Couldn't agree more. And like everywhere else, labor's share of total revenue has shrunk across MLB.In a league where every single team makes a significant profit every single year -- before they even get to revenue sharing, and to say nothing of the appreciation of team value over the duration of ownership -- tanking is nothing but a cynical and disgusting strategy that billionaire owners have convinced certain fans is "smart," when all it actually is a way to make more money. No fans should ever accept it, particularly fans of one of the single richest clubs in global sports.
And frankly, the very idea that "the only way to win is with cost controlled players" is the much the same thing, but American fans aren't ready for that conversation. We all love exploiting labor too much.
Tanking is a scheme, and I'm glad that (outside of rare and conditional circumstances like 2020, maybe) it's simply not possible in Boston.
I think the "only way to win is with cost-controlled players" is largely true, however, given the rules around arbitration and team control and the aging curves of players within the system we're in. But those should be changed too.