Two Conference Solution for MLB

[WeeVikes]

So the Pirates, Cards entire central becomes a minor league. That's how it will be see and treated. Very good players will move to your super league which will be seen as the Major League Baseball. The rest will be viewed as minor league teams.

Total revenue sharing with some sort of floor and ceiling is in my mind the only real solution. First problem is solving the broadcast situation in a long term manner.

My solution solves that issue - and all others.

Fascinating plan.

Would you see the “Wealth Teams” winning a lions share of WS?

[dugoutrex]

Trying to envision a solution for MLB.

Two conferences--one with a hard salary cap and floor. Full revenue sharing. NFL model.
If available probably 2/3rds of current teams would join.

Second conference would be the elites--LA, Boston, Yankees, Mets, Toronto, etc.
No cap, no revenue sharing.

Common draft, no interconference play. World Series between conference champions.

Opti

Try this.
Top 5 payrolls (calculation includes all deferred dollars being counted in current season) in each league are assigned in the year following to one of two "wealth divisions" - one designated as NL and the other as AL based on most reasonable geography - shifting teams as needed from league to league.
Teams play 52 games within that division, just as is the case now.
For example, that would create a 2026 "NL wealth division" of Dodgers, Braves, Astros, Cubs and Padres; and an "AL wealth division" of Yankees, Jays, Mets, Phillies, Tigers".
Then create 2 other NL and AL divisions based on remaining teams and traditional geography to the greatest degree possible.
Division winners advance to playoff.
3 wild cards per league - one per division.
That would result in 40% of the top payroll team advancing to the playoffs, where they would receive 1/3 of the available spots (exactly matching their payroll distribution ranking across all teams).
Not one team is therefore rewarded or punished for its spending habits.
Each season becomes its own unique entity, increasing fan interest universally.
No cap to limit player salaries.
Zero incentive for any owners to suppress spending of their own franchise.
Easy.
Obvious.
Correct.
And, of course, brilliant (you should never expect anything less).

shouldn't you be making sandwiches?

[Red7]

Try this: owners spend to compete or sell their teams. This is the solution most Cardinals fans want. A bunch of 5 year olds whining, “it ain’t fair! He’s gotta bigger piece than me!”

[Melville]

This resembles the European soccer league and relegation. Under your model, what happens if and when a super team becomes mortal. Do they move down. Or a dynasty team in the regular conference, do they move into the super power conference.

My solution solves that issue - and all others.

You are a broken record. Not sure that your "solution" is a solution. You still have a "super" league and a minor league. So that's not solved.

Incorrect.
Under my perfect solution, you will still have 2 leagues, 6 divisions, 12 post-season teams.
The top 33% in payroll would get 33% of the post-season spots.
The bottom 66.67% in payroll would get 67% of the post-season spots.
No cap.
No floor. Zero basis for any complaints.
It truly is both brilliant and effective.

[Melville]

So the Pirates, Cards entire central becomes a minor league. That's how it will be see and treated. Very good players will move to your super league which will be seen as the Major League Baseball. The rest will be viewed as minor league teams.

Total revenue sharing with some sort of floor and ceiling is in my mind the only real solution. First problem is solving the broadcast situation in a long term manner.

My solution solves that issue - and all others.

Fascinating plan.

Would you see the “Wealth Teams” winning a lions share of WS?

No more or no less than the current set-up.
If anything, it would motivate teams in the hunt to invest more in their roster every year before the summer deadline.
No cap.
No floor.
No downside for players.
Upside for all 30 teams.
Upside for all fans.
And almost certain to drive attendance and all other revenue streams.

[Melville]

Try this: owners spend to compete or sell their teams. This is the solution most Cardinals fans want. A bunch of 5 year olds whining, “it ain’t fair! He’s gotta bigger piece than me!”

My plan would encourage every single team to spend more - without needing to keep up with the Dodgers, Mets, and Yankees.
In fact, even the top 10 payrolls teams would have a motive to spend.

