- 2 days ago
Baseball is having a Moment and as Brock and Alex point out, this proposed salary cap (and the likely lockout that follows) is going to bring that to a crashing halt.
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00:00Breaking. As expected, MLB proposed a hard salary cap to union officials today as part of the next CBA, sources
00:05tell ESPN.
00:06The salary floor for teams begin in 2027 would be set at $171.2 million.
00:13That's the floor.
00:14Yeah.
00:14And then which includes player benefits with the ceiling at $245.3 million.
00:20No way.
00:20Some color on this. Only six teams will be over that ceiling for next year.
00:24Those six teams are the Dodgers, the Mets, the Padres, the Toronto Blue Jays, the Phillies, and the Yankees.
00:33You mean the only teams that are actually going out and spending money and paying players?
00:37They should be the example of not getting punished for what they're doing.
00:41That's the most ridiculous part of all of this.
00:43Those are the six teams that are actually putting together a great product.
00:48And they're paying the players.
00:50It just brings me back to the standpoint of I'm always going to be on the side of the players'
00:57union, really, for any sport going forward.
01:00But if the Dodgers are on the union side, which they should be, if the Yankees are on the union
01:06side, which they should be,
01:08the Mets are having a disastrous year, but they like to spend –
01:10If some of the best and prominent brands in baseball are dividing between the ownership and now there's a division
01:19there,
01:20then the union, they may be able to win this fight because at least they're a united front.
01:25So we actually got a live caller coming in right now.
01:28We got Walrus from Encino.
01:30Welcome back to the show.
01:32What are your thoughts on the whole situation?
01:35Hey, what's up, Brock?
01:36Alex and Shea.
01:37Belated happy birthday to you, Alex.
01:39Oh, thank you.
01:40You had a great day yesterday.
01:41We did.
01:41Thank you for listening.
01:42It was great what everyone did at the station for you, you know, getting those recorded messages.
01:46That was really special.
01:47Oh, thank you.
01:49Look, I think – I was telling you to Shea on the phone.
01:52Okay.
01:52The players – they sacrificed the World Series, you know, whatever we're talking about here, 32 years ago.
01:58They are not giving in on a salary cap.
02:00No.
02:00It's just simply not going to happen.
02:02So the league needs to figure out, you know, a way to get as close to that as possible.
02:07And I think this is going to be an incredibly punitive luxury tax as well as taking away things like
02:14draft picks, limiting them in terms of their farm system.
02:18That would definitely hurt the Dodgers because that's a big, big, big advantage they have against the rest of the
02:22league.
02:23It's just not going to be a salary cap.
02:25So, yeah, you're going to start off with your strongest position, but this is ultimately not going to go that
02:31way.
02:31At worst, I think they're going to eat into the season, you know, maybe have something like 120 games versus
02:36162.
02:37But there's just absolutely no way all the parties involved can allow another World Series to go by.
02:41That would be an absolute disaster.
02:43You all have a great day.
02:44Thanks, Walrus.
02:45Thank you, Walrus.
02:46Yeah, no, it's like there's absolutely no way that the Dodgers and these six teams that are already over the
02:55salary cap that they are pitching to have.
02:58Well, what's the salary cap number again, Shea, that they're saying the floor and the ceiling?
03:04So the cap is 245.
03:06There's no way.
03:07The Dodgers are at 400 plus million.
03:10That's not happening.
03:11We want to hear from you guys, 855-97-LA-FAN, 855-975-2326.
03:17Shout out to Walrus from Encino for calling in.
03:20He actually, like, he's right on the same page as us.
03:23Like, I don't see how this can happen.
03:26Like, it's just your six best products, like, that are actually investing in the team and in the product and
03:36in the players and spending the money because you can spend the money.
03:39You have billions of dollars.
03:41All these owners do.
03:42And if you don't sell the team, if you are not willing to invest in your product and you're just
03:50sitting back and collecting the loss on your taxes, because that's what a lot of these owning a sports team
03:57is for these billionaires, a tax write-off because you're just reporting a loss.
04:01Sell the team.
04:03Sell the team.
04:03It's unfair in a sense of, say there's a burrito spot down the road and they don't invest in quality
04:12ingredients and a great atmosphere and things that make you want to go to the restaurant.
04:17Eventually, they go out of business and someone else comes in.
04:20Or it becomes a money laundering place.
04:21I have a lot of theories on that because I go by a lot of places.
