2025 MLB Season

[JWags85]

Between Varsho being a UWM baseball alum like one of our close family friends (given him played over a decade before Varsho), Bichette going to HS down the street from where they now live in St Pete, and the Blue Jays being my baseball fascination/other team all through my pre-teens, my Mom suddenly (in the last 2 weeks ) feels a connection to the Jays, and is driving the bandwagon with a conductor hat.  But at least she's having fun with it!

[18thandWells]

Between Varsho being a UWM baseball alum like one of our close family friends (given him played over a decade before Varsho), Bichette going to HS down the street from where they now live in St Pete, and the Blue Jays being my baseball fascination/other team all through my pre-teens, my Mom suddenly (in the last 2 weeks ) feels a connection to the Jays, and is driving the bandwagon with a conductor hat.  But at least she's having fun with it!

I took my then 10-year-old to a game there for his May 1st birthday. The weather outside was frightful, but we stayed in the hotel attached the Skydome. It was an absolute blast.

[Billy Hoyle]

I took my then 10-year-old to a game there for his May 1st birthday. The weather outside was frightful, but we stayed in the hotel attached the Skydome. It was an absolute blast.

I saw Oasis in August in Toronto and drank some beers outside of the SkyDome my first day there. Toronto is a great city to visit, and a team I've always had an affinity for, so this has been a fun series to follow. And Canadians are cool people, so yeah, go Jays!

But let's not pretend they're a poverty franchise. They made strong-ass offers to Ohtani and Sasaki - 10 years for $700 million to Ohtani.

[wadesworld]

"Baseball is a sime game.  You throw the ball, you hit the ball, and you catch the ball."

Your beloved Brewers and my beloved Tigers failed to execute the 'hit' element when it mattered.    The Dodgers are not the Borg.

Yeah.  I'd guess the Brewers and Tigers would've hit the ball better if they had paid a total of $1.2 billion to three MVPs to bat 1-3 in their batting order.  But what I've learned in this thread is that the Dodgers do NOT have an advantage with baseball having no salary cap.

[JWags85]

I saw Oasis in August in Toronto and drank some beers outside of the SkyDome my first day there. Toronto is a great city to visit, and a team I've always had an affinity for, so this has been a fun series to follow. And Canadians are cool people, so yeah, go Jays!

But let's not pretend they're a poverty franchise. They made strong-ass offers to Ohtani and Sasaki - 10 years for $700 million to Ohtani.

Yea, I'm not even sure how it happened, its been so long.  But I already had a hat and thought the Jays were great even before the 92/93 World Series.  But there are pictures of me watching those World Series on the couch with my grandpa in my Jays hat.  My first little league team, coincidentally in '92, was the Blue Jays too, which I remember being so pumped about and thinking it was fate.  By the time I was to my teens, and watching baseball on my own, I was all Cubs (coincidentally around the time the Jays did that terrible rebrand in the late 90s which only got worse the next 15 years), but Ive always had a soft spot for them since.  You could say they were my "AL team" though I never really ascribed to that.

But yea, Toronto and specifically the area around the Skydome (I rebuke the rename) is great.  Steam Whistle is a cool little brewery/tap room right by the railway museum there.  And Toronto is full of cool friendly people. 

My first time there as an adult, we went to a Jays game, my first time at the Skydome.  That night after the game, we were at a bar in that general area.  I was attempting to court a young lady, chatting to her with my buddy.  All of a sudden her burly boyfriend in beard and backwards Jays hat walks up, "whats going on guys"?  I kind of hesitate.  I'm not being creepy or overly forward, but clearly trying to hit on his GF.  She says that we're in town from Chicago for a Bachelor Party, went to the game, etc... Dude immediately goes "oh man, unnatural carnal knowledgeing right boys!  Welcome, lets do shots and you guys need another drink!" and nearly leaps over the bar to get the bartender.  Then they hosted us there and another of their friend's bars down the street for the next few hours.  Most "Canadians are so friendly" stereotype affirming experience ever.

[wadesworld]

Blake Treinen was an All-Star with the Nationals five years ago. So, that's six Cy Young caliber arms.

Alright.  So they only have three current Cy Young level pitchers in their starting rotation, an a guy who has won 3 Cy Youngs and an MVP and just finished the season with a 3.36 ERA and 1.216 WHIP.  Tyler Glasnow is not a Cy Young level pitcher, even though he was pitching better than the eventual Cy Young winner in two seasons mid way through the season before injuries ended his season.

You got me.  The Dodgers aren't stacked at all.  Every team in the MLB has an equal chance at putting together a competitive roster!

[TallTitan34]

Alright.  So they only have three current Cy Young level pitchers in their starting rotation

Not sure how anyone is supposed to stop three Cy Young level pitchers in the rotation.

Who can forgot all those titles the Atlanta Braves won in the 90s. 

[18thandWells]

Alright.  So they only have three current Cy Young level pitchers in their starting rotation, an a guy who has won 3 Cy Youngs and an MVP and just finished the season with a 3.36 ERA and 1.216 WHIP.  Tyler Glasnow is not a Cy Young level pitcher, even though he was pitching better than the eventual Cy Young winner in two seasons mid way through the season before injuries ended his season.

