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Red Sox-Dodgers World Series Proves Money Still Matters In MLB

Dave Dombrowski's aggressiveness led to the Red Sox having baseball’s highest payroll in '18GETTY IMAGES

The Red Sox and Dodgers will face off tonight in World Series Game 1, and both teams are "proof of a cold reality that has survived the sport's efforts to become more egalitarian: money matters," according to Diamond & Costa of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. Red Sox President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski and Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman have nearly "unrivaled financial resources at their disposal." Small-market teams "can succeed, if everything goes right." For the richest teams, however, there is "more than one path to a pennant, as evidenced by this season’s matchup, which pits two of the three biggest spenders in the major leagues." With an "iconic venue in Fenway Park, a massive fan base and a lucrative regional television network, the Red Sox have long ranked among the sport’s economic heavyweights." That has paired well with Dombrowski’s "fearlessness in making the big splash." Because of his "aggressiveness, the Red Sox had baseball’s highest payroll" in '18. Thanks to an RSN deal valued at more than $8B, the Dodgers’ payroll "ballooned to record highs for the sport." Their payroll "ranked third in the majors" in '18 (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 10/23).

SHOW ME THE MONEY: In N.Y., Tyler Kepner notes the Dodgers have gone "three decades without a title," but have spent about $1.4B in salaries to claim the last six NL West crowns. Following NLCS Game 7, Dodgers President & CEO Stan Kasten said, "Asking us to compete against these high-payroll teams is a little unfair, but we’ll do what we can. I’m loving that line. I’ve waited so long to use that!" (N.Y. TIMES, 10/23). In Minneapolis, Michael Rand wrote Red Sox-Dodgers is an "accurate reflection of the inequality that exists in the sport." Baseball was "denied the chance to peddle an underdog story to the masses." Rand: "We’re left instead with simple truth: The best way to compete consistently in MLB ... is to spend big." But while an inflated payroll "doesn’t guarantee success," it "sure increases the margin for error" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 10/22). In St. Louis, Benjamin Hochman wrote in "many ways, winning in the modern baseball postseason is the same as winning in any era of baseball -- spend and win." The "proof is in the postseason." Teams have "got to pay to play." The best teams "spend the most money, have the most depth and the most versatility" (STLTODAY.com, 10/22).

BIG SPENDERS: In Boston, Alex Speier notes the Red Sox organization has "blown its way to the third and highest tier of luxury tax spending," investing more than $237M in payroll. No team in MLB has "spent more, or even anything close, this year." No Red Sox team has ever "plowed so much money into its major league team." But not all of those investments have "yielded solid or even any returns," as evidenced by the releases of DH Hanley Ramirez and 3B Pablo Sandoval in the last two years. Given those "disappointments, it wouldn’t have been shocking for the team to hold back on further investments in the free agent market." However, the team "reached the conclusion that it should continue to invest." Red Sox President & CEO Sam Kennedy said that the decision "occurred organically in the steady dialogue" between himself, Dombrowski, Owner John Henry and Chair Tom Werner. Kennedy: "John and Tom are very, very active in the day-to-day of these conversations, whether it’s a business opportunity we’re working on, signing players, setting a budget." Kennedy "couldn’t say whether the team would have felt comfortable spending to the point that it did" in '18 had it "not gotten under the threshold" in '17 (BOSTON GLOBE, 10/23).

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