MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays don’t regard themselves as heroes, saviors or being particularly influential.
They’re just blue-collar, working-class citizens who shop at Walmart, use their coupons at CVS pharmacies, and don’t bother with a custom tailor when the local Big and Tall Men’s Clothing stores will suffice.
And yet, no matter who wins or loses the World Series beginning Friday, Oct. 23 [8 p.m. ET on FOX] the Brewers and Rays could forever be remembered for saving the game of baseball.
Or, at the least, perhaps assuring that the labor war between Major League Baseball and the players union doesn’t severely impact the 2027 season.
These two teams have proven that competitive balance exists, at least this year, with each
vying for their first World Series championship in franchise history.
They have proven that you don’t need a massive payroll to win, with the Brewers and Rays having a combined payroll of $242 million, nearly half the size of the Los Angeles Dodgers luxury-tax payroll of $413.5 million.
They have proven that market size doesn’t matter, with the Brewers in the smallest market in baseball and the Rays in the 11th-largest market.
You’re going to hear a lot about these two teams in the upcoming labor negotiations, with the World Series matchup a dream scenario for the union.
“It kind of paints a different picture right?’’ Brewers closer Trevor Megill said. “You don’t really need all the money out there to win baseball games. It kind of just matters who’s in the clubhouse and what they’re willing to do for each other.’’
So, does the fact these two small markets are playing on baseball’s biggest stage actually change the narrative that a salary cap is needed for competitive balance in the sport?
“We’ll see and worry about that in December,’’ Megill said, “when they lock us out on Dec. 1 and see how willing the owners are to lose money.’’
Make no mistake about it, the owners still want a salary cap, even if this is the eighth time in the last nine seasons the Brewers have been to the postseason, and the sixth time in the last eight years for the Rays.
“I think the system that's being proposed, which is similar to other leagues in terms of revenue-sharing system,’’ Brewers owner Mark Attanasio said, “not only will help us compete, but more importantly all of the teams with lower payrolls too – which is something also I think the fans want.’’
These two teams have a similar brand of play, almost as if they’re mirror images of one another. They bunt. They steal. They run. They play defense. And they win, despite having only two players on the field earning more than $10 million.
“It’s not always the flashiest players, the teams that spend the most money,’’ Rays infielder Ben Williamson said. “We’re an example of that showing that through hard work, and grinding, and playing the game the right way, you can get to the World Series. The Brewers are showing that, too.’’
Ironically, both teams were among the three finalists to acquire two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal from the Detroit Tigers at the trade deadline. They lost out to the ultra-wealthy Dodgers, knowing the Dodgers were the only ones among the trio who could afford to keep him when he hit free agency.
Well, look at who’s in the World Series and who’s sitting home?
"This team was built, not bought," Attanasio said this week on the New York Post podcast. “It's critical to look at how we got here, and because I want to have sustained success, we had to do that by being very careful about how many prospects we gave up.’’
It’s no different than with the Rays, who not only were able to keep their top prospects, but pivoted to Freddy Peralta, who was acquired from the New York Mets. He has been one of the finest pitchers in baseball these last two months, yielding a 0.81 ERA in his last eight starts in the regular season and postseason.
“You don’t need a big market to have talented players,’’ Rays catcher Nick Fortes said, “and we’ve got a lot of really talented players on this team. We have a lot of guys that really haven’t been talked about or known throughout the year, but hopefully now people will realize there are a lot of different ways to win. We found our little pocket, and we’re winning our way, emphasizing pitching and defense.’’
And winning with the fifth-smallest payroll in baseball, with their entire team making only $30 million more this season than Dodgers right fielder Kyle Tucker.
“I know this is going to be something that a lot of people will focus on this off-season, two small market teams being in the World Series,’’ Fortes said, “but I think right now we’re just soaking in this moment of being in the World Series. It’s a dream for all of us.’’
Well, if a salary cap happens to come to baseball, a salary floor is coming along with it, meaning that a team like the Rays would suddenly have an extra $90 million worth of talent on their roster.
“We would really be dangerous, really dangerous,’’ Fortes said. “But we’ve been doing it this way for long, and it’s worked, so why change things?’’
Certainly, this will be the argument by the union, citing that the game hasn’t been this popular in a decade, with attendance up, TV ratings spiking, and team values surging.
So, why ruin a good thing with the Brewers and Rays showing that small markets can actually win, let alone be dominant?
“It’s been proven that you can do this in many different ways,’’ Brewers reliever Aaron Ashby said. “The money is nice, but it doesn’t mean everything. I don’t care how big your payroll is, you’ve got to have a winning culture, no matter who’s in that clubhouse.’’
Brewers pitcher Chad Patrick grew up a Chicago Cubs fan in Indiana, and vividly remembers hearing about the close camaraderie of the Cubs in 2016. They didn’t have the largest payroll, but they might have had the best clubhouse culture, winning their first World Series in 108 years that season.
“As far as the small-market them goes,’’ Patrick said, “it’s still baseball. At any moment, you know this game can switch in a hurry. There are teams that slug with their big stars, and then you have guys that small ball. We just have a different way of winning here, and it works.’’
There’s no reason why it can’t work in Minnesota, either, says Rays pitcher Jax Griffin, who spent the first 4 ½ years of his career with the Twins. Or Colorado, says Brewers reliever Antonio Senzatela, who had spent his entire career with the Rockies this summer. Or even Pittsburgh.
“There’s many versions of baseball that can win, you just have to have the right model or blueprint,’’ said Brewers center fielder Garrett Mitchell, who grew up a diehard Angels fan. “It’s a matter of having the right group of guys out there who want to compete, and want to win.
“There are many versions of baseball that can win. For us, being a smaller market, we’re not relying on the big free- agent splash or things like that. We do it through good drafting and trading for players that fit the mold of what it means to be a Milwaukee Brewer.
“At the end of the day, if you have the right culture that’s built off that, and have a group of players that buy into that, anything is possible.’’
Just ask Brewers veteran Dustin May, who has pitched for three iconic teams, winning a World Series championship with the Dodgers, and also pitching for the Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals.
“I know there are teams that have paid a lot and they go out and win,’’ May said, “but there’s other ways to win, too. It doesn’t matter whether you spend $1 or $100, you still have to go out and do your job. I just know that when you put a lot of thought and focus into the pieces, and guys that you bring into the clubhouse, when they mesh the way they do – especially with this team – it can be very special. I mean, the Brewers do it the right way.’’
And, yes, so do the Rays, who are in the World Series for the third time in franchise history, and twice in the last seven years.
“I think it’s super special for both teams,’’ Rays outfielder Jonny DeLuca said. “Just because we don’t have the highest payroll doesn’t mean really, anything. I think people forget with how good our teams are, and what we can do on the baseball field with the talent we have.
“That’s what’s going to make this super fun to watch, two underdogs going against each other in a dogfight. I don’t know what’s going to happen with the labor thing, or whatever happens after this, but I think it’s a very good starting point for us as players.
“We have two small market teams in it, who are very competitive, and hopefully this World Series will be talked about for a long, long time.’’
Follow Bob Nightengale on X @Bnightengale.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Will this World Series save baseball? Payrolls matter not for Brewers and Rays
