Why doesn't the MLB set up a salary cap?

Question

Big market teams like New York, Boston, and Los Angeles are ruining the game because they can throw as much money around as they want, while the small market teams can't (Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Kansas City). For example, does anyone remember Jason Bay's original team? The answer is the Pirates. He was only one man, but he was responsible for most of the team's wins. When his contract was up, he was bought out by the highest bidder (Boston). Team's simply can't be in the same league if one team has a combined payroll as ONE PLAYER on another team. The NFL and NHL already have hard caps and that's working out fine. Also, I don't blame the players for going to the team who will give more money, because they are just one injury away from a lost season, or even a career. So please let Selig know how you feel about this. Who knows? Maybe within a decade the Cubs can get the World Series they have always wanted.

Answer 1

The Players Union are deeply against it. The team owners have tried many times to institute one but they cannot break the deadlock with the union. They then decided on the Luxury Tax.

Answer 2

Unless they lower ticket prices across the board (something that will never happen), a salary cap would become a major problem for the economy. The same amount of profit from tickets, memorabilia, etc is still going to be taken in, so where is the rest of the money going to go? Cutting salaries= more pocket money for the owners. And the owners are obviously already incredibly rich.



A salary cap also goes against the American principle of capitalism. Capitalism is defined as a system in which businesses and organizations have the freedom to use wealth to earn income, and if you earn the money, you can spend it however you want. Well, a salary cap sounds pretty much like the opposite of that.



You say small market teams can't be competitive? Look at the Rays last year! They were an underrated, young team with a low payroll that wasn't expected to win more than 80 games, but they outplayed the teams with some of the highest payrolls in Major League Baseball to advance to the World Series. I think that more than proves that small market teams can be competitive.



Another reason that a salary cap would be harmful to Major League Baseball is that a team would be forced to make the choice between some of its veteran players and some of its young prospects. With a salary cap, the team would not have enough money to keep all of its players, so they'd have to make the choice between young and inexperienced rookies or aging and injury-prone veterans.



And also, the MLBPA would NEVER go a salary cap.

Answer 3

Hold on here. Let's get a few facts straight.



First - Jason Bay's original team? The NY Mets - then San Diego - THEN Pittsburgh.



Second - his contract wasn't up - Boston bought out nothing - in fact, they are looking to negotiate an extension with Bay right now. Pittsburgh TRADED Bay - and this was a guy who demonstrated he wanted to stay in Pittsburgh by signing a contract with the Pirates that bought out his arbitration years. And how did the Pirates reward that loyalty? Traded him.



Before you go blaming the big market teams, why don't you ask around Pittsburgh what Mc Clatchy did with the revenue sharing money he got from MLB? Maybe he used some of it to pay off they idiotic contracts he and Sid gave to guys like Pat Mears and Mike Benjamin? He cried poverty, but no one took him to task how he was spending all of that extra revenue - if he was spending any of it at all!



The union isn't going to go for a salary cap, especially when you have owners like Moores in SD and Hicks in Texas and yes, guys like Mc Clatchy, until they got wise and booted him out last year. These guys spend money like little kids in a candy store or not at all and now it's coming back to bite them on both ends. Add the collusion rulings from earlier this decade against the owners and it's a classic case of shooting themselves in the foot.



And has Pittsburgh righted the ship yet? Go no further than the Mc Louth trade - that make any sense to you? You get Morton and a spot for Mc Cutcheon? This was your All Star last year and you ship him out on a cheap contract for peanuts? Can you say Jason Bay redux?



EDIT: And now Nyjer Morgan for Lastings Milledge and that stiff Hanrahan? This is the SECOND straight year Pittsburgh has traded two of their three starting OFs prior to August1! Ain't just Boston, LA and NY ruining the game!

Answer 4

I agree with you, and Im a Yankee fan. Im sick of hearing how people dont like the Yankees because they buy out the league. They need to look for cheaper young talent that can produce runs with low salary. I dont mind spending money on good pitching because we needed it. But spending that much on Arod and Tex is obserd. Its redicolous to look at the Yankees payroll and not see a dominating team. The Yankees spend all this money and they are in second place? They need younger guys like Brett Gardner, Nick Swisher, Robbie Cano and Melky Cabrera. Those guys lead the team right now and they are the lowest paid players on the team. Brett Gardner went 5 for 6 he other night almost hitting a cycle, and he only makes 418,000 this season. I think he has a signing bonus too, but still. These guys can make good things happen and they are not getting paid 23+ million a year.

Bud Selig needs to change baseball especially after the steriod era.

But then again the Yankees can afford all of this so theres not much to say.

Answer 5

people fail to realize it's not the salary cap that is preventing their teams from winning it's their team's ownership, who refuses to build a winner, they have money too, they just refuse to put it back into the team, let's get a salary cap, the best players will still wanna play for the Yankees, and other big market teams, because they win:)

Answer 6

ya Bay was traded for Brandon moss while Manny was traded to LA



and uh

The reason why there is no cap is cause of the yankees LOL



500 billion LOL!

Answer 7

Bay was traded.



A cap introduces more problems than it purports to solve.