Major League Baseball has no salary cap, and that’s not always a good thing.
The New York Yankees, who bought Babe Ruth, have won the World Series 27 times. The Los Angeles Dodgers had a $291 million payroll two years ago; the Miami Marlins’ was about one-fifth of that at $63 million.
Instead of a salary cap — a seismic concession that the world’s most powerful players union would never agree to — MLB imposes a Competitive Balance Tax (aka, a “luxury tax”) on its big spenders. And owners have tried to create the public posture that this is a scarlet dollar sign they don’t want to wear.