[WeeVikes]

Try this: owners spend to compete or sell their teams. This is the solution most Cardinals fans want. A bunch of 5 year olds whining, “it ain’t fair! He’s gotta bigger piece than me!”

Who would be the arbiter of whether teams are spending enough? Based upon what criteria? And how in the United States of America do you compel people to sell their private property?

[Red7]

Try this: owners spend to compete or sell their teams. This is the solution most Cardinals fans want. A bunch of 5 year olds whining, “it ain’t fair! He’s gotta bigger piece than me!”

Who would be the arbiter of whether teams are spending enough? Based upon what criteria? And how in the United States of America do you compel people to sell their private property?

How much they spend is up to them. Either pay up, sell, or shut up. I’m not saying they should be compelled to sell, but if they don’t want to run with the big dogs, maybe they should consider staying on the porch. To your point, how can someone be compelled to limit what they’re willing to spend on payroll?

[WeeVikes]

Try this: owners spend to compete or sell their teams. This is the solution most Cardinals fans want. A bunch of 5 year olds whining, “it ain’t fair! He’s gotta bigger piece than me!”

Who would be the arbiter of whether teams are spending enough? Based upon what criteria? And how in the United States of America do you compel people to sell their private property?

How much they spend is up to them. Either pay up, sell, or shut up. I’m not saying they should be compelled to sell, but if they don’t want to run with the big dogs, maybe they should consider staying on the porch. To your point, how can someone be compelled to limit what they’re willing to spend on payroll?

I may have misinterpreted what you were getting at, Red. My apologies if I did.

[woofy25]

So the Pirates, Cards entire central becomes a minor league. That's how it will be see and treated. Very good players will move to your super league which will be seen as the Major League Baseball. The rest will be viewed as minor league teams.

Total revenue sharing with some sort of floor and ceiling is in my mind the only real solution. First problem is solving the broadcast situation in a long term manner.

My solution solves that issue - and all others.

Fascinating plan.

Would you see the “Wealth Teams” winning a lions share of WS?

No more or no less than the current set-up.
If anything, it would motivate teams in the hunt to invest more in their roster every year before the summer deadline.
No cap.
No floor.
No downside for players.
Upside for all 30 teams.
Upside for all fans.
And almost certain to drive attendance and all other revenue streams.

Your solution encourages teams to spend less. Thus, the players association would take a hard pass.

[Melville]

So the Pirates, Cards entire central becomes a minor league. That's how it will be see and treated. Very good players will move to your super league which will be seen as the Major League Baseball. The rest will be viewed as minor league teams.

Total revenue sharing with some sort of floor and ceiling is in my mind the only real solution. First problem is solving the broadcast situation in a long term manner.

My solution solves that issue - and all others.

Fascinating plan.

Would you see the “Wealth Teams” winning a lions share of WS?

No more or no less than the current set-up.
If anything, it would motivate teams in the hunt to invest more in their roster every year before the summer deadline.
No cap.
No floor.
No downside for players.
Upside for all 30 teams.
Upside for all fans.
And almost certain to drive attendance and all other revenue streams.

Your solution encourages teams to spend less. Thus, the players association would take a hard pass.

It gives every team motivation to spend more - equally true for the top 5 in each league and the bottom 10.
Every team in baseball would have the exact same chance of reaching the post-season: 40%.
It is quite simply brilliant.
No cap.
No floor.
And every team with equal opportunity to play post-season games.
And every fan of every team with the exact same chance of seeing their team reach the playoffs.
Everyone wins - with zero downside for any team, any player, any fan.
Absolutely perfect available solution (short of terminating baseball's anti-trust exemption).
Mine is simply the best solution offered anywhere, anytime, by anyone.

[Cardinals1964]

Trying to envision a solution for MLB.

Two conferences--one with a hard salary cap and floor. Full revenue sharing. NFL model.
If available probably 2/3rds of current teams would join.

