MLB 2021 season: Corn-Driven Humidity

[Timby]

Considering how many COVID cases there have been in the majors this season, maybe it's just as well if baseball took a year off anyways.

I mean, I took a little bit of a closer look at this proposal and sketched some thoughts out. So, under this proposed system, what happens if the teams all start treating $180MM as a salary cap, and there's not enough money to raise every team to the floor? "Whoops! We're out of funds, sucks for you guys?"

Hell, even operating under the current CBA and looking at current payrolls (from Spotrac: https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/payroll/) I don't know how this so-called "proposal" would work. The top seven teams that are over the proposed $180MM soft ceiling are over by a combined $147MM. The bottom 11 teams that are under the proposed $100MM floor are under by a combined $288MM. So, hey, MLB only needs like a 200 percent luxury tax rate to cover the gap.

Edit: Also, while doing this, I reminded myself that Jason Heyward is still under contract until after the 2023 season and has a full no-trade clause. I would have had a more productive and less frustrating use of my time tonight by smashing my testicles with a sledgehammer than looking at those numbers and reminding myself that Heyward is owed another $44 million over the next two years. God damn. I mean, Theo Epstein is a lock for the Hall of Fame for ending both the Curse of the Bambino and the Curse of the Goat, but that's an unforgivable contract, even taking into account Heyward's Gold Glove-level defense (which is starting to fade as his knees get creaky).

 

[1001001]

My man Shohei is on his way to a home run title and AL MVP.

Yesterday's game was a thing of beauty: 8IP, 1 earned run, and his 40th home run.

I sure wish the team was better though....

 

[Jedi_Master]

I know some of you may not understand, but I have done something I have never thought I would ever do... switch teams.

I am introducing my kids to baseball, and I thought of all the practical challenges to helping them fall in love with a team thousands of miles away from where I live, a team that rotates players in and out, that has no clear vision for its future, that is content to be mildly competitive but never actually try to win in the playoffs, that has been just like this for so long.... I'm over it. I just can't keep up, not after all the losses I have personally endured over the past two years, I want to be able to open the baseball news app and have a smile on my face, and I want to be able to take my kids to the ball park and have them cheer for the home team more than once a year.

So, I have switched to being a fan of the Tampa Bay Rays. Small market, small budget team, a not so great stadium, but they know how to win, and even if they don't they are close enough I can help my kids fall in love with baseball in person. It also helps that their grandparents and my siblings are all Rays fans, so it can be a family thing.

I will always have a love for the A's, but I'm done. I want sports to be fun, not yet another disappointment.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

I know some of you may not understand, but I have done something I have never thought I would ever do... switch teams.

I am introducing my kids to baseball, and I thought of all the practical challenges to helping them fall in love with a team thousands of miles away from where I live, a team that rotates players in and out, that has no clear vision for its future, that is content to be mildly competitive but never actually try to win in the playoffs, that has been just like this for so long.... I'm over it. I just can't keep up, not after all the losses I have personally endured over the past two years, I want to be able to open the baseball news app and have a smile on my face, and I want to be able to take my kids to the ball park and have them cheer for the home team more than once a year.

So, I have switched to being a fan of the Tampa Bay Rays. Small market, small budget team, a not so great stadium, but they know how to win, and even if they don't they are close enough I can help my kids fall in love with baseball in person. It also helps that their grandparents and my siblings are all Rays fans, so it can be a family thing.

I will always have a love for the A's, but I'm done. I want sports to be fun, not yet another disappointment.

For the full baseball experience, any minor league teams near you?

Also, no matter your team, they'll eventually disappoint you. It's how sports work.

 

[Jedi_Master]

For the full baseball experience, any minor league teams near you?

Also, not matter your team, they'll eventually disappoint you. It's how sports work.

Oh yes, a very nice little team called the Tortugas play less than 15 mins. away.
Next season hopefully my kids will be vaccinated and we can get season tickets. Minor league baseball is the BEST, so much fun.

I agree on your second point, I am also a Miami Dolphins fan, a Tampa Bay Lightning fan, a Leicester City fan, an Orlando City fan, and a Chicago Bulls fan. I've felt the ups and downs, but all of those teams have had some success or at least keep trying to be a success. The A's just don't have what it takes, from the ownership on down. They are content to be just slightly better than mediocre, and I've had enough.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

Oh yes, a very nice little team called the Tortugas play less than 15 mins. away.
Next season hopefully my kids will be vaccinated and we can get season tickets. Minor league baseball is the BEST, so much fun.

I agree on your second point, I am also a Miami Dolphins fan, a Tampa Bay Lightning fan, a Leicester City fan, an Orlando City fan, and a Chicago Bulls fan. I've felt the ups and downs, but all of those teams have had some success or at least keep trying to be a success. The A's just don't have what it takes, from the ownership on down. They are content to be just slightly better than mediocre, and I've had enough.

