MILWAUKEE – A low-budget World Series matchup will not sway MLB and its owners from pursuing a salary cap.
And while the league and union have been meeting regularly -- including as recently as Thursday -- they remain at an impasse over core economic issues, with both sides indicating it was unlikely an extension of the current CBA would be reached to avoid a Dec. 2 lockout.
The Brewers (19th) and the Rays (27th) both reached the Fall Classic with bottom-half payrolls, the first time that has happened since 1991. To the union, it shows there is no issue with competitive balance. To the league, it is an anomaly.
“I think the fact that they’re doubling down on the cap in the wake of what’s happening with this World Series just illustrates that it’s not about competitive balance, it’s not about teams not having hope,” MLBPA Interim Exec Dir Bruce Meyer said before Game 1 of the World Series. “It’s about their desire, which they’ve had for decades, to have a system that artificially suppresses player salaries and player freedom movement.”
Multiple owners have come out in support of the cap recently, including Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner and Brewers owner Mark Attanasio, who believes...