{"id":10743,"date":"2026-05-29T21:35:18","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T21:35:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=10743"},"modified":"2026-05-29T21:35:18","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T21:35:18","slug":"alexander-enjoy-major-league-baseball-while-you-can","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=10743","title":{"rendered":"Alexander: Enjoy Major League Baseball while you can"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The world according to Jim:<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 Major League Baseball\u2019s owners have launched their (latest) campaign to install a salary cap, and so now it\u2019s official: The Dodgers are the sport\u2019s villains. \u2026<\/p>\n

Read more Former Southern California mayor pleads guilty to secretly acting as agent of Chinese government<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2022 Some of the graphics produced by management at the outset of negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement \u2013 and helpfully posted on social media by ESPN\u2019s Alden Gonz\u00e1lez \u2013 attempt to portray \u201cpayroll disparity.\u201d They note that the champs\u2019 2025 payroll commitment, listed as $515 million with the competitive balance tax (i.e., luxury tax) included, was more than the payrolls of six teams combined: Cleveland ($104 million), the White Sox ($88 million), Pittsburgh ($87 million), the West Sacramento A\u2019s ($81 million), Tampa Bay ($81 million) and Miami ($69 million).<\/p>\n

Conveniently omitted: The luxury tax money the Dodgers paid \u2013 $169 million, in itself more than the payrolls of 16 teams combined according to another of the charts \u2013 is distributed to the supposed have-nots. How many of those teams use that luxury tax windfall, or revenue-sharing money, on their own payrolls? The obvious answer: Not nearly enough. \u2026<\/p>\n

\u2022 Maybe the figure that should be highlighted is this: The MLB proposal calls for a $245.3 million salary cap and also a $171.2 million salary floor. (And keep in mind that those figures include player benefits.) Twelve teams didn\u2019t reach $171.2 million in 2025, according to Spotrac, and 12 teams are short of that figure this season as the calendar turns to June.<\/p>\n

So, under the current system, who\u2019s really making an all-out effort to win? Silly question. \u2026<\/p>\n

\u2022 Keep this in mind, as well: The Lords of Baseball appear to be pushing a salary cap less because of any so-called \u201cpayroll disparity\u201d and more because of lagging franchise valuations. The perception is that teams in salary cap sports are worth more, and consequently sell for more, than those in baseball.<\/p>\n

In other words, billionaires being jealous of other billionaires. Yep, that\u2019s a good reason to provoke a work stoppage. \u2026<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u2022 Worth noting, while we\u2019re on the subject: Arte Moreno was prepared to sell the Angels a couple of years ago but pulled back, presumably because the offers weren\u2019t to his liking. The Angels\u2019 major league payroll last year according to Spotrac was $221.3 million, 13th in the sport. This year it\u2019s $194.8 million, 17th.<\/p>\n

So while it\u2019s easy to chant \u201cSell the team,\u201d it\u2019s harder to do. \u2026<\/p>\n

\u2022 The owners insisting on a salary cap must reckon with this, as well: Players come and players go, but the MLBPA\u2019s institutional memory remains strong. Today\u2019s players are reminded of the labor battles their predecessors went through, and the resistance to any sort of salary limit is just as unyielding.<\/p>\n

In other words, don\u2019t make plans to buy 2027 tickets just yet.\u00a0 \u2026<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u2022 Those who are waiting for that column with reader responses to the question, \u201cWhat would I do if I were sports\u2019 Commissioner of Everything?\u201d It\u2019s coming, in the second week of June.<\/p>\n

Believe me, there were plenty of responses. And if you haven\u2019t weighed in yet, there\u2019s still time. \u2026<\/p>\n

Read more Ex-Arcadia mayor pleads guilty to working as agent of China<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2022 Here\u2019s one additional gripe that I didn\u2019t think of at the time: Teams that have giveaway nights but limit them to the \u201cfirst 25,000\u201d or \u201cfirst 40,000\u201d who show up. How difficult is it \u2013 especially when many of these giveaway items are co-sponsored \u2013 to assure that everybody who shows up gets one? \u2026<\/p>\n

\u2022 This is strange. The Dodgers promoted a seven-part series looking back at the 2025 drive to their second straight championship on their YouTube channel, but the episodes were only up for a few hours Thursday and then were taken down, along with the promotional material on the team\u2019s social media accounts. \u2026<\/p>\n

\u2022 It resonated the other night during the Oklahoma City-San Antonio series when NBC\u2019s Reggie Miller described a pass to Victor Wembanyama for a basket as \u201cleaving it for the Big Fella.\u201d That phrase has a long, storied history in the NBA, and it\u2019s appropriate that Wemby inherits it \u2013 especially since he resembles a modern version of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar every time I watch him play. \u2026<\/p>\n

\u2022 The only difference: Kareem\u2019s career 3-point shooting was 1 for 18 in the regular season and 0 for 4 in the playoffs.\u00a0 Wembanyama is 27 for 76 beyond the arc in this series alone. Then again, if Kareem were playing in this era, he\u2019d likely be shooting 3-pointers as well.<\/p>\n

\u2022 This week\u2019s quiz: When did Kareem make that lonely 3-pointer? Answer below \u2026<\/p>\n

\u2022 Was the move of USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington to the Big Ten better for those schools or that conference? Consider that Big Ten schools have won 12 national championships so far this school year, five from the legacy Pac-12 schools: UCLA men\u2019s water polo, women\u2019s basketball and beach volleyball, USC women\u2019s water polo and Washington men\u2019s soccer. And there\u2019s the possibility of more in baseball and softball. \u2026<\/p>\n

\u2022 But I still miss the old Pac-12. That\u2019ll never change. \u2026<\/p>\n

\u2022 Meanwhile, college baseball continues to tilt toward the Southeast, and I\u2019m not absolutely convinced it\u2019s on merit. Seven of the top eight seeds are from the SEC, 12 of the 16 regionals are in that part of the country, and the one non-power conference school winning the right to host a regional was Southern Mississippi. Successful skewing of schedules, or further disrespect toward West Coast baseball? You judge. \u2026<\/p>\n

\u2022 Can we start a campaign to make the Dodgers\u2019 new blue jerseys \u2013 the ones with Los Angeles on the chest \u2013 their actual City Connect uniforms? They are as classy as the Funfetti uniforms (the current City Connects) are tacky. \u2026<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0 Quiz answer: Kareem\u2019s only career 3-point basket came Feb. 24, 1987, in a 97-93 victory at Phoenix. Michael Cooper missed a jumper from the free-throw line. Kareem chased it down in the corner, did a bit of a tightrope act to stay inbounds, then turned around and drained it with near-perfect form.<\/p>\n

And, as Chick Hearn noted moments later: \u201cThat\u2019s all you\u2019ll hear tonight on the bus and the plane going back to L.A.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Capistrano Valley High\u2019s new stadium to host 2026 graduation, future games<\/a><\/p>\n

jalexander@scng.com<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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