MLB: Salaries And The Yankees: When Will They End?

In the last couple of weeks, I have been wondering how anyone will be able to afford going to a baseball game, or if anyone will want to go anymore. With the Alex Rodriguez sweepstakes going on between several teams, Rodriguez seems to be the only winner. He will be the one making 200 million dollars, did I just write 200 MILLION DOLLARS???

This is ridiculous.

How can anyone even spend this much? Is he trying to set up his great, great, great grandkids so they will never have to work again? It was nice to see the New York Mets get out of the running with his absurd demands for an office, private jet, and whatever else his little heart desired.

And don't tell me that his agent was the only one asking for this. Who hires the agent and why? A-Rod hired his agent to get as much as he can.

Then there is the ever present George Steinbrenner ruining baseball as we know it. He is playing on a surface so tilted that only he can balance on it. I am still waiting for the New York Yankees to go after Randy Johnson, Greg Maddux, and Pedro Martinez just to make sure they win the World Series again. How can the other teams compete?

They simply cannot. Other teams do not have the sources of revenue that the Yankees have. With only 16 players signed, the payroll of the Yankees is $80.4 million. George would probably go after A-Rod if he did not have a better shortstop in Derek Jeter.

As a baseball fan, this Yankee thing is way out of hand. Just give them the World Series every year until the rules change.

How can salaries go down and the teams play on a more level surface?

There is only one way -- a salary cap. Many people say we need revenue sharing. I do not think this will ever work. First of all, the salaries need to go down to make baseball more affordable for the average fan. Sharing revenues will not bring salaries down, just escalate them for every team. The Yankees will still spend more than anyone and get who they want. The fans will end up paying more for advertiser's products, concessions, and tickets. If we put a cap on spending, hopefully, the fans can count on only marginal price increases to attend a major league game. The highest bidder will no longer get all the players needed to win a championship. There will have to be more creativity with salary cap restrictions, and penalties will be doled out for those exceeding the cap in future years.

This has worked great in the NFL where you saw the haves (49ers, Cowboys) needing to rebuild after playing with the cap that helped them in the short term, but leaves them struggling in the long term. I look forward to the day when the Yankees are struggling again.

To be fair, the Yankees are a class organization with top notch people running the team. They make very good decisions and are playing within the rules. The team has alot to offer free agents and has proven that playing for them gives one a good chance to go to the World Series. Everything I have heard and read about Alex Rodrizuez tells me he is a good guy. A friend of mine who knows him personally says he is very friendly and personable.

Certainly, he is one of the best baseball players in the game today. I really enjoy watching him play. But, having said all this, how can anyone ask for that kind of money just because he can get it? Please, A-Rod, think of the real baseball fan who only makes $35,000 a year and wants to take his family to a game.

Also, MLB teams, don't give in to his demands and stand your ground. If you pay him, then you have to raise prices somewhere which will affect the fans.

Baseball was my number one sport over the past several years. But with the high salaries and unbalanced playing surfaces making the game hard to watch, the NFL has been my sport of choice. I still enjoy going to Wrigley Field or Fenway Park, but it is more to just get away and take in the atmosphere. I find it hard to watch the millionaires many times over playing a game that the Yankees will win anyway. Unless a strict salary cap is adhered to, real baseball fans will go elsewhere for their entertainment, while only the rich will be able to attend the games, thus killing baseball.