Second conference would be the elites--LA, Boston, Yankees, Mets, Toronto, etc.
No cap, no revenue sharing.

Common draft, no interconference play. World Series between conference champions.

Opti

Try this.
Top 5 payrolls (calculation includes all deferred dollars being counted in current season) in each league are assigned in the year following to one of two "wealth divisions" - one designated as NL and the other as AL based on most reasonable geography - shifting teams as needed from league to league.
Teams play 52 games within that division, just as is the case now.
For example, that would create a 2026 "NL wealth division" of Dodgers, Braves, Astros, Cubs and Padres; and an "AL wealth division" of Yankees, Jays, Mets, Phillies, Tigers".
Then create 2 other NL and AL divisions based on remaining teams and traditional geography to the greatest degree possible.
Division winners advance to playoff.
3 wild cards per league - one per division.
That would result in 40% of the top payroll team advancing to the playoffs, where they would receive 1/3 of the available spots (exactly matching their payroll distribution ranking across all teams).
Not one team is therefore rewarded or punished for its spending habits.
Each season becomes its own unique entity, increasing fan interest universally.
No cap to limit player salaries.
Zero incentive for any owners to suppress spending of their own franchise.
Easy.
Obvious.
Correct.
And, of course, brilliant (you should never expect anything less).

As a fan, traditional divisions mean a lot.
Why wouldn’t a team spend less to stay just outside the upper class?
If it’s based on the previous seasons payroll, what if a team loses high dollar all stars to retirement, trade or free agency.
I have no desire to change the fundamentals of divisions. Three or four years from now would it be a whole different topic about something else. Right now it’s I can’t win so let’s see how I can fix it so I can win.

[Cardinals1964]

So the Pirates, Cards entire central becomes a minor league. That's how it will be see and treated. Very good players will move to your super league which will be seen as the Major League Baseball. The rest will be viewed as minor league teams.

Total revenue sharing with some sort of floor and ceiling is in my mind the only real solution. First problem is solving the broadcast situation in a long term manner.

My solution solves that issue - and all others.

Fascinating plan.

Would you see the “Wealth Teams” winning a lions share of WS?

No more or no less than the current set-up.
If anything, it would motivate teams in the hunt to invest more in their roster every year before the summer deadline.
No cap.
No floor.
No downside for players.
Upside for all 30 teams.
Upside for all fans.
And almost certain to drive attendance and all other revenue streams.

Your solution encourages teams to spend less. Thus, the players association would take a hard pass.

He won’t admit that. But it only took a second to read it to figure out don’t be in the top bracket. Be at the top of the bottom bracket. He will think it’s brilliant because he says it’s brilliant. It’s really ridiculous.

[Melville]

Trying to envision a solution for MLB.

Two conferences--one with a hard salary cap and floor. Full revenue sharing. NFL model.
If available probably 2/3rds of current teams would join.

Second conference would be the elites--LA, Boston, Yankees, Mets, Toronto, etc.
No cap, no revenue sharing.

Common draft, no interconference play. World Series between conference champions.

Opti

Try this.
Top 5 payrolls (calculation includes all deferred dollars being counted in current season) in each league are assigned in the year following to one of two "wealth divisions" - one designated as NL and the other as AL based on most reasonable geography - shifting teams as needed from league to league.
Teams play 52 games within that division, just as is the case now.
For example, that would create a 2026 "NL wealth division" of Dodgers, Braves, Astros, Cubs and Padres; and an "AL wealth division" of Yankees, Jays, Mets, Phillies, Tigers".
Then create 2 other NL and AL divisions based on remaining teams and traditional geography to the greatest degree possible.
Division winners advance to playoff.
3 wild cards per league - one per division.
That would result in 40% of the top payroll team advancing to the playoffs, where they would receive 1/3 of the available spots (exactly matching their payroll distribution ranking across all teams).
Not one team is therefore rewarded or punished for its spending habits.
Each season becomes its own unique entity, increasing fan interest universally.
No cap to limit player salaries.
Zero incentive for any owners to suppress spending of their own franchise.
Easy.
Obvious.
Correct.
And, of course, brilliant (you should never expect anything less).

