Nov 1, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Miguel Rojas (72) celebrates with two-way player Shohei Ohtani (17) after scoring against the Toronto Blue Jays in the ninth inning during game seven of the 2025 MLB World Series at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images John E. Sokolowski
2001 and 2016 will have something to say about it, but Game 7 of the 2025 World Series was one of the greatest winner-take-all contests in recent MLB history. It was the perfect ending to a legendary Fall Classic.
MIGUEL ROJAS WITH THE BIGGEST SWING OF HIS LIFE 💥
GAME 7 IS TIED IN TORONTO pic.twitter.com/tDwUGzBrVq
— MLB (@MLB) November 2, 2025
Contrary to the opinion of some, baseball is mostly in a great place. Yes, the mighty Los Angeles Dodgers just repeated, but they were the first team to do so since the New York Yankees won three in a row from 1998-2000. There was a thought before the season that the Dodgers would steamroll through baseball in 2025. They didn't. Los Angeles won the NL West with a relatively modest 93 wins. They were pushed to the brink in the World Series. It's hardly as if the Dodgers have made baseball anti-climactic.
Let's take a step back. When I first began covering the Phillies in 2020, the sport wasn't in a good place. Part of that was because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and locally, an unthinkably bad bullpen for the Phillies made them a particularly rough watch. But the sport as a whole wasn't fun. Games were too long. Teams had become too good at defensive shifting. Though National League pitchers didn't bat in 2020, they did again in 2021, and it was clear how much of a farce that had become.
Baseball emerged from a 99-day owner-induced lockout in the 2021-22 winter with the DH universal. Ahead of the 2023 season, the pitch clock was put in place, and drastic overshifts were banned. There was some initial bellyaching about the pitch clock — particularly from veteran pitchers who had to adjust — but it's been the greatest move of Rob Manfred's tenure as commissioner. The average game time has dropped from three hours and 11 minutes in 2021 to two hours and 38 minutes in 2025. Balls hit between the first and second baseman are once again singles thanks to limitations on shifting. The watchability of the sport in recent years has become drastically better.
Above all else, people are excited about baseball again. Shohei Ohtani is probably the greatest player in MLB history. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and the Blue Jays put on such a good showing this postseason that you wonder whether it's time for Canada to once again have a second team. Tarik Skubal is about to become the first pitcher since Pedro Martinez in 1999 and 2000 to repeat as AL Cy Young Award winner. Cal Raleigh and Aaron Judge just had one of the greatest AL MVP races ever. Paul Skenes is about to go from NL Rookie of the Year to NL Cy Young Award winner as he continues an unfathomable start to his career.
CAL RALEIGH'S 60TH HOMER OF THE SEASON GOT OUT IN A HURRY 😱 pic.twitter.com/P47l5L4Pjp
There are issues in baseball that need to be resolved, probably starting with the local TV rights, which absolutely contribute to how much some teams have to spend. The Dodgers are smart for exploiting the loophole, but the next collective bargaining agreement probably needs to mandate that while you can defer money into the future, it should all count towards the luxury tax threshold in the present. Maybe consideration needs to be given to banning deferring money altogether, though the Dodgers are hardly the only team to do that.
The biggest issue, though, remains owners like Bob Nutting (Pittsburgh Pirates), Bruce Sherman (Miami Marlins) and John Fisher (Athletics) that aren't committed to spending. Are those franchise's capable of spending the same money as the Dodgers, both New York franchises and even the Phillies? No. But the Dodgers finished the season with payroll of $350 million, per Spotrac. The Pirates, Marlins and A's — all of whom who receive revenue sharing dollars from major-market clubs like the Dodgers — finished the season with payrolls under $90 million. The gap isn't that big.
Baseball does need a salary floor, but they won't get that without also agreeing to a salary cap. And the only way there will ever be a salary cap is if owners tank the entire 2027 season, with the current CBA set to expire after the 2026 campaign. That would be foolish considering the momentum baseball has.
The Mets, the team with the second-highest payroll in baseball, just missed the playoffs. So did the Houston Astros, Texas Rangers and Atlanta Braves, who finished sixth, seventh and eighth in payroll, respectively. It's just not the case that the small-budget franchises aren't able to compete, particularly when the Milwaukee Brewers just led baseball in wins. No team won 100 games in 2025.
Next offseason, there will almost certainly be a lockout. That will suck, just as it did after the 2022 season. But while it took a little rearranging of the schedule, 162 games were still played in 2022. The sport really wasn't harmed by the lockout, because they didn't miss any games. And priority No. 1 from all parties involved needs to be not missing any games in 2027, because baseball is trending in a very positive direction overall.
