By Adam Soule
Sports Columnist


Wanted: A baseball commissioner that will propose, and deliver, a solution for the outrageous spending practices of the elite teams in Major League Baseball, as well as the unprecedented salary levels of its players.

I ask for such a thing because I believe that the seemingly unlimited spending capabilities of a few select teams, as well as the ever rising salaries of ball players, has put a black cloud over the professional baseball landscape.

There are two key events in the past five years of the league that have led to this predicament, the first being Alex Rodriguez’ signing with the Texas Rangers in 2000.

Rodriguez was offered and agreed to a contract that pays him $252 million over 10 years. The contract, which began in the 2001 season, makes him the highest paid player in the history of the game.

This is bad for baseball because the levels that the Rangers were willing to spend cannot be matched by most teams. The playing field, therefore, becomes uneven.

This leads into my second problem with MLB, the so-called ‘Hot Stove’, a term referring to the off-season roster moves and anticipation that shapes the upcoming season.

Dozens of the games greatest players changed squads including one of baseball’s very best, Rodriguez. What a coincidence.

Alex Rodriguez was named the American League MVP last season and is arguably the best player in the game today. First there was talk of Alex going to the Boston Red Sox for fellow All-Star Manny Ramirez. The deal never materialized and the chance of Rodriguez moving to another team looked slim, especially after being named the team’s captain shortly after the talks with the Red Sox terminated.

However, George Steinbrenner, the owner of the New York Yankees, persuaded the Rangers to trade Alex to their club in exchange for their own All-Star, Alfonso Soriano.

This wasn’t the only move that Steinbrenner and the Yankees made that caused such a stir.

The team also landed Gary Sheffield, a strong candidate for last season’s National League MVP honors. Never in the history of any of the top four American professional sports (baseball, football, basketball and hockey) has two of the best players from the previous year signed on to play for the same team.

Alex Rodriguez and Gary Sheffield were perhaps the best two hitters in either league last season. Both of these players signed with the New York Yankees this off-season helping to create a team the consisted of more than a dozen current and former All-Stars.

Not only that, but the Yankees may have a payroll that amounts to an unprecedented $200 million this upcoming season. There were only seven other teams, out of the 28 teams overall, that had payrolls over $100 million last year. And none of those teams were close to the $180 million spent by the Yankees.

Another unfair advantage goes to those that are able to spend, spend, spend.

There are no regulations on how much a team can spend on players, and there is no limit on how high a player’s salary might be. These are the two problems that must be addressed to cure the game from these recent ailments.

The only rule in place today in MLB that tries to stop these trends is the luxury tax. Any team spending over $117 million on player’s salaries must pay a tax, which in turn goes to the teams with the lowest team payrolls. This has done little to change the tide, as evidenced by the latest moves of the Yankees in particular.

The commissioner and the other heads of the league must take steps to create a team salary cap or at least limit the amount a player can earn each season.

This philosophy has created a more balanced playing field in other sports and I think that it is time for baseball to do the same.

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