Why 2025 World Series Should Only Be About Baseball And Not Economics

The 2025 World Series features an intriguing matchup between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays. It’s the second-largest media market in the United States of America featuring a trio of Japanese superstars versus the country of Canada in what could be a ratings bonanza for Major League Baseball. As evident in the data published by Major League Baseball Communications, postseason viewership has been setting new records and year-over-year increases for ESPN, FOX Sports and TNT Sports. In fact, Sportsnet Public Relations in Canada reported that Game Seven of the American League Championship Series averaged 6 million viewers while reaching 11.8 million Canadians making it the most-watched ball game ever broadcast on Sportsnet featuring the Blue Jays. Amid the euphoria heading into the 2025 World Series, now is not the time to express frustrations over economics and ignite debates on disparities in payroll and the merits of a salary cap.

World Series Welcomes Back Toronto Blue Jays

While the Dodgers have been vilified for their aggressive spending on payroll, the Blue Jays have experienced a difficult time finding free agents who would take their money after being rejected by designated hitter/right-handed pitcher Shohei Ohtani and right fielder Juan Soto. It wasn’t until first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. signed a 14-year, $500 million contract extension with full no-trade protection in April 2025 did people realize how serious the Blue Jays are when it comes to building a championship-caliber ball club. Edward Rogers, chairman of the Blue Jays, was asked about a successful return on investment regarding Guerrero Jr.’s contract at the press conference announcing the extension. Rogers said it would be a world championship coming back to Toronto and building a competitive ball club around their 26-year-old first baseman on an annual basis. Guerrero Jr. put his stamp of approval not only on a franchise, but also a country whose residents have suffered from broken hearts courtesy of Major League Baseball after the Montreal Expos relocated to Washington, DC at the conclusion of the 2004 season and a World Series drought for the Blue Jays that lasted 31 seasons after winning back-to-back championships (1992 and 1993).

According to Cot’s Baseball Contracts, the Dodgers’ projected 40-man payroll for Competitive Balance Tax purposes is $415,217,146 whereas the Blue Jays are $278,806,692 which would make them a payor for only the second time in franchise history given how the threshold is $241,000,000 for the 2025 season. The Dodgers could be writing a check to Major League Baseball for the fifth consecutive offseason totaling $167,038,861 based on Cot’s Baseball Contracts estimates which surpasses last year’s penalty payment of $103,016,896, a record expected to be broken this offseason. The Dodgers have paid roughly $350 million in Competitive Balance Taxes since the penalties began in 2003 with an estimated $187.5 million being paid over the past four seasons (2021-2024) based on projected 40-man Competitive Balance Tax payrolls totaling $1.2 billion.

Critics believe another World Series victory by the Dodgers will drive Major League Baseball even closer to a lockout in December 2026 at the expiration of the current collective bargaining agreement. Outcries for a salary cap are growing louder given its perceived effectiveness as a cost containment strategy and honest attempt at leveling the playing field between large and small market franchises. However, a salary cap doesn’t solve the problem of inept ownership and how certain franchises are mismanaging their revenue sharing proceeds. Guggenheim Baseball Management is unapologetic in how they are successfully running the Dodgers as a global enterprise while leaning into the ridiculous narrative of how they are ruining baseball. According to Forbes, the Dodgers enjoyed revenues of $752 million in 2024 with revenue per fan of $119.00 based on an average attendance of 48,657 per ball game.

World Series Shouldn’t Be Ruined By Baseball Economics

Don’t let baseball economics ruin what could be an exciting World Series filled with compelling storylines. If the Dodgers were to win their ninth World Series in franchise history against the Blue Jays, Dave Roberts would become the 11th manager in Major League Baseball who has won at least three World Series titles. Nine have already been enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum with Bruce Bochy’s election inevitable upon retirement after winning four World Series titles with the San Francisco Giants and Texas Rangers. Roberts has yet to surpass 1,000 regular season victories (944) as a major league manager but has won four National League pennants and two World Series titles. Throughout his 10 seasons in Los Angeles, Roberts has developed into one of the finest managers in the game and it seems impossible to think of the Dodgers without him.

Roberts’ predecessor in the Dodgers’ dugout for five seasons (2011-2015) was Don Mattingly, who is the bench coach for the Blue Jays. Mattingly won 446 regular season ball games and led the Dodgers to three National League West division titles and five winning seasons during his tenure. While Mattingly might have become a managerial footnote amid the Dodgers’ success over the past decade, he is a beloved icon of the New York Yankees and universally respected throughout Major League Baseball. In a distinguished career that spans over four decades as a ball player, coach and manager, this is Mattingly’s first appearance in the World Series. Mattingly’s only postseason appearance as a ball player occurred in 1995 when the Yankees lost to the Seattle Mariners in a thrilling five-game American League Division Series which many believe saved baseball in the Pacific Northwest.

A Repeat World Series Champion?

Major League Baseball hasn’t seen a ball club win back-to-back World Series titles since the last dynasty of the New York Yankees in which they won three consecutive championships ending in 2000 and four in five seasons (1996-2000). While the Los Angeles Dodgers have played flawless baseball throughout the postseason courtesy of superior starting pitching, the journey to the World Series for the Toronto Blue Jays has been a perfect combination of tenacity, timely hitting and the emergence of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. as a postseason legend courtesy of his 2025 American League Championship Series Most Valuable Player Award. Let’s not ruin the 2025 World Series with negative commentaries on payroll disparities, salary caps and the potential of a lockout next offseason. Enjoy the magnificence of the moment and suspend reality for a week. Besides, there’s an entire offseason for everyone to criticize the economics of Major League Baseball while questioning the intentions of certain owners when it comes to revenue sharing and roster construction.