As a fan, traditional divisions mean a lot.
Why wouldn’t a team spend less to stay just outside the upper class?
If it’s based on the previous seasons payroll, what if a team loses high dollar all stars to retirement, trade or free agency.
I have no desire to change the fundamentals of divisions. Three or four years from now would it be a whole different topic about something else. Right now it’s I can’t win so let’s see how I can fix it so I can win.

Traditional divisions have not been traditional divisions for a long time now.
Interleague games and unbalanced schedules ended that notion long ago.
That said, geographic rivalries would not change (since cities are actually fixed in place) - and as my hypothetical example for 2026 shows, there would be very little realignment each year based on the model I proposed.
And, there would be little movement at the top tier each season given the teams who appear there with regularity.
Even if a team such as the Tigers or Astros dropped out to 11th in payroll and were replaced in the top 10 by another, it will bring another wrinkle that would make the next season of greater interest.
There is not a single downside to my proposal.

[Cusecards]

Trying to envision a solution for MLB.

Two conferences--one with a hard salary cap and floor. Full revenue sharing. NFL model.
If available probably 2/3rds of current teams would join.

Second conference would be the elites--LA, Boston, Yankees, Mets, Toronto, etc.
No cap, no revenue sharing.

Common draft, no interconference play. World Series between conference champions.

Opti

Try this.
Top 5 payrolls (calculation includes all deferred dollars being counted in current season) in each league are assigned in the year following to one of two "wealth divisions" - one designated as NL and the other as AL based on most reasonable geography - shifting teams as needed from league to league.
Teams play 52 games within that division, just as is the case now.
For example, that would create a 2026 "NL wealth division" of Dodgers, Braves, Astros, Cubs and Padres; and an "AL wealth division" of Yankees, Jays, Mets, Phillies, Tigers".
Then create 2 other NL and AL divisions based on remaining teams and traditional geography to the greatest degree possible.
Division winners advance to playoff.
3 wild cards per league - one per division.
That would result in 40% of the top payroll team advancing to the playoffs, where they would receive 1/3 of the available spots (exactly matching their payroll distribution ranking across all teams).
Not one team is therefore rewarded or punished for its spending habits.
Each season becomes its own unique entity, increasing fan interest universally.
No cap to limit player salaries.
Zero incentive for any owners to suppress spending of their own franchise.
Easy.
Obvious.
Correct.
And, of course, brilliant (you should never expect anything less).

shouldn't you be making sandwiches?

Yes.....especially since he keeps burning the fries.

[woofy25]

So the Pirates, Cards entire central becomes a minor league. That's how it will be see and treated. Very good players will move to your super league which will be seen as the Major League Baseball. The rest will be viewed as minor league teams.

Total revenue sharing with some sort of floor and ceiling is in my mind the only real solution. First problem is solving the broadcast situation in a long term manner.

My solution solves that issue - and all others.

Fascinating plan.

Would you see the “Wealth Teams” winning a lions share of WS?

No more or no less than the current set-up.
If anything, it would motivate teams in the hunt to invest more in their roster every year before the summer deadline.
No cap.
No floor.
No downside for players.
Upside for all 30 teams.
Upside for all fans.
And almost certain to drive attendance and all other revenue streams.

Your solution encourages teams to spend less. Thus, the players association would take a hard pass.

He won’t admit that. But it only took a second to read it to figure out don’t be in the top bracket. Be at the top of the bottom bracket. He will think it’s brilliant because he says it’s brilliant. It’s really ridiculous.

Yes. Spend less than the top 10. It’ll be a race to the bottom. There is just absolutely no chance the players would vote for it.