Extended Musings on Whether MLB Needs a Salary Cap

In 1995 the New York Yankees payroll was $58 million….. Maury Brown’s piece “Reasons for Not Having a Salary Cap in MLB are Numerous” delved into the complicated issue of the mighty salary cap. Which, after a Yankee 27th World Series, has somehow become an all-knowing, all-powerful and omnipotent force. I can’t help but agree with Brown’s assertion that the problem is well diagnosed, but solutions have been virtually non-existent. Brown’s solution is to implement a cap floor and a dollar-for-dollar revenue-sharing. Both viable suggestions, but neither is without flaw. The cap floor, in theory, would force franchises like the Florida Marlins or Pittsburgh Pirates to spend luxury tax dollars on players rather than on, well, yachts. But, as Pete Toms outlined in his piece “Does the NFL Salary Cap Still Work?” there are ways around salary cap floors. Toms cites a Wall Street Journal article by Reed Albergotti, which uses the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an example. According to Albergotti,...