Sports
Brewers’ World Series berth sets up rare low-payroll title matchup
Milwaukee will meet Tampa Bay or Cleveland in a World Series beginning Oct. 23, guaranteeing the first championship matchup between two teams from the lower half of MLB payrolls since 1991. The series arrives amid an escalating labor dispute over owners’ push for a salary cap.
The Milwaukee Brewers are headed to the World Series after sweeping the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series, setting up an unusual matchup between teams that spent far less on players than baseball’s biggest clubs.
Milwaukee will face either the Tampa Bay Rays or Cleveland Guardians in the best-of-seven series, which begins Oct. 23. Whichever team emerges from the American League, both World Series clubs will have ranked in the lower half of Major League Baseball payrolls—the first such pairing since 1991, when Minnesota defeated Atlanta.
The Brewers ranked 19th in payroll as of Aug. 31. Tampa Bay ranked 25th and Cleveland 30th. On Opening Day, Milwaukee’s payroll was $125.9 million, compared with $90.5 million for the Rays and $75.5 million for the Guardians. The New York Mets, Dodgers and Yankees each spent more than the combined Opening Day payrolls of those three contenders: $358.4 million, $323.3 million and $302.8 million, respectively.
The matchup comes as MLB owners and players prepare for a contentious labor fight. Owners have proposed a salary cap paired with a minimum spending level, while players’ union officials say players will not accept a cap. A lockout is expected to begin Dec. 2, threatening the 2027 season.
Commissioner Rob Manfred has argued that higher spending improves a team’s chances of reaching and advancing through the playoffs. At July’s All-Star Game, he said the data showed a substantial advantage for teams in larger markets. Players’ association head Bruce Meyer pushed back, saying all owners have the resources to compete and that union proposals would give lower-spending clubs additional resources and reward teams that do compete.
The history of labor disputes offers a cautionary parallel. After Minnesota’s 1991 championship, a players’ strike followed in 1994 as owners sought a salary cap, and the World Series was canceled. No cap was adopted then. Since that 1991 Twins team, only three World Series champions—the 2002 Anaheim Angels, 2003 Florida Marlins and 2017 Houston Astros—entered the season with payrolls in the bottom half of the league.
The city-size contrast is also notable. Milwaukee is MLB’s smallest designated market area, ranking 30th, while Cleveland ranks 22nd and Tampa Bay 15th. If Cleveland advances, the series would be the first since 2006 to feature two teams from the bottom half of MLB markets. Kansas City, which won in 2015, remains the most recent small-market team to take the championship.