By Tim Clark / / Column, Tim's Two Cents
Two

I am so happy I am almost giddy.

Fans of the Pirates, Rays, Brewers, Royals, Indians, and more should be rejoicing. No, not because the players association made their initial offer towards a new collective bargaining agreement —a ridiculous offer at that— but because the owners won’t even consider that offer.

Why?

Big market and small market owners, alike, realize the time has come for a salary cap system.

It is so long overdue, I didn’t think I would ever see it. There have been overtures in the past, but even the small market owners went silent when push came to shove. Part of the problem is people don’t seem to understand how a cap would work in baseball.

There is also the notion that a salary cap is a bailout for cheapskate owners like Bob Nutting.

Wrong.

With a cap comes a floor. Owners will be forced to spend to a certain amount. Owners like Nutting will spend far more than ever before.

 The most promising thing coming out of the initial volleys back and forth between owners and players is the fact that big market owners in cities like LA and New York are willing to share TV revenue. With one caveat, that is. They will be willing to share TV revenue only if there is a salary cap system. That way the shared revenue will have to be spent on teams’ rosters and not put in the pocket of the owner.

Oh, so sorry Mr. Nutting.

That is the game changer this time around. The big market teams realize competitive balance will improve the game. They understand that teams like the Pirates and Brewers have no chance to get a TV deal as lucrative as teams in LA and New York. They also are well aware that certain owners would simply pocket that shared revenue rather than spend on their team. Thus, the desire for a salary cap system with revenue sharing.

It has been a long road to get to this point, but it sure looks like we are finally there.

The players want nothing to do with a salary cap. They lack the understanding of how this type of system works. Players like Bryce Harper are convinced they won’t have the ability to make as much money.

Wrong.

Not only will the stars still make their big money, but the next several levels of players will make more money. The only difference is that every big money player won’t reside in LA, LA, LA, New York, Boston, or Philly. Other teams will be able to pay players bigger salaries. The talent will be distributed more evenly around the league.

Look at the NFL and you will see Myles Garrett in Cleveland, TJ Watt in Pittsburgh, Micah Parsons in Green Bay, and Aidan Hutchinson in Detroit getting paid beaucoup bucks. And they aren’t even quarterbacks.

The money will still flow, just in many different directions. More players will be able to grab more of it. Nobody is going to “get screwed”, Bryce.

Meanwhile, teams that are owned, operated, and managed well will succeed. That may very well still be the Dodger and Yankees. But think what Tampa Bay and Milwaukee —two teams traditionally owned and managed well— could do if the playing field was level. The Pirates could afford to keep players like Paul Skenes. If your team is run poorly then the even playing field won’t help, and that’s the way it should be.

Imagine 20 teams rather than 5 going into a season with World Series aspirations. How grand. After all, sports are supposed to be for the fans. Why not give more fans a reason to cheer rather than jeer?

Many have been calling for a salary cap, myself included, for quite some time. It appears that one side has come to the realization that this is the best thing for baseball. All the other sports realized it long ago. The players won’t have a choice if this goes as it should. They will either have to accept a salary cap or face a lockout, potentially a long lockout. We will see if they have the stomach to interrupt their careers to prove a point.

I am as happy as a switch hitting clam that owners have finally realized what is best for baseball. Revenue sharing just caps it all off.

Tweet of the Week

Youth sports and the parents that ruin them personified in this funny tweet.

 


The Weekly Shiny Penny

Jomboy does fantastic work breaking down plays, reading lips, and making baseballs fun. This video of a Donny Kelly ejection from last week borders on the Zapruder film and is fantastic.

 

A Penny For My Final Thoughts…

This week’s final thoughts are dealing with the College Baseball World Series.

  • This event makes me realize why I love college sports.
  • The play can be sloppy at times, but the energy and excitement the players display is infectious.
  • College umpiring is very inconsistent.
  • There are too many ways managers can delay their careers game. Games are long to begin with minus these unnecessary delays.
  • There is far more strategy and coaching in these college games compared to MLB.
  • The aluminum bats certainly create some interesting high chop base hits.
  • UCLA was ranked number one all year —literally— but got ousted from the regional by losing twice to 4 seed St. Mary’s, who then lost the regional to Cal-Poly. UCLA played with fire for a month and it finally caught up with them.
  • The second seed in the tournament, Georgia Tech, was also dismissed from its regional.
  • SEC baseball teams are really hard to like. You know, much like every other sport.
  • Troy vs Arkansas Little Rock next weekend for a trip to Omaha. Now that is fun!
  • USC is going to a Super Regional for the first time since 2005. Andy Stankiewicz has really turned this program around in short order. A fun team whose offense came alive in College Station. Fight on!
  • Still not sure the college baseball tournament is fun. I will end by showing you the scene in Morgantown Sunday night.

 

A ninth inning go ahead home run to send the Mountaineers to the Super Regionals. Fantastic scene.

Then this last night after the clinch.

 

Kudos college baseball and West Virginia.

Just my two cents…