Gary’s Q&A

Listener question & Gary’s response · Transcript passage

Sylvain Charbonneau asks If you could change one thing in professional sports, any sport, what would it be?

One of the first things I’d do is put a hard salary cap in major league baseball. Baseball is the one North American sport without a hard salary cap, and it results in massive differences in payroll between teams.

For example, the Philadelphia Phillies this year have a payroll of $215 million dollars, while the Oakland A’s only have a payroll of $33 million. I’d institute a cap as well as a floor because right now, teams can make good money by losing by just not spending money on players.

I would also take an extended break in the middle of the baseball season for a single-elimination playoff tournament. This would be taking a page from the single-elimination tournaments which are held in Europe, like the FA Cup. Like the FA Cup, I’d allow minor league teams to take part as well, with major league teams getting a buy to later rounds.

One thing I like about the way European sports are organized is that there are multiple trophies that a team can contend for each year.

Another thing I’d change is the odd way Major League Soccer signs players. Technically, every MLS player is signed by the league, not the team, which is bizarre. Each team also has odd rules about the amount that can be spent on which position, so defenders are usually underpaid.