LilKitKat
YerFavoriteAddiction
- Joined
- Nov 18, 2024
- Posts
- 8,130
Ok Ill try to rephrase/elaborate:Um, what???
No “offense”, but your “defense” of MLB’s salary "rules" and the Dodger’s (and Yankees, etc) exploitation (violation?) of said "rules" is a bit whacked.
If you want to get into the weeds about the changes to salary cap rules, player trades, and free agency rules over the years in the various major sports leagues (and even college sports, with transfers, etc), and how certain big market teams (and some big name players) exploited / evaded said rules, you will have to make that journey alone. I lived through it and have had faaaaar too many debates about it.
I WOULD say the NFL currently has it just about right with their salary & free agency rules (and the draft)! as far as competitive balance is concerned - and the results bear that out.
Every team owner has the ability to spend as much as they want and/or can. There is nothing stopping the smaller market teams from spending money. They can make better offers to players. They dont. They pocket the money.
Dont get me wrong, I also know the "bigger name" players would likely prefer to be in a bigger market because of outsiode sponsorships and commercials and whatever. And dont get me wrong, I know some citiers/teams make way more money than others. The Dodgers supposedly earned the entirety of Shohei's 700m contract in his first season. Insane.
Anyway, this is also true with basketball and there is a cap. The perennial good teams are active and spend money, hire better coaches, and so on. When is the last time these teams were top 4 teams: The Kings. Pelicans. Hornets. Hawks. Blazers. Jazz. Wizards...they rarely are. Because they dont spend, they dont draft well usually, they dont hire good coaches, they are cheap owners in general. But yes, certain orgs are just more attractive based on history or outside opportunities or the culture of the city or whatever. I get that in general a player might prefer to be on the Lakers or Mavs or Sixers vs the Wizards or Jazz etc. But go out and spend and change history if you are invested. Look what Ballmer has done with the Clippers vs Donald Sterling. Make legit decent moves and try to win. The Thunder figured it out and that not a "desirable" place as compared to NY or Miami or LA.
But I also said that until two years ago, when the Dodgers had their run in 2017, 18 and 2020, they had a lot of homegrown players...they didnt go out and acquire big players by spending money per se...or not as much. They usually went and acquired one big pitcher. But Kershaw was homegrown, Walker Buehler was homegrown. Kenley Jansen was. Seager was homegrown. Bellinger was homegrown. And they have a terrific farm system so they trade lots of up and comers for bigger name players. They arent just acquiring free agents all over. And when they are, it goes to my first point...you want Ohtani or Blake Snell or someone? Make an offer. Toronto, San Diego etc were in the running for Ohtani, or Yamamoto. Corbin Burnes was a Brewer, then an Oriole and then chose the DBacks. Skubal is a Tiger. Skenes is a Pirate (for now). Pay to keep them. Or dont.
