NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� 鈥淏ig Spender鈥� is the theme music for baseball鈥檚 final four.
The New York Mets, New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers are in the League Championship Series with the sport鈥檚 top three payrolls, joined by Cleveland at No. 23.
鈥淵ou have to scratch and claw and match up and make moves, take shots and hope that it works,鈥� Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. 鈥淲hereas for the other three teams, for the majorities, they set their lineup and go play.鈥�
The and the Yankees-Guardians American League matchup beginning Monday feature some of baseball鈥檚 biggest stars in Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso. Cleveland has the best closer in Emmanuel Clase and a top hitter in Jos茅 Ram铆rez.
Playoff pairings bring to the forefront the question of whether spending equates to success.
鈥淥bviously, spending more gives you a better chance 鈥� you鈥檙e bringing in more players,鈥� Mets reliever Adam Ottavino said. 鈥淏ut obviously it hasn鈥檛 always played out that way.鈥�
The Mets have the top payroll of $332 million, followed by the Yankees at $311 million and the Dodgers at $266 million, according to Major League Baseball鈥檚 latest projections (final figures aren鈥檛 calculated until winter, after all bonuses have been determined). The Guardians are at $109 million.
鈥淚鈥檓 not thinking about payroll,鈥� Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. 鈥淚鈥檓 thinking about our 26 guys and beating the Mets. That鈥檚 it.鈥�
was sixth in payroll last year at $241 million when it won the World Series against Arizona, which was 20th at $129 million.
The only top spenders to win titles since the current luxury tax started have been the , and 2009 Yankees. Boston has won twice with a top-three payroll, as the second-biggest spender in 2004 and 2007, and the third-highest in 2013.
Seven of the last 21 champions have had payrolls outside the top 10: the (14th), (18th), (13th), 2011 Cardinals (11th), 2010 Giants (11th), 2005 White Sox (13th) and 2003 Marlins (20th).
鈥淎s far as the payroll goes, ultimately it comes down to playing good baseball,鈥� said San Diego manager Mike Shildt, whose team ranked 15th and .
The Dodgers and Mets will be meeting in the postseason for the fourth time after the 1988 NLCS won by LA and the 2006 and 鈥�15 NLDS won by New York. The 1988 matchup was marked by the ejection of Dodgers pitcher Jay Howell in Game 3 for having pine tar on his glove and the 2015 NLDS was marred by the Dodgers鈥� while trying to break up a double play. before the 2016 season.
After the Mets took two of three at Dodger Stadium this April, Los Angeles swept New York at Citi Field in late May, prompting a that sparked New York鈥檚 turnaround from a 22-33 start.
Jack Flaherty starts the opener for the Dodgers and for the Mets, in just his third appearance of an injury-filled season. Sean Manaea pitches Game 2 for New York, which earned three days off by .
Dodgers All-Star first baseman Freddie Freeman, playing with a sprained right ankle, was 4 for 14 with no RBIs in the NLDS.
Cleveland and the Yankees will be playing in the postseason for the seventh time. Cleveland won the Division Series in 1997 and 2007, and it lost the 1998 ALCS, Division Series in 2017 and 鈥�22 and the wild-card round in 2020. The Yankees were four outs from advancing in 1997 before Sandy Alomar鈥檚 tying homer off Mariano Rivera in Game 4. The Indians won the series in five games and knocked out New York, which had won the 1996 title and went on to win three more from 1998-2000.
Two years ago, Cleveland鈥檚 Josh Naylor angered Yankees fans with his of a home run off Gerrit Cole in Game 4.
New York won two of three at Cleveland in April and also at home in August. Having , the Yankees could go with Carlos Rod贸n in the opener and Cole in Game 2. Cleveland, which , could go with Alex Cobb in Game 1.
鈥淥bviously a tremendous bullpen,鈥� Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. 鈥淎thletic. They defend really well. They're pretty balanced in their attack.鈥�
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AP Sports Writer Tom Withers in Cleveland and AP freelance writer Jerry Beach in New York contributed to this report.
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AP MLB:
Ronald Blum, The Associated Press
