Share the wealth

A salary cap is a maximum dollar amount a team can spend on players' contracts. It is necessary to maintain a competitive balance in a sports league.

The NBA, NHL and NFL all have forms of salary caps, but major league baseball does not. In baseball, teams get their money in a few ways.

1: A rich owner takes the money out of his own pocket. 2. They get revenue from a local television station.

The larger baseball cities such as New York, Boston, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Arizona have rich local television deals. They also have the richest owners.

Smaller baseball cities like Minnesota, Tampa Bay, Kansas City, Milwaukee, and Montreal don't have big contracts with their local television stations, which means they have less money and can't afford to keep their top players or sign top talent. Baseball has never had a salary cap because it has never had as big of a problem as it has had recently.

In 1996, the New York Yankees had the highest payroll at $61.5 million. In 1999, the Yankees payroll rose to $88 million, the highest again.

In 2001, the Yankees were at the top again with a payroll about $110 million, and in 2002 their payroll will be up around $150 million.

It's ridiculous when team payrolls, like those of the Twins, Athletics, Expos, Marlins, Royals, and Padres, don't even surpass the $40 million mark. This past year in baseball, the difference between the higher salary teams and the lower salary teams was big.

Six out of the eight teams that made the playoffs in 2001 were in the top 50 percent of the major league baseball payroll (the large market teams).

The Yankees (first in salary), Indians (fifth), Braves (sixth), Diamondbacks (eighth), Cardinals (ninth), and Mariners (11th).

The only small market teams to make it to the playoffs in 2001 were the Astros (17th) and Athletics (29th).

Shortly after the season, the Athletics lost their top player Jason Giambi to free agency, when he couldn't fit into their financial plan. He signed with the New York Yankees. In 2001, there were 14 teams with losing records. Ten of those teams were in the lower 50 percent of salary (the small market teams), while only four of the teams were in the top 50 percent. Baseball's competitive imbalance is much worse than it has been in the past.

The last true small market team to win the World Series was the Twins in 1991.

Baseball tried enforcing a luxury tax where the top 15 teams in total revenues support the bottom 15, but, the small market owners say it isn't enough to compete, especially with their poor attendance. "America's Game" isn't fair, and it won't be until baseball has restricts the spending of each baseball club.

Right now, it isn't about who brings up the best talent in the minor leagues. It's about who has the most money to spend.