04:24I'm like, not once have I ever seen a person in here and I know that this rent is in
04:31the 10K plus.
04:32Right.
04:33Like, how?
04:33Money laundering.
04:34That's what it is.
04:35But if this burrito restaurant, just by being on this street, got a guaranteed $1 million every year, they don't
04:43have to invest in anything.
04:45So that's where sports ownership gets tricky.
04:49And I mean, I could put money into my team, but if I'm going to get a guaranteed check at
04:54the end of the year, that's going to pay all the bills and I get to write this off.
04:57Why would I?
04:57No, it's like there's so much negativity around this.
05:01And the biggest one for me is that baseball is on such a high right now.
05:06And it's trending in such a positive direction that we have been trying, all of us that have been involved
05:12in the game and fans of the game and working in the game for decades,
05:15to get to this point.
05:16I mean, for the first time, Major League Baseball's viewership is higher than the NBA viewership, like across all platforms.
05:24Like, we are having a moment.
05:27Baseball is having a moment.
05:29It is, it is trendy.
05:32Again, too, we were just talking about this.
05:33I mean, the last time that baseball was cool was Tan Griffey Jr.
05:37And it's cool again.
05:38And it's because of the faces and the Shohei Otanis and teams like the Dodgers being in the World Series
05:45and winning back-to-back World Series.
05:47Whether you're a Dodger fan or you just are hate-watching the Dodgers, that is good for the league.
05:52It's great for the league.
05:54So many people can watch baseball not even being a fan of it.
05:58It's just on at a bar in the corner and say, oh, that Ronald Okunia guy?
06:01Yeah.
06:02He's cool.
06:02Shohei Otani?
06:03Bryce Harper?
06:04He's cool.
06:04This is rag.
06:05They have finally built up names to superstar status who are famous.
06:12Just yesterday, we were talking about how a Pirates pitcher, Paul Skeens, has a loyal following because he's dating a
06:19superstar.
06:20And people are rooting for the Pirates who have no interest in baseball.
06:24Baseball would not be able to pull that off.
06:27Similar to Taylor Swift and Travis Kelsey.
06:28Exactly.
06:29There's so many Chiefs fans now.
06:30But to the NFL's credit, they've been running the show for a while.
06:35Like, baseball, if the Paul Skeen situation was happening eight years ago, no one would care.
06:41But baseball has got to a point where it's, no, this is a cool thing.
06:45It's hard because, like, baseball is America's pastime and they were stuck in the past.
06:49Yep.
06:49Forever.
06:50But these rule changes that they've finally made over the last, like, five years have absolutely changed the game in
06:57the best way possible.
06:58The pitch clock alone, I think, saved baseball.
07:01Yeah.
07:01Because it made the game pace move.
07:03And that was the biggest downer for baseball.
07:06It's like, I don't know.
07:07Is it going to be a four or five hour game?
07:08Well, if you were at an Angels game, probably it was.
07:10Because that's what they averaged.
07:12Angels games were insane.
07:13Let me tell you, I worked them for 10 years.
07:15But now having the pitch clock, like, you better be in your seat.
07:22You can't go get a hot dog or a Dodger dog or be, like, going to get a drink and
07:26standing in a long line because you're going to miss an entire inning now.
07:28And that's what you needed.
07:30Like, you needed that urgency in the game.
07:33And they're having that.
07:34And that wasn't there in baseball.
07:36So you have the star power.
07:38You have the urgency.
07:39You have the product.
07:40You have the social media.
07:41They're finally understanding the power of getting to know the players behind the helmet, behind the bat, and having a
07:48connection.
07:49And that's what this young generation wants to see.
07:51And now that they have that, to go into a lockout when you are just hitting, like, the peak of
07:59the mountain of what baseball could be and you could go so much higher is so detrimental to the game.
08:05It also factors in how many gripes we have about the NBA.
08:10There's a reason why baseball viewership has surpassed the NBA.
08:14The NBA is trending the wrong direction in regards of marketability and viewability.
08:20And what poor timing to, say, the OKC Thunder go on and win it all.
08:26Everyone will have a negative.
08:28Everyone outside of the state of Oklahoma will have a negative sentiment about OKC.
08:32And here comes baseball being cooler than ever to leapfrog the NBA for the first time in decades.
08:39And you're going to spoil it because of this lockout because you want to put in a salary cap that's
08:43never going to happen.
08:43No, it's not going to happen.
08:45All right.
