“Before this season started, they said, The Dodgers are ruining baseball. Let’s get four more wins and really ruin baseball!” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts clapped back at the naysayers after winning the NLCS a week ago. No, he didn’t coin the term “the Dodgers are ruining baseball.” Rather, the phrase gained significant traction among fans and rival organizations following the Dodgers’ high-profile offseason spending spree for the 2025 season, which included the signings of Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Tyler Glasnow. 

Moreover, with a payroll exceeding $350 million for 2025, the Dodgers went on a spending spree in the last two offseasons and were expected to sweep the World Series. Although not swept, winning the World Series for a second consecutive time reignited the debate over whether MLB should implement a salary cap. Check the mood of the social media, and it feels like the Dodgers won the World Series just based on their star-stuffed clubhouse that others couldn’t afford. But is it?

“The Dodgers are ruining baseball, it’s sad to see!” A comment from an MLB loyalist summarized the fans’ reactions.

Well, it’s just not true that money automatically buys championships. And if that were the case, the Mets, with their massive $342.4 million payroll, would’ve made a World Series by now. Then the Yankees, sitting at around $305.2 million, wouldn’t still be chasing their first title in 16 years.

So no, money alone doesn’t win you championships. But with the Dodgers capturing another World Series, critics are bound to crank up the noise again, saying they simply threw money around and scooped up all the biggest names.

Now, that brings us to the bigger question… How do you create more balance among teams?

Maybe it’s time to consider a salary cap. This season, for example, the Dodgers spent around $350 million while a team like the Pirates shelled out only about $84 million. With such a huge gap, it’s almost impossible for smaller-market teams to truly compete.

So should we be telling the Dodgers to rein in their spending, or encouraging the smaller teams to invest more? From a fan’s perspective, it might just be time to put some limits on the Dodgers before they load up again and make another World Series run look inevitable.

Fans are calling out the Dodgers for ruining baseball

Should the Dodgers be considered winners of the World Series or buyers of it? Fans are battling it out over social media. “Congratulations on another BOUGHT World Series Championship to the Dodgers. When you outspend everyone by a billion dollars, you should win every year, WHICH IS HAPPENING,” one fan said. “Another bought title…. Bring on the lockout and salary cap,” another added.

So, a few fans are connecting the Dodgers’ outrageous payroll to buying the World Series. So, capping the maximum investment limit is their solution. Well, undoubtedly, the salary cap could work to an extent. What’s better if the top-tier teams like the Mets and Dodgers could only spend the same amount as the Pirates and Brewers?

However, some small-market teams have the financial flexibility to spend more but choose not to. They prioritize profit or long-term rebuilding instead. So, while a salary cap might create more equality on paper, it wouldn’t automatically fix the deeper issues tied to team spending and competitiveness. “SALARY CAP so the Dodgers can have Tarik Skubal for 10 years $100m instead of $500m,” one user added. So, capping salaries would harm players more than anyone else.

“Might?! My brother, they took the crown in “ruining baseball” lol. Congrats to them though. Pay to win,” another one shared the popular narrative. “The Dodgers are champs because there is no salary cap and they buy their titles. I hope MLB strikes next season,” another added. So why not set a minimum investment limit for the team rather than restricting the upper limit?

If all 30 teams are required to invest a minimum amount, equality can be expected. For instance, teams like the Pirates cannot just run away with the profits then. They need to build their team around their cornerstone, then.

Hence, a more realistic solution might be to strengthen the current system… For example, by tightening the luxury tax thresholds or introducing a spending floor to ensure all teams invest a minimum amount in their rosters. That way, both overspending and underspending could be addressed without a drastic overhaul of the league’s economic structure.