A Socialist Guide to the 2022 Division Series
Who should the left root for?
Fret not leftist baseball fans! It is time for a patented Undrafted breakdown of the division series, to advise you on where your sympathies should be…
ALDS #1: Astros vs. Mariners
For a normal fan, this should be an easy one. We have the Mariners, a likable young team in its first postseason since 2001, against the Astros, a tired Goliath who squandered whatever goodwill they used to have with a cheating scandal. For a leftist, though, things are a little trickier: The Mariners are a low payroll team, and just last year their CEO was caught basically bragging about salary suppression. The Julio Rodríguez deal from six weeks ago has inspired mixed feelings – yes, they are committing long-term to their young star, but they are exploiting baseball’s service time rules to get a team-friendly deal.
But here’s the thing: Under no circumstances is it ethically permissible to root for this Astros team. It’s not because of the sign-stealing thing, but because they were early pioneers of the tanking strategy that has really wreaked havoc on baseball. This team is still built on the back of draft picks acquired during the four year stretch between 2011-2014 when they lost 416 times. Every additional bit of success they have encourages other teams to go this route, and not only does that suck for fans, but it suppresses wages across the sport.
Leftist Pick: The Mariners
ALDS #2: Yankees vs. Guardians
This should be easy – the Guardians have the lowest payroll of any team to make the postseason this year, and are really on the forefront of the salary suppression strategy: They traded Francisco Lindor and Mike Clevinger; they kept Jose Ramirez from free agency by signing him to multiple team-friendly deals; etc. So I’m almost embarrassed to admit this: I have some affection for this Guardians team. After all, in this era of baseball’s disappearing middle class, Cleveland has stayed competitive the whole time. They have never tanked, and they have been competitive every season for the last decade, making the playoffs six times. The trades they’ve made brought back good pieces, like Cal Quantrill and Andres Gimenez, and they did just sign their biggest contract ever with Ramirez. And they even changed their racist name! For a low payroll team, they’re about as good as it gets.
But, come on, obviously the pick here is New York. At the very least, pro-labor fans should be rooting for Aaron Judge to have a historic postseason, so his “pot of gold” keeps growing.
Leftist Pick: The Yankees
NLDS #1: Dodgers vs. Padres
OK, this is a fun one, since we can’t just default to the team with the biggest payroll: These are both Top 5 payroll teams, and neither team has been shy about taking on salary to get better. Part of me feels like any self-respecting socialist should be pulling for the Dodgers, who have used their money to build a perennial juggernaut, winning 100+ games in four of the last six seasons (plus a 116-win pace during the Covid-shortened 2020 year). Yet they have only one World Series trophy to show for it, which feels cosmically unfair.
But here’s the thing: The Dodgers’ spending is treated as somehow aberrational. Conventional wisdom suggests that the fact that they play in the country’s second-largest media market (and only kind of have to compete with the Angels, who technically play in Anaheim, which is a separate city) makes them immune from the normal economics of baseball. They occupy the role the Yankees occupied for so long: The big spender who can never be caught. This narrative is mostly bullshit, but no matter how well they do, it will not really inspire teams to emulate them: You can’t expect us to spend as much as the DODGERS.
On the other hand, if the Padres win, that might inspire other teams to abandon the tanking strategy. Maybe other teams will realize if you sign big free agents like Manny Machado AND take risks on guys like Fernando Tatís Jr. AND are willing to give up prospects under the beloved “team control” in favor of stars like Juan Soto and Blake Snell and Mike Clevinger AND you are willing to spend on free agents that don’t always work out, like Eric Hosmer… then you can actually win, even if you are not the Dodgers or the Yankees.
Leftist Pick: The Padres
NLDS #2: Braves vs. Phillies
Just hours before the start of their division series, the Braves announced that they signed yet another young star to a long-term extension. This time it was Spencer Strider, signing a six-year, $75 million deal (plus a club option for a seventh year) after just his rookie season. You can add Strider to Michael Harris II, Austin Riley, Ronald Acuña Jr., Ozzie Albies, and Matt Olson – all guys who were signed to long-term deals before they reached free agency, and in most cases before they even reached arbitration.
I am very ambivalent about these deals. On the one hand, I think it’s good for teams to make long-term commitments to their stars, and for the players there are obvious benefits to signing these extensions. The fact that Atlanta is not just buying out their arbitration years, but also their pre-arb years when they’d still be on the rookie scale, is of tremendous value, and is more in line with paying players based on the value they bring to the team. Strider, for example, will make $1 million in 2023 and 2024; that doesn’t seem like much in the scheme of a $75 million deal, but it’s ~30% more than he would make under the rookie scale, at a time when players have both the least amount of leverage and are often at their most productive.
On the other hand, these deals are clearly taking advantage of a rigged system that leaves players with few options during their first six seasons, and some of these deals are downright exploitive. The Albies deal in particular was so lopsided that some wondered if his representatives committed malpractice by allowing him to sign it. Even when the players themselves are happy with their deals – as they might be, since some people just prefer security and stability – it is a disturbing trend in a league where fair compensation for workers is built on free agency and the arbitration process. By taking so many great players out of those processes, the Braves are undermining the ways players as a unit get paid.
On the other hand, the Phillies have built their team in a much more traditional way: They signed big free agent deals with Bryce Harper, Zack Wheeler, Nick Castellanos, and Kyle Schwarber. They traded for JT Realmuto. And they drafted and developed Aaron Nola. I don’t want to say that’s how you’re “supposed” to do it or anything, but at least they’re not potentially sabotaging the player compensation system. And they have the fourth biggest payroll in baseball, and haven’t been in the playoffs since 2011.