Hal McCoy
For once, all is right in baseball’s world.
The two best teams are in the World Series, the two teams with the best records — Milwaukee in the National League (103 wins) and Tampa Bay in the American League (98 wins).
No wild card teams allowed. No high-payrolled teams allowed.
This World Series has TV moguls wringing their hands over possible low ratings because the two teams reside in small markets.
And both teams know how to spend money on players without burying them under hundred-dollar bills.
Baseball’s Basic Agreement expires after this season and owners are adamant that a salary cap is needed for competitive balance.
But how do they explain this?
Without a salary cap, over the last 25 years, 23 of the 30 MLB teams have appeared in at least one World Series. The Cincinnati Reds have not made it.
With a salary cap, over the last 25 years, only 20 of the 32 NFL teams have appeared in at least one Super Bowl. The Cleveland Browns have not made it.
What does this World Series say?
You can win without unlimited spending, but you can’t win if you don’t spend it wisely.
When Cincinnati Reds CEO Bob Castellini asks, “Why aren’t we the Milwaukee Brewers?,” all he has to do is look within.
The Reds do not spend their money wisely. Milwaukee invested $142.5 million on players this season. The Reds invested $128.3 million.
The difference is only $14.2 million, but the difference in the standings was 28 games — the number of games the last place Reds finished behind the Brewers in the National League Central standings.
Simply stated, it comes down to front office strategy, player development and ownership philosophy.
The Milwaukee Brewers have figured it out; the Cincinnati Reds have not.
When players become too expensive for a small market team, the Brewers know how to handle it because they are prepared for it.
They can trade top-shelf players or permit them to walk away through free agency. They did it recently with starting pitcher Freddy Peralta, closer Devin Williams, shortstop Willy Adames, first baseman Rhys Hoskins and pitcher Jose Quintana.
But the Brewers are always prepared via development of players in their minor league system or by making trades for top prospects.
The Reds? Not so much.
They continue to waste their limited funds by signing free agents like Jeimer Candelario and Mike Moustakas and make poor-choice trades like the acquisition of Ke’Bryan Hayes.
Meanwhile, players the Reds traded or let go have found success elsewhere — Jake Bauers (Milwaukee), Nick Martinez (Tampa Bay), Aroldis Chapman, Sonny Gray, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Raisel Iglesias, Tyler Mahle, Miguel Rojas and others.
While the Reds have developed players like pitcher Chase Burns, shortstop Elly De La Cruz and infielder Sal Stewart, that’s not enough.
Baseball America ranks the Reds farm system at 28th among the 30 MLB teams. It said the Reds have no depth at Class AAA Louisville and Class AA Chattanooga.
Meanwhile, while the Reds remain home scratching their heads, fans should be treated to a World Series by two teams that play by the book — “The Complete Baseball.”
They are near images of each other. They display every facet of winning baseball.
They have pitching, starters and relievers. They emphasize defense. They bunt, they hit the other way to advance runners.
The only major difference is that Tampa Bay relies more on the home run than Milwaukee, which hit the fewest home runs in MLB this season.
But, if needed, the Brewers can launch. They hit seven home runs during their four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Weather will not be a problem. Both teams play home games in covered fields. Milwaukee’s American Family Field is an awesome venue with a retractable roof.
Tampa Bay plays at Tropicana Field, which is covered by a permanent roof (when Hurricane Milton doesn’t tear it off). Unfortunately, the Tropicana roof is low enough that batted balls can hit the infrastructure, leading to some funky ground rules.
But both teams love their home fields. Amazingly, Milwaukee and Tampa Bay tied for MLB’s best home records during the season. Both were 55-26.
That gives the Brewers a slight edge. The first two games are in Milwaukee, beginning Friday. If the Series goes seven, four games will be played in Milwaukee.
What is also significant in this year’s World Series is that neither franchise ever has won one, so one of them gets off the schneid.
Milwaukee’s only appearance as the Brewers came in 1982 when they were in the American League and lost to the St. Louis Cardinals.
This is Tampa Bay’s third-time-is-a-charm try. The Rays have made it to the World Series twice, 2008 and 2020, but lost to the Philadelphia Phillies and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
That will leave the San Diego Padres, the Seattle Mariners and the loser of this World Series as the only MLB franchise without a World Series trophy.
Seattle has never played in a World Series. The Padres made it twice, losing to Detroit in 1984 and to the New York Yankees in 1998.
Amazingly, since 1921 this is only the second World Series involving two teams that have never won one.
The other was the 1980 Philadelphia Phillies-Kansas City Royals match-up, won by the Phillies. Pete Rose played for the Phillies.
Milwaukee’s Jake Bauers, the NLCS MVP against the Dodgers, was signed to a minor league contract in the winter of 2021 by the Reds. They never called him up from Class AAA Louisville and sold him to the New York Yankees in 2022.
Nick Martinez and his dancing feet on the mound won 21 games for the Reds in 2024 and 2025, but the Reds let him walk and he signed with Tampa Bay.
He was 15-6 with a 3.10 earned run average in 31 starts for the Rays and could be a big factor in this year’s World Series.
It is one of the many reasons why Bob Castellini and the Reds front office should watch this World Series closely.
They’ll discover why they aren’t the Milwaukee Brewers … or the Tampa Bay Rays.
The Milwaukee Brewers celebrate after Game 4 of baseball’s National League Championship Series between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday, Oct. 15, in Los Angeles. Ashley Landis / AP
Ashley Landis – AP