https://mlb.nbcsports.com/2019/03/29/mlb-awards-a-championship-belt-to-the-team-which-keeps-salaries-lowest-in-arbitration/
If you think this is anything other than a challenge to pay the players as little as they can legally get away with, get a load of this:
"The Belt changes hands shortly after season’s end, in a crowded conference room at a luxury resort, where delegates from every MLB team have been summoned for a symposium on arbitration. For three hours, they will work together at the direction of the league to set recommendations, which teams will use in negotiations with their players. It’s a thankless job. So before the meeting adjourns, they’ll celebrate an unsung hero in this battle over dollars. The ceremony ends with the presentation of a replica championship belt, awarded by the league to the team that did most to “achieve the goals set by the industry.” In other words: The team that did the most to keep salaries down in arbitration."
Yes, an actual belt. There have been rumors about this for some time — when I went to that arbitration competition last year I spoke to people who mentioned it — but thanks to Carig’s excellent reportage, Major League Baseball has now admitted that that’s a thing.
Whenever money matters come up, people who take ownership’s side said say “hey, it’s a business.” What they fail to understand is that while, yes, it’s all about the money, in some respects beating the players and holding down salaries as much as possible is a game to them too.
STOP ROOTING FOR THESE BILLIONAIRES AND THEIR CHECKBOOKS. THEY DIDN'T BECOME BILLIONAIRES BY PINCHING PENNIES, THEY DID IT BY BEING ABJECT *******S.