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Major League Baseball is a great place right now, and World Series champion John Smoltz said the sport can’t afford a layoff.
The CBA between MLB and the MLBPA is set to expire at the end of the season, setting up what looks to be a long and contentious period of negotiations over the winter. Smoltz said this head-on collision has been a long time coming, and the two sides cannot afford to make a mistake.
“We know that if they don’t get this resolved, baseball is going to suffer. They can’t afford to have all the good that’s been done and all the great games played lately with the World Series stop,” Smoltz told Pakinomist Digital in a recent interview.
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Hall of Famer John Smoltz will be inducted during the Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at the Clark Sports Center in Cooperstown, NY on July 27, 2025. (Gregory Fisher/Imagn Images)
MLB is pushing hard to pass a salary cap, while the MLBPA strongly opposes the salary cap. Smoltz acknowledges that there is an issue of competitive balance and inequality, but believes that much of the spending has been done on purpose.
“There’s a competition problem in baseball and an inequity that’s greater than ever, and I think a lot of it has been intentional to get to this point when you have the Dodgers spending outstripping and the Mets spending outstripping. Until recently, there was nothing that guaranteed a championship,” Smoltz said.
“The Dodgers have been back-to-back champions for the first time since the Yankees. That’s the unique thing about 162 games. You basically have eight to 10 teams that aren’t trying to win at all.”
The Dodgers won the World Series in 2024 and 2025, becoming the first team to repeat as champions since the New York Yankees won three consecutive championships from 1998–2000. The baseball Hall of Famer said he questions the idea that a brand new system will automatically solve the current problems.
WORLD SERIES MASTER JOHN SMOLTZ WARNS BASEBALL ‘WILL SUFFER’ IF ABS IS USED ON ALL PITCHES
Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz pitches against the Washington Nationals in the third inning at RFK Stadium in Washington, DC on May 14, 2007. (James Lang/USA TODAY Sports)
“There’s a disparity in baseball that some system claims it’s going to fix. I question that. Until you have teams and owners who want to put the best product they can on the field in their market, it’s hard for me to tell anybody what they can and can’t use in a free market world,” Smoltz said.
“But this is a monopoly, right? This is an antirust. There’s definitely a separate system for Major League Baseball.”
Smoltz pointed out that the game has gotten younger and thus 2% of the players make 98% of the money. He said careers are getting shorter, pushing veterans out of the game.
The Atlanta Braves legend also noted that a salary cap hasn’t translated into a competitive environment in other professional sports leagues.
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John Smoltz watches his shot from the eighth tee during the first round of the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club in Orlando, Fla., on Jan. 29, 2026. (Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
“Because if you look at every other sport and what they’ve tried to do and you can make the argument that you know salary caps in other sports haven’t exactly created a competitive environment where most teams have a chance,” Smoltz said.
“It’s actually been making super teams in the NBA for the longest time.”
MLB and the MLBPA traded formal proposals for the first time in late May, and as expected, the two sides are far apart. The MLBPA first offered a proposal and MLB accepted with a salary cap and salary floor, and no formal proposals have been made since.
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John Smoltz tees off at the Capital One MLB Open at Shadow Creek Golf Course in North Las Vegas, Nev., on Nov. 14, 2025. (Lucas Peltier/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Major League Baseball said in an announcement last month that viewership for exclusive national games is up 44% over last season, the best of the past nine seasons. Regardless of the solution for MLB and the MLBPA, Smoltz just wants to see something resolved so baseball can continue to build on its momentum.
The eight-time All-Star spent 21 seasons in the big leagues, 20 of them with the Braves. He spent his final season with St. Louis Cardinals and the Boston Red Sox.
Smoltz has a career record of 213-155, a 3.33 ERA and 154 saves as he converted to a reliever for a few seasons after his Tommy John surgery. He competes in the American Century Championship, which takes place 10-12. July at Edgewood Golf Course in Lake Tahoe. The tournament will be broadcast on NBC and Peacock.
