"Embarrassed for your fan base…be better" - San Francisco Giants outfielder unhappy with MLB payroll gap, lashes out on low paying teams on Twitter
Joc Pederson recently signed with the San Francisco Giants after winning a World Series title with the Atlanta Braves a season ago. The payroll gap is eye-opening for anyone to look at and is a concern for many people across the game going forward. What changes can be made to force owners to spend more on roster payroll?
Joc Pederson took to Twitter to vent his frustrations about the payroll gap in baseball. Pederson is one of the most popular players in baseball. Many fans and players across the league are displaying this same frustration. How can the MLB become more competitive?
Embarrassed for your fan base…be better. If you can’t, sell ur team to somebody that wants to show the fan base and baseball they’re at least trying to compete. Sorry unacceptable https://t.co/n5KZpxgEor
"Embarrassed for your fan base... be better. If you can't, sell ur team to somebody that wants to show the fan base and baseball they're at least trying to compete. Sorry unacceptable" - @ Joc Pederson
Joc Pederson did not hold back when discussing the payroll gap in baseball. The league should be embarrassed that the gap between small and large markets is this much. If the league wants to be more competitive, then change needs to happen.
The top team payroll held by the Los Angeles Dodgers at over $270 million is more than the bottom five teams combined. The bottom five teams combined payroll is $211,925,000.
I didn't *quite* realize the exact distribution of team payrolls throughout MLB.
Yeah. Pretty crazy. https://t.co/HzZ2slGI9H
"I didn't *quite* realize the exact distribution of team payrolls throughout MLB. Yeah. Pretty Crazy." - @ Kyle Boddy
This is a major issue in baseball, and something needs to be done about it. How can anyone expect a team with a $30 million payroll to compete with the Los Angeles Dodgers? Freddie Freeman's salary of $27 millon alone is almost the amount of the Baltimore Orioles' entire payroll this season!
Joc Pederson's MLB payroll issues: How can baseball become more competitive?
Major League baseball can do many different things to help the payroll gap. Teams could have a salary cap or perhaps set a minimum payroll spending amount.
One potential solution is to implement a salary cap on teams. The NFL and NBA have salary caps, and it provides teams in smaller markets to be much more competitive. Another solution on top of the salary cap is to have a minimum payroll that teams have to spend.
For example, the minimum payroll could be set at $75 million, and the salary cap could be set at $200 million. These types of caps and minimum spending requirements could be greatly beneficial for baseball fans who want to see more competitive games.
Joc Pederson's concerns over payroll gaps are not a new issue and hopefully, players and fan influences like Pederson's can make a change in the huge disparity.