If you are a young fan in Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Kansas City, Tampa Bay or Cleveland what compels you to care about MLB in 2025? To watch the Dodgers, Yankees, Astros, Phillies and Mets outspend the other? Maybe you get lucky and the stars align and your team has a 2-3 year window of contention before the big market teams start picking your core apart and the cycle of misery starts again.
Players and owners both take for granted the real life blood of the sport: the common fan.
Yes the big market teams are needed to draw fans, but salting the earth in the small market is just as shortsighted.
The economic system in baseball needs to be overhauled to help competitive balance. The Dodgers have such an overwhelming advantage over the small markets it’s comical. If that means making the owners spend to a certain level or the players capping future earnings, something has to be done.