[Pelican]

Good on you for finding a workable solution. I have done something similar, at least manually increasing cash on hand, particularly for the "poor" or cheap teams, in an effort to approach parity. Of course, more money means more spending and higher salaries. Simply nudging up the average salary each year would be simpler.

My experience, as least in contemporary sims, is that salaries slide steadily upwards, basically due to the limited supply of quality players and the constant demands and deep pockets of MLB teams. I have not seen salaries decrease or hold steady, year-to-year. I would think you would need something external - like owner-friendly changes to arbitration or luxury tax - to restrain that growth. Or a global depression.

It's also true, as you found, that you can fiddle with the revenue side, such as by increasing TV revenue nationally ("rising tide floats all boats") or locally (favoring the big markets). The game seems to put great emphasis on the average ticket price. You can only increase before the regular season. Too much of an increase can cause attendance to dip. But a modest increase can produce added revenue for players.