As the baseball season opens at Tokyo Dome this Tuesday, Shohei Ohtani will step up to bat fresh off winning the World Series. The Los Angeles Dodgers, the reigning champions, will begin their quest to defend their title against 29 other teams all vying to take the crown away from them. The Dodgers have bolstered their roster using their financial leverage, hoping to achieve back-to-back championships, a feat last accomplished by the New York Yankees from 1998 to 2000. Joining the Dodgers’ pitching arsenal are Blake Snell and standout newcomer Roki Sasaki, under the leadership of ace pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who will take the mound for the opener against the Chicago Cubs in Japan. Ohtani and the Dodgers have played pivotal roles in expanding Major League Baseball’s appeal in Asia, having started the prior season with a game against San Diego in Seoul, South Korea.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred remarked, “Normally, we’d distribute exposure among teams differently, but Ohtani presents a unique opportunity we’re keen to maximize.” Last year, MLB’s earnings soared to a record $12.1 billion, a significant increase from $11.6 billion in 2023. Attendance also saw a rise of 0.9%, averaging 29,568 fans per game—its highest since 2017 and marking the first consecutive annual increase since 2011-2012. Furthermore, the Dodgers’ five-game World Series victory over the Yankees attracted an average of 15.81 million viewers, the best since 2017 for the Fall Classic.
The four teams that reached the League Championship Series were mostly big spenders. The Dodgers had the second-highest payroll and luxury tax at $374 million, trailing only the New York Mets at $430 million, with the Yankees not far behind. In stark contrast, the Oakland Athletics spent a mere $66 million in their final season in Oakland, fueling discussions about a potential salary cap once the current labor agreement ends in 2026. “There’s no reason to shift focus to collective bargaining just yet,” Manfred stated. “We haven’t even crafted a bargaining stance.”
In a high-profile offseason maneuver, Mets owner Steve Cohen splurged some of his hedge fund profits to acquire outfielder Juan Soto from the Yankees with an unprecedented $765 million, 15-year contract. Cohen confidently noted, “I’ll compete under any circumstances. You set the rules, and I’ll play by them.”
Although smaller-budget teams often lack the financial prowess of their larger rivals, history has shown that payroll doesn’t guarantee success throughout multiple playoff rounds and the grueling demands on players. Since the luxury tax’s inception, only teams like the 2020 Dodgers, 2018 Boston Red Sox, and 2009 Yankees have won championships.
Both the Athletics and the Rays face venue transitions. Leaving behind the Oakland Coliseum, their home since 1968, the Athletics will spend a minimum of three seasons at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento—a venue with a 14,000-seat capacity—before moving to a planned stadium in Las Vegas. “The venue has its charm,” said Manfred. “It’s an opportunity for fans to enjoy Major League Baseball in a more intimate setting.” Similarly, the Tampa Bay Rays will relocate their home games after Tropicana Field sustained damage from Hurricane Milton. They will play at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, a site with capacity for 11,000 fans and the Yankees’ spring training headquarters. Manfred highlighted, “This temporary move to Tampa presents a chance to glean insights about the overall Tampa Bay market that could be beneficial for the team’s future.”
MLB is also venturing into producing local TV broadcasts for teams like Arizona, Cleveland, Colorado, Minnesota, and San Diego with aspirations to consolidate media rights for more franchises. While Cincinnati and Milwaukee initially planned to join this shift, they opted instead to partner with Main Street Sports Group, taking charge of broadcasting nine teams. The national TV contracts with Fox and Turner Sports will run out after the 2028 season, while ESPN has decided to end its contract three years early in 2025. Manfred commented, “We have a significant number of interested parties regarding broadcast rights, and as they clarify their positions, I’ll have a better sense of timing.”
As pitchers continue to push the boundary with fastball velocity at unprecedented levels—an average of 94.3 mph last year—offensive stats struggled to keep pace. The collective batting average of .2433 was low historically, not far from infamously low years like 1968 and 1908. With only seven batters achieving .300 averages last year, discussions surrounding the impact of measuring devices and restricted defensive positioning continue.
One technological advancement on the horizon is the potential use of Automated Ball/Strike systems. Tested during spring training, the system has generally been well-received, though it faces some backlash, notably from pitcher Max Scherzer. MLB will seek feedback from owners, officials, and players before determining its fate for regular season use by 2026. Fan reaction, according to Manfred, has been “overwhelmingly positive.”
However, addressing the epidemic of pitcher injuries poses a different challenge. Gerrit Cole’s season-ending elbow injury reignited the conversation. An MLB study suggests high velocities and the demand for maximum effort exacerbate the injury crisis among pitchers, though Manfred believes it’s premature to enforce rule changes. “We’re focusing on training improvements, especially in the offseason,” he explained. “We aim for a mix of education and guidelines, acknowledging the difficulty in policing professional athletes’ offseason regimens.”
