Winds of Change Blow in Parity for Baseball

The winds of change are blowing through Major League Baseball and baseball fans all over the world should be rejoicing.

What winds you ask? How about these ones:

- Joe Mauer and the Twins agree on a 8-year, $184 million deal.

- Felix Hernandez and the Mariners agree on a 5-year, $78 million deal.

- Josh Johnson and the Marlins agree on a 4-year, $39 million deal.

- Justin Verlander and the Tigers agree on a 5-year, $80 million deal.

These deals indicate a significantly important concession on the part of both the players and the teams with one important goal in mind; increased parity. The also hold true with the recent signing of Ryan Braun (Brewers) and Evan Longoria (Rays) that show teams committing to their young stars earlier, and the players in turn committing to their teams and showing loyalty in the face of impending free agency.

Small market clubs have learned that with risk comes reward, so they've taken it upon themselves to reward the young players early on in their careers, in order to maximize the amount of time these players stay under their control. More often than not, the controlling team is able to work out a deal that benefits the club financially in the long run by buying out the arbitration eligible years, as well as a few years of free agency. Of course, this could also hurt as well as help, as baseball contracts are binding, and if a player washes up, that club can be saddled with that contract for years. However, the teams are getting smarter in their scouting and development processes to know when they are getting their money's worth, as well as rewarding the player for his efforts on the field.

Baseball, perhaps more so than any of the other professional leagues, needed such a concession in order to preserve itself. Unlike the other leagues, at least until the recent expiration of the collective bargaining agreement in the NFL, baseball was the only league that operated without a salary cap, making it difficult for the smaller market teams to compete with the likes of Boston, New York, and Los Angeles to lure or maintain top talents.

Parity is the key to keeping the sport fresh and helping people forget about the steroid era. By increasing the chances of all clubs to win, or at the very least field competitive teams, Major League Baseball ensures that the fans are invested in their teams year-round, and locked into the present, not the past. Letting the league fall into essentially a four or five team-dominated sport would push fans away in the long run.

Still, there are drawbacks to letting the game fix itself with money rather than fixing the true problems; free agency and the lack of a salary cap. The NHL learned the hard way a few years ago when it was forced to lockout players during the 2004-05 season because player salaries outgrew the income the game itself was generating. Owners and teams were saddling themselves with burdensome contracts that made it impossible to maneuver and generate any sort of profit from their business. Ultimately, it caused the teams to demand a salary cap before it drove the league under. Now, Major League Baseball enjoys a significantly larger popularity with sports fans than the NHL, but fortunes can change, especially with ongoing steroid related issues. Teams would be wise to look to the NHL as an example of what not to do in order to build winning teams.

In the meantime, with these owners showing commitment to their players and their teams and changing the landscape of the future free agent classes, they are in turn promoting the larger market teams to also develop their own talent, which creates a level playing field throughout the game. Every team is forced to make concessions in order to fill their roster needs, without the worry of all the major stars being swallowed by the few with bigger pockets.

And in the end, that's all that any baseball fan wants; an even playing field.

Sources:

Mauer Gets Full No Trade Clause In Deal, ESPN.com

Felix Hernandez Signs Long Term Deal, TheSunBreak.com

Sources: Johnson Agrees to $39 Million Extension With Marlins, FoxSports.com

Report: Verlander Agrees to $80 Million Extension With Tigers, Fanhouse.com

NHL Lockout, Wikipedia.com