Dear Rob Manfred, MLB & The Players Union,

I write to you today in the wake of another fabulous World Series, one that will live on forever. The Jays and Dodgers exemplified all that is good about our National Pastime. That “good” is why I write to you now, as the offseason begins and we head towards a season that is the last of the current CBA.

That may seem like an overly dark subject matter to bring up after such a great series, but as a fan I think it’s worth reminding ourselves, and you what you run the risk of damaging. Baseball, for all its analytical faults and annoyances, is in a very healthy place. It is regaining popularity on the national stage in a big way thanks to a number of key factors. Games are a blast to go to and watch, especially in October, where the sport becomes artistic theater. The pitch clock has sped up the product to make the game experience more brisk both at home and in person. But above all, the strong health of the game is rooted in its stars.

You now boast a league full of unique talents, after seemingly being devoid of major super stars for a bit. Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge, Cal Raleigh, Tarik Skubal, Juan Soto, and others are all household names that draw both stadium crowds and tv audiences. Their stats make headlines and their jaw dropping performances draw the same attention as football and basketball players who go viral routinely. This is a crop of players who should only take the sport higher in stature for years to come…so long as they’re allowed to.

The last time the league went on strike, or at least the last time it cost the sport scheduled games, the year was 1994. Similarly back in 94, the sport was enjoying the emergence of a new crop of stars, and the chance to grow the game with them heading into the new millennium. But the strike that cancelled the World Series and delayed the start of the 95 season did real harm to the game. Harm that was not easily undone as fans did not come back in large numbers and a lot of adjustments to the sport were ongoing, ones that were not popular at first like the Wild Card. Fans really didn’t come back until 1998, thanks to some great World Series games and record breaking home run chase. Putting that responsibility on this group of stars would be an unfair ask as I’m not sure people will be nearly as forgiving, so my closing points below should hopefully help settle it.

There are absolutely things that need to be fixed. The most problematic is ownership and the lack of money spent. The sport is plagued by cheap owners who don’t want to invest heavily in their clubs, unfortunately you can’t get rid of all the bad owners. This leaves me and many others in favor of some kind of salary cap structure that along with a “salary floor” would provoke the cheap teams to spend simply because they have to. Things like that and others would promote greater competitive balance and help to aid the overall league. Now while yours truly on board with some of it, none of this should get in the way of the 2027 season. Nothing is more important to this sport than being out there playing and they need to make that happen in 27. So please all parties involved do the right thing for once. After all the good things we just watched…imagine walking from this.

Thanks for reading this one from the heart as the season has come to close. I have to credit Monday’s episode of the Bill Simmons podcast where he spoke briefly about avoiding another 1994 lockout. I’d recommend keeping his feed handy as this subject will probably come up again and he will do it plenty more justice than I can. It’s been a pleasure covering baseball all year for you here and there will be much more to come in the days and weeds jack.

On twitter you can find Mike @Mike_Sheerin, Tyler @TMon_19 and Sean @SeanMartinNFL. Subscribe to the site by hitting the follow button in the bottom right corner and entering your email address. Check out our Instagram feed @thebroadwaybreakdownsports for special gameday and promotional content. Our podcasts are available on Spotify. Visit the Rangers Ed Shop by clicking the link on our homepage. Check out our mailbag page to join the conversation here on the site and on our partners show, The Rangers Ed Podcast! We’ll be back with more soon.