MLB lockout looms over small-market World Series showdown

Both teams knocked out some of baseball's biggest spenders on their way to the World Series.

• The Brewers swept the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series, while the Rays eliminated the New York Yankees en route to the World Series.

State of play: Owners proposed a salary cap and salary floor in May — the league currently has neither — which the MLB players union is expected to reject outright, Axios' Dan Primack reported.

By the numbers: This is the first World Series in 35 years featuring two teams that rank in the bottom half of MLB payrolls.

• The Rays ranked 26th among 30 teams in opening day payroll at $89 million, while the Brewers were 19th at $124 million, according to the AP.
• The Cleveland Guardians, whom the Rays defeated in the American League Championship Series, ranked dead last in spending.

Zoom out: A work stoppage threatens to derail baseball's momentum after a season marked by rising TV viewership and the successful introduction of a system for challenging umpires' ball-and-strike calls.

• NBC and Peacock averaged 2.7 million viewers for "Sunday Night Baseball" this season, the program's highest average audience since 2007.
• The National League Championship Series averaged 7.3 million viewers across Fox and FS1, the largest audience for any League Championship Series since 2015.

What to watch: The current MLB collective bargaining agreement expires on Dec. 1.

• If there's no deal by mid-February, a stoppage could disrupt spring training, and if there's no deal by mid-March, the 2027 regular season could be in jeopardy.