Two of MLB’s smallest spenders will meet in the World Series
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NEW YORK (AP) -- When the Milwaukee defeated the mighty, monied Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday night, they set up the first World Series between two of baseball’s smallest spenders in 35 years -- just as team owners are arguing that clubs like the Brewers need a salary cap to compete consistently.
Milwaukee will face Cleveland or Tampa Bay in a best-of-seven series for the title beginning Oct. 23, ensuring two clubs in the bottom half of big league payrolls will play in the World Series for the first time since 1991. The Dodgers, New York Mets and New York Yankees will watch from home with payrolls this season that each cost more than the Brewers’, Guardians’ and Rays’ rosters combined.
The low-budget World Series showdown will start six weeks before a likely management lockout, a work stoppage that threatens the 2027 season as owners and players battle over the sport’s lack of a salary cap.
Speaking at the All-Star Game in July, baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred made his case for a cap while saying exceptions did not reflect parity.
“Our view of the world is that over a very long period of time there’s a very strong relationship between who gets into the playoffs and who proceeds, notwithstanding the exceptions we’ve got,” he said.
Milwaukee, which won the NL pennant with a four-game sweep of the Dodgers, had MLB’s 19th-highest payroll as of Aug. 31, while Tampa Bay was 25th and Cleveland 30th. The last time both pennant winners were among the bottom 50% in player spending was when Minnesota (15th among 26 teams) beat Atlanta (19th) for the 1991 championship.
In terms of market size, Milwaukee ranks as MLB’s 30th and smallest Designated Market Area, defined by Nielsen as non-overlapping geographic regions that group counties based on television viewing areas. Cleveland is 22nd and Tampa Bay 15th.
If the Guardians win the AL pennant, this would mark the first World Series involving two teams in the bottom half of MLB cities by DMA since St. Louis (24th) beat Detroit (18th) in 2006. No small-market team has won the World Series since Kansas City in 2015.
Three years after the Twins won that 1991 title, players went on strike as owners pushed for a salary cap, leading to the cancellation of the World Series. No such cap was added, and owners hadn’t proposed one again until this summer.
Since the 1991 Twins, the only World Series winners with bottom-half payrolls have been the 2002 Anaheim Angels, 2003 Florida Marlins and 2017 Houston Astros.
“It’s how the game is played in the moment dictates winning outcomes,” agent Scott Boras said Friday. “There’s no question that the probabilities of winning, success, are increased with greater talent, but we all know that talent has many variables as to how it performs at times.”
MLB owners have proposed a salary cap with a floor, a system players say they will never accept. A lockout is likely to start Dec. 2.
Opening-day payrolls were topped by the Mets ($358.4 million), Dodgers ($323.3 million) and Yankees ($302.8 million). The Brewers were at $125.9 million, the Rays $90.5 million and the Guardians $75.5 million.
Bauers named MVP
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Jake Bauers went home to Southern California and walked away with an MVP trophy.
Bauers hit a two-run double in the fourth inning Thursday to begin Milwaukee’s comeback, and the Brewers rallied for a 6-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers that completed a four-game sweep in the National League Championship Series.
The 31-year-old first baseman also drew a walk that forced home the tying run in the fifth to help Milwaukee advance to the World Series for the first time in 44 years.
“There was never a doubt,” Bauers said. “There was never a doubt in that dugout what was going to happen tonight. We knew we were going to win that game.”
Bauers was selected the NLCS MVP after going 4 for 14 (.286) with a home run and six RBIs in the series. He worked three walks and finished with a .983 OPS.
Bauers was born in Newport Beach and went to Marina High School in Huntington Beach about 40 miles south of Dodger Stadium.
Earning consistent playing time from Brewers manager Pat Murphy in his seventh major league season, Bauers set career highs across the board with a .266 batting average, .874 OPS, 26 home runs and 86 RBIs.
The left-handed-hitting Bauers also made his mark in Games 2 and 3 of the NLCS with long plate appearances. His 12-pitch walk against Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Game 2 came just before a two-run single by Christian Yelich that gave Milwaukee the lead in a back-and-forth 7-4 win.
Bauers also hit a go-ahead homer off two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell to end an 11-pitch at-bat in a 6-2 victory in Game 3 at Los Angeles.
“Just trying to be ready for the moment, man,” Bauers said. “Murph has been talking about it all year. You have to meet the game halfway and be ready, and whatever happens after that is whatever happens.”
Shohei Ohtani’s early home run helped put the Dodgers ahead 4-0 on Thursday, but Garrett Mitchell hit a go-ahead homer for the Brewers in the sixth inning. David Hamilton added a solo shot in the ninth.
Milwaukee’s bullpen shut down multiple late threats. Aaron Ashby pitched three scoreless innings for a save.
“They may have a bunch of Hall of Famers, but we've got a bunch of gamers -- and the gamers won this week," Murphy said.