I agree the A's can do decent almost every year, then fade either near the end of the regular season, or in the playoffs when they get that far.

My Cubs will be a literal shitshow for a couple years at least, but I have no plans to become a White Schlox fan.

 

[Jedi_Master]

I agree the A's can do decent almost every year, then fade either near the end of the regular season, or in the playoffs when they get that far.

My Cubs will be a literal shitshow for a couple years at least, but I have no plans to become a White Schlox fan.

And I have no plans to become a Yankees or Dodgers fan
I am not looking for a perpetual bully/winner, just for an organization that I can get my kids to fall in love with, has a geographical connection so I can see them play, and has the desire and ability to win it all from time to time.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

@Timby I was having a discussion on MLB chat about the luxury tax the other day. (FYI, I think they should either increase the penalties or go with a hard cap and floor, but that's another argument )

What I couldn't find was, do bonuses count towards the tax? Also, what about "buried" salary?

Obv there must be contractual limits on how much a team can put into a bonus vs yearly salary, which would lead me to think bonuses do not count vs the tax. But then I saw indications that some of a bonus might count.

 

[Jedi_Master]

Does Bobby Bonilla Day count against the cap under this proposal? I would hate to lose the fun of Bobby Bonilla Day.

 

[BillJ]

I know some of you may not understand, but I have done something I have never thought I would ever do... switch teams.

I have been struggling with this on the NFL side.

 

[Jedi_Master]

I have been struggling with this on the NFL side.

Me too. I have almost given up on the Dolphins a bunch of times. If I didn't hate Brady so very much, I would have switched to the Bucs last season for similar reasons as the Rays - proximity, family support, occasionally win a Super Bowl, organization commitment to excellence, etc.

 

[BillJ]

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[Worf factor9]

I have been struggling with this on the NFL side.

As the old saying goes, "The NFL is a bunch of Capitalists with a socialist revenue Stream."

 

[Timby]

@Timby I was having a discussion on MLB chat about the luxury tax the other day. (FYI, I think they should either increase the penalties or go with a hard cap and floor, but that's another argument )

What I couldn't find was, do bonuses count towards the tax? Also, what about "buried" salary?

Obv there must be contractual limits on how much a team can put into a bonus vs yearly salary, which would lead me to think bonuses do not count vs the tax. But then I saw indications that some of a bonus might count.

Team contributions like covering players' health insurance does count against the tax number.

Also, you'll never get my agreement on a hard salary cap. Caps are nothing more than artificial limitations upon labor's earnings, and essentially act as a tool by owners to have labor save them (ownership) from themselves and their own profligate spending.

 

[BillJ]

As the old saying goes, "The NFL is a bunch of Capitalists with a socialist revenue Stream."

Revenue streams are generally the same as MLB (tickets, TV, merchandising), it is how they share it that is socialist. Which allows a city like Green Bay to have a team that is regularly competitive.

Though I don't know what the revenue stream has to do with my changing team loyalties?

 

[BillJ]

Team contributions like covering players' health insurance does count against the tax number.

Also, you'll never get my agreement on a hard salary cap. Caps are nothing more than artificial limitations upon labor's earnings, and essentially act as a tool by owners to have labor save them (ownership) from themselves and their own profligate spending.

You already have a cap because players get "X" amount of revenue per year.

 

[BillJ]

Topps to no longer make baseball trading cards starting in 2026.

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/...t-ending-a-70-year-run-with-topps-per-report/

 

[Worf factor9]

Revenue streams are generally the same as MLB (tickets, TV, merchandising), it is how they share it that is socialist. Which allows a city like Green Bay to have a team that is regularly competitive.

Indeed. Except for those private MLB deals such as the Spankee Yes Network or Dodger Dog Deals.

 

[BillJ]

Indeed. Except for those private MLB deals such as the Spankee Yes Network or Dodger Dog Deals.

That is my point. The NFL, though it is slowly changing, shares all its revenue. So a team like Green Bay can field a team with a comparable payroll to the New York Giants. Part of the reason is the way TV rights are done. Baseball is more dependent on local media deals which aren't shared, while the NFL relies more on the national TV deals that are shared equally.

So the Yankees can go balls to the wall with their $300 million dollar a year YES money, while the Royals collect about $50 million a year locally.

Also, the new deal was earlier believed to be somewhere near an average of $48-52 million per year -- that figure is not yet confirmed, but it would fall in line with the Royals’ market size and comparable deals with comparable markets around baseball.

https://www.mlb.com/news/royals-have-new-tv-deal

Revenue sharing is at the heart of the differences in the way NFL and MLB do business.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Topps to no longer make baseball trading cards starting in 2026.

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/...t-ending-a-70-year-run-with-topps-per-report/

Damn, end of an era.

That said, I didn't realize they were still making them. I haven't bought baseball cards in years and years...