Toronto Blue Jays Paid Price To Dance With Los Angeles Dodgers in World Series

In the immediate aftermath of his team winning the National League pennant, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts lowered his guard and spoke emotionally about what might happen next: The Dodgers becoming the first repeat champions in Major League Baseball in 32 years.

Turning to his players, and also telling an international TV audience, Roberts said:

"Before this season started, they said: 'The Dodgers are ruining baseball.' Let's get four more wins, and really ruin baseball! Let's go!"

Roberts is not making up phantom allegations. Ever since the Dodgers won the World Series a year ago, many fans and media have expressed that a repeat would be the worst thing to happen in MLB.

The nutshell thinking being:

• A big-market team buys another championship
• Further exploiting the league's economic disparity
• And hardening the collective resolve of other MLB owners to leverage a hard salary cap
• By locking out the players when the current agreement with the MLBPA elapses after the 2026 season
• And potentially nuking the 2027 season

Some or all of that could happen, but the Toronto Blue Jays beating the Dodgers starting with Game 1 on Friday night won't "save baseball," just like it wouldn't have if the Milwaukee Brewers had won the NL Championship Series.

It's one thing for fans who don't like the Dodgers, or the idea of the Dodgers, to say they need to lose. It's another for those who should know better.

While the frugal Brewers looked and spent the part of David to the Dodgers' Goliath, the Blue Jays reportedly shelled out about $240 million in payroll, which was fifth in the league. And it would have been a lot more had they been able to persuade Shohei Ohtani to board that plane to Toronto when he was shopping for a team in the offseason.

The Jays couldn't land Ohtani, but they also don't act in desperate need of a GoFundMe.

Besides, as far as pushing a lockout, MLB owners are going to do what they're going to do. They surely could do something to make the league more competitive from top to bottom, and give smaller-market teams a better chance to win, but taking money from the players via salary cap isn't it.

Each other: That's who the owners ought to be sticking up. But talking about MLB owners sharing revenue fairly is its own boondoggle.

The Dodgers don't simply double-up their opponents on major league payroll and walk away with the Commissioner's Trophy every season.

If that were true, they'd have more than eight World Series titles in 142 seasons of existence.

It's funny: Simply by following the Dodgers blueprint, other teams should have all of the clues they need to compete, even within the faulty economic system MLB has now.

It wouldn't be fully equitable, not how they want it or say they do, but it would be better.

And the Dodgers have shown them all the way.

The Dodgers spend tons on payroll, although they have spent less in recent years than most people probably realize, or care to admit out loud.

They also devote significant resources to other areas, like player development and international scouting, both of which help them win games.

Methods and monies that every team could use, and should, instead of pocketing the revenue-sharing cash.

Conversely: If the Brewers actually had spent more on payroll than the Colorado Rockies by acquiring a couple of right-handed power hitters and a better starting pitcher, maybe they already would have slain Goliath.

They didn't even have to spend like the Philadelphia Phillies, who came pretty close to beating the Dodgers in the Division Series round. Just better than the bottom 30 percent.

No matter.

Now it's the underdog (underbird?) Blue Jays who have a shot to prevent the first repeat winner in MLB in 32 years.

We now return you to this "crisis," already in progress.