You got me.  The Dodgers aren't stacked at all.  Every team in the MLB has an equal chance at putting together a competitive roster!

Just talking about Blake Treinen. He was also 15th in MVP voting in 2018, so you can add his name to that side of the ledger.

[Billy Hoyle]

But yea, Toronto and specifically the area around the Skydome (I rebuke the rename) is great.  Steam Whistle is a cool little brewery/tap room right by the railway museum there.  And Toronto is full of cool friendly people. 

Had a few at Steam Whistle while sitting outside looking at the CN Tower and the SkyDome on a beautiful August day and people chatting me up since I was hanging out on my own. Really good pils; unfortunately, the unfiltered was tapped out so I didn't get to try that one, but I did have a good juicy IPA from a partner brewery.

[JWags85]

Alright.  So they only have three current Cy Young level pitchers in their starting rotation, an a guy who has won 3 Cy Youngs and an MVP and just finished the season with a 3.36 ERA and 1.216 WHIP.  Tyler Glasnow is not a Cy Young level pitcher, even though he was pitching better than the eventual Cy Young winner in two seasons mid way through the season before injuries ended his season.

You got me.  The Dodgers aren't stacked at all.  Every team in the MLB has an equal chance at putting together a competitive roster!

Wades, again, you're creating strawmen here.  Who in this thread said that everyone is equal?  Who said the Dodgers/big market teams didn't have an advantage or that they weren't stacked?

All that has been said is that the Dodgers winning the World Series this year is not a foregone conclusion, much less next year, and that they aren't an unstoppable force.  Not that the MLB is all equal and parity and the Pirates could just as easily stop them for the pennant.

And you keep shifting the Cy Young argument. First it was 5 guys capable of winning a Cy Young (which implies 5 guys in the running in the 2025 season).  You then shifted that to include Glasnow's speculative form 5 years ago before a significant injury and Kershaw's accolades and peak 10+ years ago.  Nobody is saying Kershaw is not still an effective pitcher, he had a great bounceback year after looking pretty washed last year.  But he hasn't been a realistic Cy Young level pitcher since 2017, except maybe the weird shorted COVID season.  If being an All Star makes you a Cy Young level pitcher, we should be talking more about the Cy Young arms of Tanner Houck and Hunter Greene.

[MU82]

The Athletic has an excellent (IMHO) article on the many ways the Dodgers aren't "ruining baseball."

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6744128/2025/10/24/dodgers-ruining-baseball-world-series/?

I'd pull out a few items to post here, but they make so many excellent points to refute the "money always wins" claim that I'd have to cut and paste the entire article.

[18thandWells]

Not sure how anyone is supposed to stop three Cy Young level pitchers in the rotation.

Who can forgot all those titles the Atlanta Braves won in the 90s. 

Plus Terry Pendleton and Chipper were both MVPs, and Andruw Jones has a higher 162-game WAR than Robin Yount.

It's why everyone says the 90's Braves ruined baseball.

[Uncle Rico]

Plus Terry Pendleton and Chipper were both MVPs, and Andruw Jones has a higher 162-game WAR than Robin Yount.

It's why everyone says the 90's Braves ruined baseball.

I think the Braves took a picture with the Pirates Jolly Roger flag after the '91 NLCS, so they were doomed anyway

[TallTitan34]

Plus Terry Pendleton and Chipper were both MVPs, and Andruw Jones has a higher 162-game WAR than Robin Yount.

It's why everyone says the 90's Braves ruined baseball.

And David Justice who went on to play with another unstoppable trio of Cy Young level pitchers in Zito, Mulder, and Hudson.

[JWags85]

The Athletic has an excellent (IMHO) article on the many ways the Dodgers aren't "ruining baseball."

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6744128/2025/10/24/dodgers-ruining-baseball-world-series/?

I'd pull out a few items to post here, but they make so many excellent points to refute the "money always wins" claim that I'd have to cut and paste the entire article.

I don't like the shady book cooking deferred deals that pay players until 2085.  But otherwise it is what it is.  This is space MLB got itself into.  8 different teams won a WS in the last 10 years.  That stretches to 10 if you go back 12 years.  In that same 10 years, 6 additional teams won a pennant.  So over half the teams in the MLB have reached an WS in the last decade.  (Its also 4 in 5 years, and 8 teams winning a pennant if you want to look since the Dodgers first win in 2020 as the start of their massive spending spree)

No Wades, I'm not saying having a money tree in Chavez Ravine doesn't greatly impact things.  But MLB has been an unbalanced have and have nots in terms of payroll and spending for a LONG time.  And while I think MLB has many problems and struggle the most with adoption among young people and casual fans among the Big 4, I don't think parity is as big of an issue as it might seem.

[MU82]

So far in this series ...

A 22-year-old who started the season in Class A ball and threw all of 14 innings over 3 career regular-season MLB starts outpitched Snell in Game 1.

A 41-year-old who had a 5.37 ERA in the second half of the season (including 10.20 in September) left with the lead over Glasnow in Game 3.

