Los Angeles Dodgers owner Mark Walter made a surprising statement as the team has been under scrutiny over spending.
Walter, who leads the Guggenheim collective that bought the franchise more than a decade ago, has certainly put his money where his mouth is, spending a ton on front office staff, players, and other improvements to the organization.
The results have started to come quickly — the Dodgers were a perennial playoff team, then a consistent title contender, and now, over the last six years, they have won three titles.
The Dodgers’ steady rise year after year has made them the villain of baseball, and the 2025 offseason seemed to be the fuse that lit the argument that the Los Angeles franchise is “ruining baseball.”
The chatter has really picked up since the current Collective Bargaining Agreement is set to expire after the 2026 season.
Fans around MLB are calling for a salary cap, which is not currently in place, to further curtail excessive spending.
However, while Walter would be expected to oppose the system that is bringing all of the winning to the Dodgers, the billionaire is instead in favor of anything that can help establish “parity.”
”Here’s what the problem is: Money helps us win. We can’t win all the time. We’ve got to have some parity,” Walter told Bill Shakin of the LA Times.
“So we’ve got to come up with something that will give us some parity.”
The most common solution is a salary cap with severe penalties for going over it, as in basketball or football, both of which have achieved parity, for better or worse.
To achieve it, the owners of baseball teams and the players’ association may need to have a work stoppage.
Dave Roberts on a possible lockout
There are plenty of reports of a lockout coming to baseball, and with it on the verge of hitting MLB, there is fear about when baseball will be played next, though manager Dave Roberts seems unconcerned.
“I understand that, in the sense of, this is where the CBA is at, as far as the expiration. And I do agree: Enjoy it, because nothing is guaranteed,” Roberts said.
“It’s going to be a great year and I hope everyone pours their spirits and their joy into this season, because it’s going to be a great one. We’ll just figure out where it goes after that.”
Discussions and talk about a salary cap, salary floor, or some way to stop the Dodgers from spending their way to wins will continue, but for at least another year, so will the Dodgers’ winning.
