World Series prizes, postseason player pool and why Dodgers should sweep

We've covered the exorbitant prices for tickets to the 2024 World Series in Los Angeles, as well as the logistical challenges of a dreaded Carmageddon at those two games. When the World Series moved to New York, hopes grew that the series might end in New York.

On Monday, the Dodgers moved on to the penultimate step of that journey, with a resurgent Walker Buehler turning back the clock to the glorious summer of 2021 and Freddie Freeman tormenting them other For a change, the New York team.

While our excellent writing core has a good handle on the baseball portion of this series, there was one lingering issue that bothered me. Although I have no direct or concrete evidence to support my claims, I do have enough circumstantial information to make some observations.

The future is yours if you can count

Two weeks ago, Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times received well-deserved condemnation during the National League Championship Series for declaring the Dodgers the winners…even though they had only won three games. He did it again on Monday night, but at least prefaced his excitement with the fact that the Dodgers were still a win away.

USA Today's Bob Nightengale made the same mistake Plaschke made in the NLCS after Game 3 of the World Series by not counting to four.

In this context, I remember one of my favorite speeches from Aaron Sorkin's “The West Wing.” White House Communications Director Toby Zeigler begins berating his staff for tempting fate.

For obvious superstitious reasons, I'm now going to paraphrase what I would say to anyone who clearly failed kindergarten and didn't learn that three is not the same as four, which is a majority of seven.

MJE: “Baseball World Series rules dictate that the champion will be crowned when that team has won the majority of games in a seven-game series, so how many games total, Adric?

Adric: Four.

MJE: He's not even sentient and he knows that four games have to be won before a drop of wine is poured because there's this little thing called How, Adric?

Adric: Challenging fate.

MJE: That's what they call challenging fate! Since then Dodgers The 2024 season started six months ago, I have aged 48 years and lost a significant amount of my hair and my mental health. I have to cook a duck later. We're coming up on our anniversary together and I'm not going to let anything ruin it, Adric?!?

Adric: Challenging fate.

MJE: By tempting fate! These things require patience. These things require skill. These things require luck. How lucky have the Dodgers generally been since the start of the 2024 season, Adric?

Adric: Bad luck.

MJE: (clears throat, raises my right eyebrow and points to the injured list) How lucky?

Adric: Very bad luck.

Or perhaps this part of the TV text was too subtle for some. Let’s reflect on the words of the late Kobe Bryant.

If Brent Honeywell, Ben Casparius, Landon Knack and Co. manage to lead the Dodgers to eternal glory in Game 4, we'll celebrate like it's actually 1999. History and math are on the team's side, but the work is done when it's done.

The golden goose of playoff pool money

As we mentioned earlier, during the playoffs, the MLB, not the teams, is responsible for setting playoff ticket prices, among other factors such as game management, staging the games, and paying rent to the home team for use of the stadium.

Article X of the current collective bargaining agreement governs the money pool for playoff teams in baseball. The pool is created from the following sources:

• 60 percent of total admission revenue from the first four World Series games;
• 60 percent of total gate receipts from each league's first 4 League Championship Series;
• 60 percent of total admission revenue from the first three games of each division series in each league (which would change to the first four games if the LDS were expanded to seven games); And
• 60 percent of total admission revenue from the first two games of each league's Wild Card Series (after deducting visiting clubs' travel expenses, up to $100,000 per game).

The other 40 percent of these entry fees go to the owners, as well as 100 percent of the entry fees for games after the minimum to achieve victory. Additionally, owners will receive 100% of all memorabilia, concession sales, parking, etc. during the playoffs.

In 2023, the total entry fee cash pool that players could split was $107.8 million. Considering that TV ratings for this World Series are significantly higher than last year, it wouldn't be unreasonable to suggest that gate receipts would likely be higher as well, especially given the sticker shock of dynamic ticket prices this playoff season.

The World Series winners receive 36 percent of the pool. The loser of the World Series receives 24 percent from the pool. The LCS losers share another 24 percent of the pool, as both teams receive 12 percent. The LDS losers share another 13 percent of the pool, while each of the four teams receives 3.25 percent. Finally, the wild card losers split the final 3 percent of the pool, as each of the four teams receives 0.75 percent of the pool.

When you consider the shameful struggles the citizens of Oakland have endured this year, when you consider how the south side of Chicago, Kansas City, Phoenix and Milwaukee are currently having problems with their respective ownership groups, and when you consider the hype surrounding the The first Dodgers/Yankees World Series has been far more competitive in over 40 years than Turkey, which was the NLCS, but I can imagine a really fair result:

The Dodgers must defeat the Yankees, depriving the owners of any additional playoff revenue.

The players would get everything they were entitled to and would not provide any more free labor for the owners to take advantage of, considering how expensive World Series tickets were that year.

Buyer's market

John Jones-Imagn Images

Ironically, there has never been a better time to visit Yankee Stadium.

As previously reported, the Dodgers and Yankees provided links for direct ticket sales as well as secondary market links through SeatGeek. Before the World Series began, tickets for Games 3, 4 and 5 were higher than for games at Dodger Stadium.

Out of curiosity, I checked what the current prices are. While good seats are still prohibitively expensive, prices for the minimum number of tickets have virtually collapsed.

Based on how the series went, the lowest ticket prices for Games 4 and 5 were halved. If you live in or near New York and can afford a ticket that is more expensive than an LCS Game 4 (or Game 5) ticket. , if necessary) would be a relatively affordable opportunity to compete in this World Series.

If it were logistically and financially possible for me to get to New York tonight, I would go to Game 4 (and 5, if necessary).

Logically, I could imagine that seat prices would continue to drop as game time approaches. The Yankees are reaping the effects of their lackluster baseball play in their first trip to the World Series in 15 years. If you buy tickets for a game that is not taking place, you will receive your money back within 1-2 weeks.

I would like to issue a stern warning to anyone who wants this series to return to Los Angeles: check your vanity, because it would be a historic mistake for the Dodgers to allow this to happen.

In the 120-year history of the World Series, there have now been 25 occasions, including this year, when a team took a 3-0 lead.

• 21 times – the World Series ended in a win.
• 3 times – the World Series ended after five games.
• Nobody has always forced a Game 6 in the World Series in this situation.

Here's hoping the Dodgers finish their job in New York and that we can all celebrate Fernando Valenzuela's birthday if history stands.