Luxury LA vs. Low-Budget Rays: A World Series Like No Other

Tampa Bay Rays and Los Angeles Dodgers battle for MLB’s title with contrasting payrolls

After two dramatic seven-game Major League Baseball (MLB) Championship Series, the Tampa Bay Rays and the Los Angeles Dodgers are in a battle for a World Series ring.

Earlier this year, Tampa Bay won the Stanley Cup and Los Angeles brought home the National Basketball Association (NBA) Championship. The World Series will determine the sports capital of the universe. Well, maybe not, but in 2020? That is reasonable, as this year’s champ will be from the city that takes two of the three bubble championships in male professional sports. 

The Dodgers and Rays both came into the MLB playoffs as their respective league’s top-seed, but their paths to the World Series could not be more different. 

The Rays held a commanding 3-0 series lead in their American League Championship Series (ALCS) matchup against the Houston Astros, yet the Rays narrowly avoided infamy. With Tampa Bay’s Game Seven triumph, the Rays became the first team in baseball history to blow a 3-0 lead in a seven-game series—and still advance. The victory kept the Rays from joining the 2004 Yankees as the only other MLB team to lose a seven-game series after seizing a 3-0 lead.

On the other side of the playoff bracket, the Dodgers lost three of their first four games against the Atlanta Braves in the National League Championship Series (NLCS) before roaring back in Game Seven to complete a 3-1 series comeback. 

Let’s examine how each organization reached baseball’s biggest stage. 

In a season like no other, MLB teams participated in a 60-game regular season. Contrary to the normal 162-game “marathon” of a season, this year was a sprint. The shortened season resulted in a fast-paced, double-header-filled few months that enabled every team to play 60 games. The playoffs were expanded to include 16 teams, and usual off-days in between postseason games were eliminated. 

“One could even argue this might be the toughest World Championship to ever win, given the circumstances we’re dealing with,” New York Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman stated.

“And then the level of playoffs [you have to] navigate, to get there to be the last team standing, it’s going to be quite the accomplishment,” Cashman continued. "Somebody’s going to be really well-deserving to be proud of whoever happens to win that thing.”

During the 60-game season, player salaries were prorated on a per-game basis. The Dodgers had a payroll of $107,917,397, while the Rays had a payroll of $28,290,689. The Dodgers payroll was the second highest in baseball, only behind the New York Yankees—the team eliminated by Tampa Bay in the ALDS. 

Inversely, the Rays were 28th in MLB this year in team salary, putting their payroll only ahead of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Baltimore Orioles. The fact that the Dodgers spent nearly $80 million more on salary than the Rays, and got to the same point as Tampa Bay in the playoffs should not be overlooked.

A total of 15 Dodgers made at least seven figures this year, compared to the Rays who only paid six players more than a million dollars. Los Angeles has five players this year (Kershaw, $16,308,641; Betts, $10,000,000; Turner, $8,037,037; Pollock, $7,444,444; Jansen $6,666,667) making more than the highest-paid Ray (Morton, $5,555,556). 

The Rays and Dodgers are financially polar-opposites, yet both are successful. Tampa Bay is constrained by a small-market budget, but the front office’s brilliant roster construction has the team competing with the league’s best. After two 90-plus win seasons in 2018 and 2019, the Rays had the best overall record in the American League in 2020. Tampa Bay creatively assembled a championship contender while working with a shoestring budget, giving the Rays the honor of representing the American League in the Fall Classic for the first time since 2008.

In the National League, Los Angeles currently has a top-two payroll in the sport and is in the World Series for the third time in the last four years. The Dodgers have captured eight consecutive NL West division titles, but a World Series ring has eluded the franchise since 1988. Previous years of lofty, championship-expectations have been derailed by playoff failures. 

The road for the Commissioner’s Trophy is far from over. After the Dodgers’ Game Three win on Friday night, they lead World Series 2-1. While we do not yet know the champ, we do know this year’s will not have an asterisk next to its title.