Major League Baseball remains the only North American professional sport without a ceiling on team spending, due in large part to the fearsome power of its players’ union. But owners recently declared their intent to impose a salary cap, setting them on a collision course with the players, who remain opposed to joining their capped peers in football, hockey and basketball.Baseball has enjoyed a resurgence in attendance and interest of late following rule changes like the pitch clock that have noticeably shortened the overall length of games. Hanging over the upcoming negotiations are memories of the disastrous 1994 labor stoppage that canceled the World Series, leading to a yearslong downturn in attendance and enthusiasm. It remains to be seen whether owners are willing to risk baseball’s new era of prosperity by dying on the hill of a salary cap.
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