Proposal to Major League Baseball:
Alex Rodriguez made $21 million this year. The Minnesota Twins 25-man roster made $20 million.
That is why I want to propose a minimum team salary of $40 million for every team. Force owners to spend more on their ballclub.
And if an owner won't abide by the rule, the league can penalize them until they do.
The Twins were atop the American League's Central Division at the All-Star break and finished with one of the worst second half records in baseball.
It happened because one injury to all-star Christian Guzman destroyed their run producing lineup and they never recovered.
The Oakland A's lost the AL Divisional Series because of their weak bullpen
and weak bench and $30 million payroll.
Two of the Yankees strengths are their bench and bullpen and of course 109 million other reasons. Money doesn't guarantee success, as shown by the pathetic Baltimore Orioles and
the depressing Los Angeles Dodgers.
But without any money, a team like the Twins, Florida Marlins, Kansas City Royals, or Pittsburgh Pirates will continue to struggle year in and year out.
Fans in those cities do not want to see that. Baseball doesn't want a salary cap and I don't belive the Players Union wants one either.
But something has to be done. We can't just keep letting the have's have at it every year and continue to step on the have nots. There needs to be some change.
The big spenders cringe at the thought of profit sharing, so that cannot be the only solution. Baseball must change some rules to make it a more level playing field.
I will defend the spenders on this point: There are owners in baseball who have the money and won't spend it. I do commned George Steinbrenner for putting every penny he can back into his product.
How many businesses outside of sports do you see that from? I sure don't.
That is why I think the league needs to demand money spent on payroll. $40 million would double the payrolls of the Expos and Twins. It would vastly improve the 25 man rosters of the Pirates, Marlins, and Brewers.
After the strike in 1994, many fans gave up on baseball. Many fans are still upset even now. Baseball needs to bring them back. But how much do they really care?
Back To Homepage