When the Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays take the field tonight for World Series Game 1, they will be playing, first and foremost, for rings and the glory of a title — even in a shortened, strange season. But the two main overtones of the series will also clash right away.
Can Clayton Kershaw and the era of close-but-no-cigar Dodgers dominance he personifies break through with a championship? And what does this matchup of polar opposites portend for the future of baseball team economics?
Kershaw — a surefire future Hall of Famer and likely the best pitcher of his generation — makes $31 million a year on his current contract.