Imagine, if you will, a team that turns its fortunes around and goes from last place to first place, a virtual season for the underdogs. This hasn't happened in baseball since the Minnesota Twins and the Atlanta Braves turned baseball on its ear in 1991. Since that time, by and large, the playoffs and particularly the World Series, have belonged to the large market teams. In football and hockey, every team has a hope of winning, if not this year, then next year. Even basketball, when without Michael Jordan, is wide open as far as the playoffs are concerned.
Parity is the word bandied about by supporters of the salary cap.
This past Super Bowl is a prime example of how the salary cap is supposed to work. Both the St Louis Rams and the Tennessee Titans rose from their own ashes to the top of their respective conferences. This parity is what a salary cap brings about. Baseball, unlike the other team sports, has no salary cap. This means that owners can pay as much or as little as their markets and pockets can afford.