And a guy who made only 7 regular-season starts after having missed most of the last two years recovering from Tommy John surgery outpitched Ohtani in Game 4.

But yes, it's utterly impossible to beat those pricey L.A. arms.

[wadesworld]

No Wades, I'm not saying having a money tree in Chavez Ravine doesn't greatly impact things.  But MLB has been an unbalanced have and have nots in terms of payroll and spending for a LONG time.

Boy did it take a lot to finally get here.

But, MLB is in a great place.  NFL and NBA should really take a page out of their books.

[BM1090]

I think my issue with the dodgers and the competitive landscape is that they show no signs of slowing down. It's one thing to understand they are going to be spending more money than anyone else and it will be an uphill climb. It's another when they are going to keep increasing their spending and the talent gap will continue to widen.

But it's baseball and nobody is unbeatable. If the Brewers ended up stealing game one I think they win one or two more in that series and the conversation is a lot different.

[MU82]

Boy did it take a lot to finally get here.

But, MLB is in a great place.  NFL and NBA should really take a page out of their books.

Is MLB in a "worse" place than the NBA? I honestly don't know, haven't seen revenue and profit numbers. But MLB ratings have been well up and the overall health of MLB seems good to my untrained eyes.

NFL is in a different category from everything else, including non-sports entities. Comparing anything to the NFL is apples and kumquats.

[wadesworld]

Is MLB in a "worse" place than the NBA? I honestly don't know, haven't seen revenue and profit numbers. But MLB ratings have been well up and the overall health of MLB seems good to my untrained eyes.

NFL is in a different category from everything else, including non-sports entities. Comparing anything to the NFL is apples and kumquats.

The NBA is far more profitable, coincidentally in part because they have a salary cap.  Team valuations of NBA franchises are much higher than MLB franchises.

[The Sultan]

The NBA is far more profitable, coincidentally in part because they have a salary cap.  Team valuations of NBA franchises are much higher than MLB franchises.

The average NBA team is more valuable than the average MLB team almost entirely because of the value of their respective national media rights deals. Some MLB teams are more valuable than some NBA teams because of the local media rights. (This is why a more equitable distribution of media rights is a much bigger issue than a salary cap BTW.)

I don't think a salary cap has much to do with it.

[JWags85]

Boy did it take a lot to finally get here.

But, MLB is in a great place.  NFL and NBA should really take a page out of their books.

I don't know what point you think you're making here or how its some gotcha over what I was saying?  I never disagreed with you on the actual dollars and cents of payroll.  I just disagreed with the significance of impact.  I LITERALLY showed that your sentiment about payroll differentiation is overblown hasn't lead to any dynasty or even unheard of dominance...though it seems like you're already chalking up this and the 2026 WS to Dodgers victories for a 3 Peat.

They aren't constantly posting the best record in baseball.  Winning a majority of WS or pennants over any period of time.  Despite spending like a sheik, they aren't even as dominate as the Big 3 era Heat or the recent Chiefs run.

And again, that snarky last line.  I literally mentioned the struggles MLB has.  But as someone who has worked closely with MLB media and advertising and learned about its reach.  Beyond having a lame commissioner (IMO), its still segmented, marketed, distributed, and advertised as a regional product.  Their social media policy is draconian and allergic to gaining viral/online engagement, organic or paid/driven. 

They have no clue how to market their superstars and they haven't for decades.  Ohtani is larger than life, but his brand is growing in spite of MLB, not because of it.  Mike Trout was a perfect storm of bad cause MLB didn't handle him properly to help the league and he was/is kind of a zero personality wise who didn't have much desire for spotlight.  However, take Mookie Betts.  Absolute generational supernova who would be a first ballot HOFer if he got hit by a bus tomorrow.  And a charming, funny, and engaging personality.  But most people wouldn't know him if he, a completely normal sized person, passed them on the street.

Those things are FAR more detrimental and how the MLB grows/performs vs the NBA or other sports to casual fans than the spending discrepancy.  A salary cap could be instituted tomorrow, hamstringing the Dodgers, and nothing would change those problems.

[MU82]

The NBA is far more profitable, coincidentally in part because they have a salary cap.  Team valuations of NBA franchises are much higher than MLB franchises.

Thanks for the response. We'll agree to disagree about the financial power of a salary cap.

As I and others have said previously, much better revenue sharing would solve most of any financial disparity issues. But the multi-billionaire owners would rather insist upon a salary cap because they want the players to save owners from themselves rather than being willing to share with each other. The richest owners want their big local TV deals AND the same salary-cap rules as Tampa and Pittsburgh.

[muwarrior69]

Thanks for the response. We'll agree to disagree about the financial power of a salary cap.

As I and others have said previously, much better revenue sharing would solve most of any financial disparity issues. But the multi-billionaire owners would rather insist upon a salary cap because they want the players to save owners from themselves rather than being willing to share with each other. The richest owners want their big local TV deals AND the same salary-cap rules as Tampa and Pittsburgh.

Well, my Yankees are not benefitting from their rich owner, but he probably is.

[tower912]

The Mets sure aren't.  If Wades argument was accurate, that spending obscene amounts of money gave teams an insurmountable advantage, the Mets wouldn't suck.