throw money at their problems because they can't relate to that and it sickens them. Imagine a league where the Brewers and Yankees had the same payroll and their teams were a result of proper management and not their media/municipal market. Nice for a Cardinals fan and Cubs fan to have an intelligent discussion though. That other rivalry in the east doesn't function so well. :-D
Edit Comment Cancel
Bob Warja 6 months ago
"My feeling about the luxury tax is that it's like racing a kid on a bike while driving a Ferrari, and after you beat him by a huge margin you give him money to buy a new bike horn."
Yeah, except in this case, you don't beat him. and you still buy him the horn and if he invests it properly, will be able to get a brand new bike in a few years. Unless he does what the major league owners do and spend it elsewhere. The Yankees haven't won anything in awhile despite having the highest payroll for many years. Yet they help keep the smaller market teams going almost by themselves. Look, if you cap the Yankees spending, more $$ will go to their owners instead of to the players. How does that make any sense?
Edit Comment Cancel
Bob Warja 6 months ago
And another thing, Aaron, even if you instill a cap, you will never have everyone at a level playing field because some owners want to win more than others. So you'll have teams like the Yanks at the max of the cap while teams like the Marlins will sit at the bottom end. Depending on the spread, that could be just as significant, percentage-wise, as it is today. Plus, you'll get reduced revenue sharing and the elimination of the luxury tax. The net ersult will be no change to competitive balance, less money for the small market teams, and more profit for the Yankees to put in their pockets. If people stop to think about this for a minute, they would eralize it's a stupid idea. It's a knee-jerk reaction and totally unnecessary.
Edit Comment Cancel
Aaron Santerre 6 months ago
No you would need to do like the NFL does and have more revenue sharing so every team can go fairly close to the cap. You also need a base.
Edit Comment Cancel
Leave a Comment
You must register to post a comment.