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It probably should come as little surprise that Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred claims to believe that the Los Angeles Dodgers’ ridiculous spending spree is somehow not bad for the game of baseball. Most fans appear to care more about the sport than he does.
After all this is the same guy who called the World Series trophy just a “piece of metal,” made an asinine remark about All-Star Game uniforms, has done little to nothing to eliminate blackouts in local markets, and recently floated the idea of adding an absurd “Golden At-Bat” rule to the game (an idea that he didn’t even come up with and laughed at when it was presented to him in 2015), among many other things.
So, of course, he said, when asked if the Dodgers’ wild spending the past two off-seasons is bad for the game, according to The Athletic, “No. I don’t agree with that. The Dodgers are a really well-run, successful organization. Everything that they do and have done is consistent with our rules. They’re trying to give their fans the best possible product. Those are all positives. I recognize, however, and my email certainly reflects it: There are fans in other markets who are concerned about their teams’ ability to compete, and we always have to be concerned when our fans are concerned about something. But pinning it on the Dodgers, not in that camp.”
So now we have not only Los Angeles Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes claiming that their projected $353 million for the 2025 MLB season, and adding more than $450 million in guaranteed salaries this offseason to their payroll (which doesn’t include the the 10-year, $700 million contract they gave Shohei Ohtani last offseason), isn’t bad for baseball, the commissioner of Major League Baseball agrees with him?
Of course he does.
“There are a bunch of different ways to measure competitive balance,” Manfred continued. “Repeat champions… our information in that regard is positive. I think it’s a different question to say, ‘Do people perceive that the playing field is balanced and fair and/or do people believe that money dictates who wins?’ Those are separate concerns from who actually wins on the field.”
Well, it’s been 75 years since Cleveland won a World Series. Milwaukee hasn’t won a World Series, ever, over a span of 56 seasons. Same with the Padres. The Mariners have also gone their entire existence, 48 seasons, without winning a World Series. The Pirates won their last championship 45 seasons ago. It’s been 41 years for the Orioles, 40 seasons for the Tigers, 38 for the Mets, 35 for A’s, 34 for the Reds, 33 for the Twins, 32 for the Rockies (who also have never won one), 31 years for the Blue Jays, and 27 for the Rays (have never won one).
That’s 14 MLB teams who have currently gone at least 27 years without winning a World Series… almost half, and five franchises that have never won one.
The Cubs went 107 years between World Series championships. The White Sox spent 87 years without one, and have won just one in 107 years. The Red Sox went 85 years, the Phillies went 77 years, and the Nationals franchise has won just one over the past 55 years.
That doesn’t exactly scream parity.
Heck, the Los Angeles Angels haven’t even made the playoffs in 10 years, and it’s been nine years since the Pirates sniffed the postseason.
So, perhaps some sort of salary cap would help, right? Not necessarily, according to Rob Manfred. “I am a huge believer in the idea that there are always multiple solutions to a particular set of concerns,” he said.