2026 MLB

[Jarlaxle]

MLB has always had to consider the possible anti-trust ramifications of a hard cap.

No matter what your chosen career is, you have an unrestricted right to go to any employer in the country and negotiate your best deal.

But baseball players historically never had that right. Because of the "reserve clause" in all player contracts, the team that held your contract basically owned you. Unless they voluntarily granted you free agency, you could not even approach any other major league team about a tryout.

This was a grotesque, illegal monopolistic practice that the Courts pointedly ignored because they were staffed by baseball fans who didn't want to **** things up. But those days are gone now.

MLB has, since the end of the reserve clause, done as much as they thought they could get away with to limit what the players could do. A "hard" salary cap would bring about not only a strike, but the possibility of getting in trouble with the Justice Department for an anti-Trust violation.

So for two unavoidable reasons, a hard salary cap will never happen in MLB.

The MLB reserve clause has been gone for half a century. Other professional sports have salary caps, and none have anti-trust exemptions.

MLB needs a hard cap, hard floor, and a complete overhaul of how deferred contracts are done. If the players strike, the owners should announce they will use replacement players the next day.

 

[22lcidw]

MLB has always had to consider the possible anti-trust ramifications of a hard cap.

No matter what your chosen career is, you have an unrestricted right to go to any employer in the country and negotiate your best deal.

But baseball players historically never had that right. Because of the "reserve clause" in all player contracts, the team that held your contract basically owned you. Unless they voluntarily granted you free agency, you could not even approach any other major league team about a tryout.

This was a grotesque, illegal monopolistic practice that the Courts pointedly ignored because they were staffed by baseball fans who didn't want to **** things up. But those days are gone now.

MLB has, since the end of the reserve clause, done as much as they thought they could get away with to limit what the players could do. A "hard" salary cap would bring about not only a strike, but the possibility of getting in trouble with the Justice Department for an anti-Trust violation.

So for two unavoidable reasons, a hard salary cap will never happen in MLB.

The sport basically has the richest teams playing 80% or more of the teams in the playoffs every year. Purchasing a championship is close to a reality. The sport is expensive although it still has its fans. Unfortunately, talking about who was the best players in history has seriously been watered down with the steroid era which was longer than reported even.

 

[lg325]

 

[Winco]

leftwinger
I have made a $48 bet on the over under in the Col/Philly game today.
The 5 inning line was 3.5 runs.

It is difficult to find the odds online for a 5 inning bet, but my local casino offers such bets.

Which way ( Over or under 3.5 ) for the first 5 inning should I have wagered, and what would you have wagered?

Game starts in 20 minutes.