The 2026 Major League Baseball (MLB) season ended in a manner that, looking at how the playoffs progressed, was, as I detailed in my last piece, predictable. Once again, the team with the better record during the regular season prevailed, with the 103-59 Milwaukee Brewers juggernaut triumphing over the 98-64 Tampa Bay Rays. Brewers fans had waited since 1970 for a championship, and as one might imagine, the celebrations in Milwaukee were raucous and overwhelming. The Brewers won the series in five games, a “gentleman’s sweep,” after blowing a 3-2 lead taken in the 12th inning of a hard-fought fourth game of the series. Besides a 10-1 blowout in game three, most of the games in the series were close and hard-fought. Brewers ace and likely National League Cy Young winner Jacob Misiorowski fittingly started both the first game of the series and the decisive game five. “The Miz” posted a miniscule 1.80 earned run average in 2026, and he made history by throwing the fastest pitch in World Series history in his first pitch of the opening game, clocking in at 103.5 miles per hour. Contributions from the Brewers’ starters, an excellent bullpen led by Aaron Ashby–who threw 18 innings in the playoffs without giving up an earned run–World Series MVP catcher William Contreras, and sneaky home run hitting led them to their first World Series championship. Congratulations to Milwaukee!
The end of the World Series, of course, means the end of the season. Normally, fans would be excited for trade and free agency rumors, then deals, and await the return of baseball in late March. Not this year. The current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the Major League Baseball Players’ Association (MLBPA) and MLB is set to expire on Dec. 1, and as of yet there seems to be little likelihood of a new deal before then. Many fans, team owners, and the league seek a salary cap that would limit the payrolls of teams, so organizations like the Dodgers and Mets cannot outspend teams like the Guardians and Rays as much as they are currently. Many fans believe it will level the playing field, owners will save money, and baseball will be more competitive. The league has proposed, and owners have also agreed to, a salary floor, which would also be quite popular among fans, especially supporters of small market teams whose payroll limitations prevent them from acquiring star players that can propel championships and periods of consistent competitiveness, like, for example, the Pirates and Athletics. However, players are vehemently opposed to a salary cap, as it would lower their own salaries, and the MLBPA has even proposed changes like increasing the minimum player salary. The two sides appear to be at an impasse, and while many are offended by the greed on display, most baseball fans are loath to picture a potentially shortened or canceled season like what happened in 1994-95. However, if the two sides cannot come to an agreement in time, the season could easily be cut, or even canceled. Hopefully an agreement can be reached, and quickly, but the current state of affairs is fairly bleak.
