"That time might be now, at least according to fans outside Los Angeles. The Dodgers are the first back-to-back World Series champions in 25 years, they are guaranteed hundreds of millions of dollars in local television revenue every year at a time some teams are guaranteed nothing, and they are the only team with a roster headlined by a pitcher/designated hitter/tourist attraction/marketing icon/cash machine."
"As major league owners meet here this week to consider a probable push for a salary cap, I asked one of those owners - one with a team that competes against the Dodgers in the National League West - what he hears from fans on that score. "I think all of us recognize that fans are not happy when they see their team not being able to be as competitive as they would like," Arizona Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick said. "That is a widely known situation.""
"where the Diamondbacks last won a division championship in 2011, the year before Mark Walter and Guggenheim Baseball bought the Dodgers. To Arizona fans, the enemy is not the system, even if Kendrick says the Dodgers have mastered the system rather than skirted it. To Arizona fans, the enemy is the Dodgers. "They are the 900-pound gorilla," Kendrick said. "I think it's obviously widely seen that way by everybody who has any interest in our sport. They are seen as that.""
The Dodgers are back-to-back World Series champions, secured massive local television revenue deals, and field a roster centered on a high-profile two-way player who doubles as a major marketing draw. Many small-market teams lack comparable television income and struggle to compete, generating fan anger and calls for systemic change. Commissioner Rob Manfred noted widespread fan concern about competitive imbalance. Major league owners are meeting to consider a probable push for a salary cap. Arizona Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick acknowledged fans' unhappiness and called the Dodgers the "900-pound gorilla." The Diamondbacks last won a division title in 2011, a year before the Dodgers' ownership change.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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