the Dodgers probably wouldn't have been able to sign Kamamoto if Ohtani hadn't deferred most of his contract for 10 years - they will get hard with a luxury tax but not as high if they were paying full salaries for both of them. Having that huge payroll + luxury tax doesn't guarantee a title just ask Uncle Stevie. There were years when the Yankees had the highest payroll and still fell short. Baseball is still a game for us but for owners & teams it's a business. Just like in the world, the world of baseball has its poverty level teams, middle budget teams and the upper echelon teams who spend. For overspending, teams are punished with a luxury tax that goes to the poorer teams. That would be fine IF those teams used the money to develop their teams, but most don't - you can't fault Hal for setting spending limits. IF it was your money, your budget and you had to account to a Board of Directors, you might consider that extra spending instead of thinking like George - that didn't always work out either.
