2 low-spending teams clash in World Series

WASHINGTON — Two relatively low-spending clubs each seeking a first Major League Baseball crown, the Tampa Bay Rays and Milwaukee Brewers, meet in a symbolic showdown when the 122nd World Series begins on Friday (Saturday in Manila). The best-of-seven championship matchup between frugal teams flies in the face of claims only big-spending teams can win the World Series. MLB's collective bargaining agreement with its' players union expires on Dec. 1 with many expecting a lockout over owners' desire for a salary cap and the players' refusal to consider it. Big spenders like the Los Angeles Dodgers, 2024 and 2025 champions, were seen as overpowering small-market foes with a cap needed to create parity. However, the Dodgers, with a $338 million payroll, were swept by the Brewers, with a payroll of $143.5 million, in the National League Championship Series. They play for the crown against a Rays side that spent $98.3 million on salaries and also took down the big-spending New York Yankees on their way to the Fall Classic. They will have the lowest-ranked payrolls of any World Series since the work stoppage that wiped out the 1994 World Series. It shows well-run clubs with less money can succeed against richer rivals just as the issue is...