The 2026 World Series starts later this week, and with it, potentially the last Major League Baseball games we'll see for quite some time.
asserted
we → start → time
On Dec. 1, the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the league's owners and the MLB Players Association expires.
asserted
Agreement → expire → owners
Barring some extremely unforeseen circumstances, the owners will immediately proceed to a lockout.
asserted
owners → bar → lockout
Players will be barred from contact with team personnel, unable to use team facilities, along with many other noticeable changes designed to pretend as though the stars who sustain the sport don't exist.
asserted
who → bar → sport
This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners.
uncertain
page → contain → partners
If you sign up or place a wager, FOX News may be compensated.
uncertain
News → sign → wager
This content was created by a team that works independently from the FOX newsroom.
asserted
that → create → newsroom
Nobody knows how long negotiations to determine the next Collective Bargaining Agreement will take to resolve.
asserted
negotiations → know → Agreement
Nobody knows how long the lockout will continue, or if spring training or the 2027 regular season will start on time.
asserted
training → know → time
If the league will miss games and potentially jeopardize the sustained growth baseball has enjoyed.
asserted
baseball → miss → growth
For example, the 2026 NLCS between the Dodgers and Brewers was the highest rated LCS from either league since 2015, despite lasting just four games.
asserted
NLCS → rat → games
Attendance has increased.
asserted
Attendance → increase → ?
National ratings have increased.
asserted
ratings → increase → ?
And the owners are reportedly committed to blowing it all up in order to fight for a salary cap.
uncertain
owners → commit → cap
Except one of their newest members just accidentally blew up their entire case and rationalization for it.
asserted
one → blow → it
The salary cap fight stems from anger and outrage over the Los Angeles Dodgers' offseason spending.
asserted
fight → stem → spending
After winning the 2024 and 2025 World Series, the Dodgers added Kyle Tucker on a $240 million, 4-year deal.
asserted
Dodgers → win → deal
Then signed closer Edwin Diaz to a 3-year, $69 million contract.
asserted
Diaz → sign → contract
Opposing fans were furious, some suggested canceling the season because a third straight title was a foregone conclusion, and prominent writers egged them on with misleading comments.
uncertain
writers → oppose → comments
Fast forward to late October and it's almost impossible to age worse than these predictions of baseball doom.
asserted
it → fast → doom
Edwin Diaz had an ERA near nine in the regular season, battled several injuries, and turned in one of the worst reliever seasons in baseball.
asserted
Diaz → have → baseball
The Dodgers won the division series, then got swept by the small market Brewers.
asserted
Dodgers → win → Brewers
The American League will send either the Cleveland Guardians, with the lowest payroll in the league, or the endlessly cheap Tampa Bay Rays to the World Series.
asserted
League → send → Series
Fans are quick to dismiss these (quite common) results as "outliers."
asserted
Fans → dismiss → outliers
And even though the Brewers have the best record in baseball for two straight seasons.
asserted
Brewers → have → seasons
They might be able to (inaccurately) dismiss the results.
uncertain
They → dismiss → results
But they can't dismiss a small market owner proudly bragging about how much money he and his team are making.
asserted
he → dismiss → money
Local outlet Baltimore Baseball reported that Rubenstein, speaking at the Economic Club of Washington, D.C., told a group of other sports team owners that he bought the organization in part because of how much money they were making.
asserted
they → report → money
"A lot of my friends were buying teams, and I realized they're making money.
asserted
they → buy → money
They're making more money than I'm making in private equity," Rubenstein explained, per Baltimore Baseball.
asserted
Rubenstein → make → Baseball
"I thought I should look at it as a financial thing, but ultimately I bought the Orioles for a philanthropic purpose.
asserted
I → think → purpose
I grew up in Baltimore, as people know.
asserted
people → grow → Baltimore
I didn't think I'd done enough for Baltimore, so I bought the team to help revive the team a bit and ultimately revive Baltimore because Baltimore had some challenges."
asserted
Baltimore → think → challenges
He did claim that "owners care more about winning than making money (but they're) not against making money."
uncertain
they → claim → money
Rubenstein's laudable "charity" aside, the admission that baseball teams are making more money than private equity is about as damning as it gets for the league's salary cap arguments.
asserted
it → make → arguments
Baseball is a highly profitable industry, small market teams are bringing in enormous sums of money, and many owners are choosing to pocket it instead of reinvesting in their rosters.
asserted
owners → bring → rosters
Because they're not "against making money."
asserted
they → make → money
One X user showed how prolific small market owners are at pocketing money.
asserted
owners → show → money
While the highest payrolls have increased substantially over the last decade, the lowest payrolls have remained nearly flat.
asserted
payrolls → increase → decade
Yet the league is making substantially more money than it was in the 2010s, and cumulative inflation since 2015 has been over 42%.
asserted
inflation → make → %
…and 14 more, not listed.
The Aporia
