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MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays don't see themselves as saviors or revolutionaries. They're just hardworking, blue-collar teams that shop at Walmart, clip coupons at CVS, and skip the custom tailor in favor of the local Big and Tall store.
Yet, regardless of who wins the World Series starting Friday, Oct. 23 at 8 p.m. ET on FOX, these two franchises might be remembered for rescuing baseball. At the very least, they could ensure that the looming labor dispute between MLB and the players' union doesn't wreak havoc on the 2027 season.
Both teams have demonstrated that competitive balance exists—at least this year—as each pursues its first World Series title. They've shown that a colossal payroll isn't necessary for victory: the Brewers and Rays have a combined payroll of $242 million, nearly half the Los Angeles Dodgers' luxury-tax payroll of $413.5 million. They've also proven that market size is irrelevant, with the Brewers in baseball's smallest market and the Rays in the 11th-largest.
These two teams will be a hot topic in upcoming labor talks, and their World Series matchup is a dream scenario for the union. "It kind of paints a different picture, right?" said Brewers closer Trevor Megill. "You don't really need all the money out there to win baseball games. It kind of just matters who's in the clubhouse and what they're willing to do for each other."
So does the presence of two small-market teams on baseball's grandest stage change the narrative that a salary cap is needed for competitive balance? "We'll see and worry about that in December," Megill said, "when they lock us out on Dec. 1 and see how willing the owners are to lose money."
Make no mistake: the owners still want a salary cap, even though this is the eighth time in nine seasons the Brewers have reached the postseason and the sixth time in eight years for the Rays. "I think the system that's being proposed, which is similar to other leagues in terms of revenue-sharing system," Brewers owner Mark Attanasio said, "not only will help us compete, but more importantly all of the teams with lower payrolls too—which is something also I think the fans want."
The two teams share a similar style of play, almost mirror images of each other. They bunt. They steal. They run. They play defense. And they win, despite having only two players on the field earning more than $10 million. "It's not always the flashiest players, the teams that spend the most money," Rays infielder Ben Williamson said. "We're an example of that showing that through hard work, and grinding, and playing the game the right way, you can get to the World Series."
The Brewers are demonstrating that as well. Ironically, both teams were among the three finalists to acquire two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal from the Detroit Tigers at the trade deadline. They lost out to the ultra-wealthy Dodgers, knowing Los Angeles was the only one of the trio that could afford to keep him when he hit free agency.
"Well, look at who's in the World Series and who's sitting home?" Attanasio said this week on the New York Post podcast. "This team was built, not bought. It's critical to look at how we got here, and because I want to have sustained success, we had to do that by being very careful about how many prospects we gave up."
It's no different for the Rays, who not only kept their top prospects but pivoted to Freddy Peralta, acquired from the New York Mets. He has been one of baseball's finest pitchers over the last two months, posting a 0.81 ERA in his last eight starts spanning the regular season and postseason.
"You don't need a big market to have talented players," Rays catcher Nick Fortes said, "and we've got a lot of really talented players on this team. We have a lot of guys that really haven't been talked about or known throughout the year, but hopefully now people will realize there are a lot of different ways to win. We found our little pocket, and we're winning our way, emphasizing pitching and defense."
And winning with the fifth-smallest payroll in baseball, with their entire team making only $30 million more this season than Dodgers right fielder Kyle Tucker. "I know this is going to be something that a lot of people will focus on this off-season, two small market teams being in the World Series," Fortes said, "but I think right now we're just soaking in this moment of being in the World Series. It's a dream for all of us."
If a salary cap is implemented, a salary floor would likely follow, meaning a team like the Rays would suddenly have an extra $90 million worth of talent on their roster. "We would really be dangerous, really dangerous," Fortes said. "But we've been doing it this way for long, and it's worked, so why change things?"
Certainly, that will be the union's argument, citing that the game hasn't been this popular in a decade, with attendance up, TV ratings spiking, and team values surging. So why ruin a good thing when the Brewers and Rays are showing that small markets can actually win, and even dominate? "It's been proven that you can do this in many different ways," Brewers reliever Aaron Ashby said. "The money is nice, but it doesn't mean everything. I don't care how big your payroll is, you've got to have a winning culture, no matter who's in that clubhouse."
Brewers pitcher Chad Patrick grew up a Chicago Cubs fan in Indiana and vividly remembers hearing about the close camaraderie of the 2016 Cubs. They didn't have the largest payroll, but they might have had the best clubhouse culture, winning their first World Series in 108 years that season. "As far as the small-market theme goes," Patrick said, "it's still baseball. At any moment, you know this game can switch in a hurry. There are teams that slug with their big stars, and then you have guys that play small ball. We just have a different way of winning here, and it works."
There's no reason it can't work in Minnesota either, says Rays pitcher Jax Griffin, who spent the first four years of his career with the Twins. Or Colorado, says Brewers reliever Antonio Senzatela, who had spent his entire career with the Rockies this summer. Or even Pittsburgh.
"There's many versions of baseball that can win, you just have to have the right model or blueprint," said Brewers center fielder Garrett Mitchell, who grew up a diehard Angels fan. "It's a matter of having the right group of guys out there who want to compete, and want to win. There are many versions of baseball that can win. For us, being a smaller market, we're not relying on the big free-agent splash or things like that. We do it through good drafting and trading for players that fit the mold of what it means to be a Milwaukee Brewer. At the end of the day, if you have the right culture that's built off that, and have a group of players that buy into that, anything is possible."
Just ask Brewers veteran Dustin May, who has pitched for three iconic teams, winning a World Series championship with the Dodgers, and also pitching for the Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals. "I know there are teams that have paid a lot and they go out and win," May said, "but there's other ways to win, too. It doesn't matter whether you spend $1 or $100, you still have to go out and do your job. I just know that when you put a lot of thought and focus into the pieces, and guys that you bring into the clubhouse, when they mesh the way they do—especially with this team—it can be very special. I mean, the Brewers do it the right way."
And, yes, so do the Rays, who are in the World Series for the third time in franchise history, and twice in the last seven years. "I think it's super special for both teams," Rays outfielder Jonny DeLuca said. "Just because we don't have the highest payroll doesn't mean really, anything. I think people forget with how good our teams are, and what we can do on the baseball field with the talent we have. That's what's going to make this super fun to watch, two underdogs going against each other in a dogfight. I don't know what's going to happen with the labor thing, or whatever happens after this, but I think it's a very good starting point for us as players. We have two small market teams in it, who are very competitive, and hopefully this World Series will be talked about for a long, long time."
Follow Bob Nightengale on X @Bnightengale.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Will this World Series save baseball? Payrolls matter not for Brewers and Rays.
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