The Yankees, seemingly cruising to a second straight victory Thursday that would have made the World Series interesting after three straight Dodgers victories, instead made things interesting in the fifth inning.
RandBall: My favorite play from one of my least favorite World Series
The hustle of Mookie Betts altered the course of the World Series and helped the Dodgers win in five games over the Yankees. But the entire series was a reminder that baseball’s financial structure is a farce.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
October 31, 2024 at 4:56PM
A single and back-to-back errors loaded the bases for Los Angeles. From there, though, starting pitcher Gerrit Cole (2024 salary: $36 million) managed to strike out Gavin Lux and Shohei Ohtani, the latter of whom is earning $70 million this season on a rigged, back-loaded deal even if it only shows up as $2 million officially this season.
At that point, the bases were loaded with two outs, and the Yankees were up 5-0. Mookie Betts ($30 million this year) was at the plate. He hit a routine ground ball to first that was destined to end the inning. But Anthony Rizzo was too casual with it. Cole didn’t cover first. And Betts sprinted out of the box, knowing what was at stake, and improbably won the race to the bag.
It was great hustle and awareness from Betts, the sort of random play that makes baseball wonderful. And of course, Freddie Freeman ($27 million this season) followed with a two-run single. Teoscar Hernandez ($23.5 million) hit a two-run double, and next thing you know, the game was tied.
Betts, who a night earlier had been accosted in right field as two Yankees fans ripped a ball from his glove, got the last laugh when his sacrifice fly in the eighth was the championship-winning run in a 7-6 victory.
There were five compelling games between two star-studded teams.
The entire series was also an extreme reminder that baseball’s financial system is a farce, which unfortunately made it one of my least favorite World Series of all time — something I talked about on Thursday’s Daily Delivery podcast.
Both teams had payrolls above $300 million this season if we (correctly) add $68 million to the Ohtani total, meaning they were among the three biggest-spending teams this year. Every World Series winner since 2018 has had a payroll in baseball’s top 10, and three times it was the biggest spender that won (including this year’s Dodgers if we factor in all their backloaded compensation). The top six spenders this year were all among MLB’s 12 playoff teams.
You can make the postseason without spending big because of the division structure. But you will likely get crushed once you have to play one of the big spenders that thrive on baseball’s inequitable system that has neither a salary cap nor equal revenue distribution for local media rights.
The Dodgers get an average of $334 million PER SEASON from their regional sports network through 2038. The Twins got $54.8 million in 2023, considerably less in 2024 and probably less than that in 2025 as they switch to MLB’s distribution.
The Twins trimmed payroll by $30 million this year and missed the playoffs. You can scream at the Pohlads all you want, at least until they sell the team. But don’t pretend that any of this is fair, even if Rob Manfred wants you to believe it is.
Here are four things to know today:
- La Velle E. Neal III was my guest on Thursday’s podcast. You can watch our segment on the expanded College Football Playoff and how the Gophers can be contenders.
- Every team in the NHL is now valued at more than $1 billion, which means that every team in each of the four major North American men’s pro sports leagues is valued at at least $1 billion. According to CNBC, every NFL team is worth at least $5 billion.
- Seven of the 12 teams in the WNBA are changing coaches, a staggering number.
- Friday’s podcast will feature Chris Hine and Sarah McLellan of the Minnesota Star Tribune talking about the Wolves and Wild.
A 39-yard touchdown pass to Justin Jefferson inside the final four minutes lifted the Vikings to a 27-24 victory over Seattle and their 13th win of the season.
