The Big Lead

Former Yankees, Dodgers pitcher has perfect response to MLB salary cap advocates

By J.P. Hoornstra

Sep 17, 2014; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Brandon McCarthy (38) throws a pitch against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field.
Sep 17, 2014; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Brandon McCarthy (38) throws a pitch against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. / Kim Klement-Imagn Images
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The Kansas City Chiefs' fifth Super Bowl appearance in the last six years, and their second against the Philadelphia Eagles, prompted one retired MLB player Sunday to reflect on the efficacy of a salary cap — whose advocates believe it will create more parity in MLB.

Brandon McCarthy wrote on his Twitter/X account Sunday: "Personally, I'm getting sick of baseball's financial structure. Give us a salary cap so we can have parity like the NFL!"

The post had more than 2,000 likes within three hours of its posting.

MASN's Mark Zuckerman highlighted the difference between Super Bowl and World Series participation in the last 11 years:

More teams have reached — and won — baseball's championship in recent years despite no hard cap on player payrolls. Meanwhile, the Chiefs have managed to dominate the AFC in spite of the salary cap, much as the New England Patriots did in making nine Super Bowl appearances over an 18-year span (2002-19).

The lack of a cap in baseball is nothing new. So why the uproar now? The Dodgers have outspent every other MLB team by a wide margin for the second consecutive offseason. A year ago, they committed more than $1.2 billion in future salary. This year, they have reportedly pushed their player payroll into the $375 million range. That's $70 million more than the second-largest payroll in baseball (the Phillies') and five times as much as the 30th-ranked Miami Marlins.

Those are eye-popping numbers, to be sure. But consider that in 2005, the New York Yankees' Opening Day payroll of $208.3 million was seven times that of the Tampa Bay Rays' $29.7 million. Disparity in MLB payrolls is an inevitable byproduct of uncapped player salaries. And the gap between the haves and have-nots has been more disparate than it is today.

The nature of the two sports is simply so different, that almost any team has a chance to win the World Series as long as it gets into the postseason field. In football, even the hardest of hard caps can't bring down a generational quarterback, as Patrick Mahomes is here to remind us again in 2025.

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