08:45We want to hear from you guys.
08:46If you're watching the live stream, get in the chat.
08:49We want to hear from you.
08:50You can also call us 855-97LA.
08:53855-975-2326.
08:55Producer Shea, what are the Fangelinos feeling in the chat?
09:00Before the Fangelino speaks, Shea is going to speak.
09:03OK, let's go.
09:04Bring it to me.
09:05Give it to us.
09:06I kind of want to just want to talk on what Brock was saying there because we're literally coming off
09:09of something with the World Baseball Classic.
09:11The most eyes ever on baseball.
09:14Yeah.
09:14It got me to start playing MLB Fantasy.
09:18Like, I've got...
09:19Yeah, how's that going?
09:20Like, my girlfriend's talking about this.
09:22We're winning this week.
09:22That's all that matters.
09:23That's all that matters.
09:24But anyway, we're at a point where, like, people that don't really care about sports are invested in it.
09:29They want to go to these ballparks.
09:30They want to watch the games.
09:31It's only, like, two, three hours.
09:33So they're actually able to sit at a bar and watch the games for the whole entirety of it.
09:37And now we're going to talk about a lockout.
09:39And we're going to make a situation to where we want players to vote on this walkout doesn't make any
09:45sense to me at all.
09:46No.
09:46It's one of the dumbest things the MLB could do.
09:49I know it's not the MLB doing it, but it's, like, it's, like, it's almost like the fans.
09:53It's, like, the MLBPA wants the fans to blame the players instead of the owners.
09:58And this is an owner issue.
09:59You said it yourself.
10:00The six teams that I mentioned are the six teams bringing out the best brand in baseball.
10:04Yes.
10:05And it just...
10:05They're paying the players.
10:06It makes no sense to me.
10:07But we can go to L.A.
10:08I did my little rant there.
10:11Get it out.
10:11Get it out.
10:12Shea B. Cray.
10:12I just had to get it out.
10:13Shea B. Cray.
10:14He's got to get the crazy out sometimes.
10:16Okay.
10:16So what's L.A.?
10:17What are they feeling?
10:18Greg Sauce is, if owners don't want to spend, sell the team to someone who will.
10:23I said that as well.
10:24Don't be a cheap stick and ruin the game.
10:24Yep.
10:25Jeets underscore 22.
10:27Just to hate the teams that will actually try, MLB should implement a new rule.
10:31If you make the postseason five years in a row, you're ineligible for a season to give all the teams
10:35a chance.
10:36Ha ha.
10:36Good ideas.
10:37I like this.
10:38I like the idea.
10:39And then Jeets also said, without baseball, no way Skeens is pulling Livvy.
10:43But we'll let you guys decide that.
10:45That sounds personal.
10:46Have you?
10:47No, you guys.
10:48Have you seen, like, she's been sitting next to him when he's won his awards?
10:52Like his, like.
10:54Yeah.
10:54He's got to be a great guy.
10:56Zero reaction.
10:57He's got to be a great guy.
10:58He's got zero reaction.
10:59Really?
10:59He's like, you just won.
11:00And he's like.
11:02Ha ha ha.
11:03You just couldn't care?
11:05Great.
11:05There's no personality.
11:05And she's like, yay!
11:07Oh, she's missed personality.
11:09Exactly.
11:09And he's just sitting there.
11:10In gymnastics.
11:12It's like, that's part of the show.
11:13Yeah.
11:14It is a show.
11:14Especially your floor performances and everything like that.
11:17Yeah.
11:17That's why.
11:18Oh, oh my gosh.
11:19Okay, so we were talking about this yesterday because we were going down to like, okay, guys,
11:22sorry.
11:23Hard laugh real quick.
11:24That's fine.
11:24Yesterday we were talking about, like, the big names in Major League Baseball that the
11:29Dodgers could possibly go after.
11:30And we were talking about Paul Skeens.
11:31That's how his name kind of brought up.
11:33And he keeps getting brought up here.
11:34And it's like, oh, where do you see him going after the Pirates?
11:37Like, could he be a Dodger?
11:38And you're like, I don't know.
11:39Skeens just sounds like.
11:40Feels like New York.
11:41Feels like New York.
11:43I don't.
11:44Okay.
11:44I need.
11:45I think it is.
11:46So, uh, Libby Dunn, his girlfriend, tried to buy, I think it was Babe Ruth's old apartment
11:52in New York.
11:54Yeah.
