It’s Not My Moneyball 2026: MLB’s Dirty Dozen

MIAMI, FLORIDA - NOVEMBER 18: Bruce Sherman, principle owner of the Miami Marlins, introduces Clayton McCullough (L) as the manager of the Miami Marlins at loanDepot park on November 18, 2024 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Jasen Vinlove/Miami Marlins/Getty Images) | Getty Images In 2022, the “It’s Not My Moneyball” series was created in response to the lockout imposed by the owners that disrupted Spring Training and arguably cost Clayton Kershaw a perfect game in Minneapolis ( I had fun ). As the season starts, the World Baseball Classic concludes, we must revive this series as trouble looms in the distance, hanging in the air, exactly in the way a brick does not.

Introducing the Dirty Dozen The current playoff system is allowing more teams than ever to play in postseason ball, with 23 of 30 teams making the playoffs at least once , and 12 of 30 have won their division. While I was initially skeptical, this state of affairs is an unalloyed good. The fact that MLB did not have a repeat champion for 25 years clearly demonstrates the randomness of the postseason tournament.

Those crying for “parity” point to the National Football League as a prime example, seemingly forgetting that dynasties can and do happen in a hard-salary-cap league. For all the NFL’s alleged parity, one has to go back to 2010 for a conference championship weekend without either the New England Patriots or the Kansas City Chiefs participating. If the owners (and to a lesser extent, Hollywood) had their way, the famous line about “rich teams, poor teams, fifty feet of excrement, and then the Athletics” from the venerated film Moneyball would be true.

I love the film, but it completely ignores Miguel Tejada’s MVP campaign and the young stellar rotation of Barry Zito, Mark Mulder, and Tim Hudson. But sure, let’s focus on pre- Parks and Recreation Chris Pratt, while cementing a slightly askew version of baseball economics. If we are being entirely honest, while using the film’s framing for reference, there are the Dodgers, then teams that can feasibly keep up them on a pure spending basis in the Mets, Yankees, Phillies, and Blue Jays, then teams that are either barely going over or hovering at the 2026 luxury tax threshold of $244 million in the San Diego Padres, Boston Red Sox, Atlanta Braves, and Chicago Cubs.