11:55What?
11:55Yeah, yeah, yeah.
11:56There was a whole thing.
11:56I don't think she ended up getting that one.
11:58Uh, cause like in New York when you buy apartments, like the whole complex has to vote you in.
12:03That's right.
12:04And they have to like, see if you're like, okay to live there.
12:06Those like co-op club things.
12:08Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
12:09It's weird.
12:09Which just sounds like it.
12:10It's weird.
12:11That's an ick.
12:12Yes.
12:13That's an ick.
12:13But that's also a sign that New York and those pinstripes are on the brain of the Dunn-Skeens
12:20family.
12:20Well, not family, but Dunn-Skeens partnership.
12:23So yeah, that's why.
12:25Interesting.
12:26Interesting.
12:26Okay.
12:26So he's like, we already know where he's going next.
12:31But the reason that like this whole situation of having like, I understand like the, what
12:38is it?
12:38The floor and the ceiling.
12:39So like having a cap minimum, that makes sense because teams, team owners, like we're all
12:45talking about billionaires here.
12:47You're all billionaires.
12:47And most of these owners, this is not where you're making your money.
12:52This is a tax write-off.
12:54This is a, like you are literally reporting this as a loss.
12:58Like this is a fun, like passion project that you get like, oh, I'm a, I'm an owner of
13:04a team.
13:04Right.
13:05Like Mark Walter.
13:05It's a billionaire stamp of like, oh, you've made it.
13:09Mark Walter is a real estate mogul.
13:11Yes.
13:11The, the, the Hunt family for the Kansas City Chiefs, their money is in oil.
13:15This is a, right.
13:17Sports, sports for, I don't know.
13:19Yeah.
13:19Sports for most owners is a hobby that they can make money off of.
13:25It is not where they pay their bills.
13:26No, absolutely not.
13:28So that is the issue here because now we're seeing teams doing the right thing.
13:34Like the Padres just sold, were they in the four bill?
13:38Three?
13:39Four sounds right.
13:39Three, I think maybe like high three bill.
13:42To the owner of Chelsea Football Club in London or in Chelsea.
13:48Yeah.
13:48So when we're looking at what the league needs to do, what the owners need to do, where
13:53the money needs to go, like in Major League Baseball, put together a good product.
13:58And you know who I'm looking at?
14:00I'm looking at the A's owner.
14:02Oh, no.
14:04Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh.
14:05I mean, they moved the team to Vegas.
14:07Yes.
14:08Absolutely just like pissed off their entire fan.
14:12Like I have family that grew up in San Francisco and Oakland and are just like FMAs.
14:20And this was right on the heels of the Warriors moving from Oakland to San Francisco proper.
14:27So there's just a lot of things that need to be fixed within Major League Baseball.
14:30But telling a team and an ownership group to not pay the players when that has been like
14:39the whole identity of Major League Baseball, that's what set them apart.
14:44I mean, that's how you got all these dynasties.
14:46I mean, what the Dodgers are doing now is just what the Yankees used to do during their
14:51World Series championship run.
14:53They were just the ones that had the money and were paying it.
14:56You can do it, you guys.
14:57And when you see it and you have the money and you pay your players, you make it back
15:02because you're putting together a good product.
15:04You're getting the ad revenue.
15:06You're getting butts in the seat.
15:07You are selling merchandise.
15:09Like the contract that the Dodgers gave Shohei Otani, you guys, they made that back in the
15:13first year.
15:14They made that back in the first year.
15:15The Dodgers also were really smart where they are now Team Japan.
15:19Yeah.
15:19Like Dodgers, like the Dodgers brand is royalty in Japan as it should be.
15:25They have a channel dedicated just to Dodger games.
15:28Just to Shohei Otani.
15:29Yeah.
15:30Before they got Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki, it was literally just Shohei Otani.
15:34And they were doing that when he was on the Angels.
15:37Like they don't go to commercial break.
15:39They just stay on Shohei Otani and watch whatever he's doing.
15:42So he knows that like no matter what, if he's on the field or off the field, even if a
15:47player
15:47hits a home run, they're going to go directly and just show Shohei Otani's reaction to it.
15:51Like it's a beautiful thing.
15:53I love it.
15:53But the moral of the story is pay the players, get a good product on the field.
16:00This is the worst thing that baseball could do right now is to have a long lockout because
16:06they are trending so positively in the right direction.
16:11Don't like, don't ruin it, baseball.
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