MLB Salary vs. MLB Standings

by ShawnK on Jul 31, 2009 1:15 PM EDT

As we discussed the recent trades of the beloved Indians and the plight of the small and mid-market clubs, I was curious to see how the current teams records stacked up against their MLB salary. The table below details this information as of 7/30/09:

		American League
Salary Rank	Salary ($M)	American League East	W	L	Pct.
1	201.4	N.Y. Yankees	62	39	0.614
4	122.7	Boston	58	42	0.580
25	63.3	Tampa Bay	55	47	0.539
16	81.0	Toronto	49	53	0.480
23	67.1	Baltimore	44	57	0.436
		*American League Central*
		Team	W	L	Pct.
5	115.1	Detroit	53	47	0.530
24	65.3	Minnesota	52	50	0.510
12	96.1	Chi. White Sox	51	51	0.500
15	81.6	Cleveland	42	60	0.412
21	70.9	Kansas City	40	61	0.396
		*American League West*
		Team	W	L	Pct.
6	113.7	L.A. Angels	60	40	0.600
22	68.6	Texas	56	43	0.566
10	98.9	Seattle	53	48	0.525
26	62.3	Oakland	43	58	0.426

		National League
		*National League East*
		Team	W	L	Pct.
7	113.0	Philadelphia	58	41	0.586
30	36.8	Florida	53	48	0.525
11	96.7	Atlanta	51	50	0.505
2	135.8	N.Y. Mets	49	51	0.490
27	59.3	Washington	32	70	0.314
		*National League Central*
		Team	W	L	Pct.
13	88.5	St. Louis	56	48	0.538
3	135.1	Chi. Cubs	53	46	0.535
8	103.0	Houston	51	51	0.500
17	79.9	Milwaukee	51	51	0.500
20	71.0	Cincinnati	45	56	0.446
28	48.7	Pittsburgh	43	58	0.426
		*National League West*
9	100.5	L.A. Dodgers	62	39	0.614
14	82.2	San Francisco	55	46	0.545
18	75.2	Colorado	54	47	0.535
19	73.6	Arizona	44	58	0.431
29	42.8	San Diego	41	62	0.398

There are many different ways to measure a teams performance, but if salary vs winning percentage is used, some quick observations are that Tampa Bay, Minnesota, Texas, Florida, and St. Louis have exceeded expectations while the New York Mets have totally under achieved. With the disparity in salary even within each division, it really makes winning the division difficult for lower salaried teams and trades of superstar talent for multiple prospects more understandable.

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The Top 5 in $/W:

1. Florida    $694,339.62 
2. San Diego  $1,043,902.44 
3. Pittsburgh $1,132,558.14 
4. Tampa Bay  $1,150,909.09 
5. Texas      $1,225,000.00

And the bottom:

30. N.Y. Yankees $3,248,387.10 
29. N.Y. Mets    $2,771,428.57 
28. Chi. Cubs    $2,549,056.60 
27. Detroit      $2,171,698.11 
26. Boston       $2,115,517.24

Not that this is necessarily a useful way to look at it, but still.

by FredOx on Jul 31, 2009 1:36 PM EDT reply actions

This is interesting, but this is just the salary expense per win. If we were able to see club revenues per win, we could calculate the profit per win, which I think would be more telling as I presume the larger clubs can spend much more per win and still be more profitable then the smaller clubs.

by ShawnK on Jul 31, 2009 1:44 PM EDT up reply actions

Need to look at marginal dollars (over 15M or so) over marginal wins (about 62).

Well, that's just, like, your opinion, man.

by Jay on Jul 31, 2009 2:17 PM EDT up reply actions

It’s a start, but the real dynamic is the ability to keep your own top talent as long as you want (Jeter, Rivera, Posada, Petite, A-Rod…), then fill in gaps along the way. What you pay for is not just performance, but consistent, reliable, predictable performance. Not throwing the dice at a bunch of wildcards like the Tribe has to do. Look over a 10-15 span is more enlightening, not any single year. Yankees and Red Sox almost always near the top, 90+ wins, while the others are bobbing up and down. Also, the inefficiencies that small market teams like the A’s and Indians could tap have been driven out of the system. Yankees and Red Sox can do what the small market teams do…then throw a bunch more financial resources at it. Sure, money doesn’t make up for stupidity (Cubs, Dodgers until this year), but put smarts and money together in a closed system, and this is what you’ll get, mostly. Also, the ability to buy mistakes with money is underrated.

by Bogalusa Bomber on Aug 1, 2009 1:21 AM EDT up reply actions

"bury" mistakes, not buy. That almost works too though.

by Bogalusa Bomber on Aug 1, 2009 1:23 AM EDT up reply actions

Mets… HA!

by gte619n on Jul 31, 2009 4:28 PM EDT reply actions

http://benfry.com/salaryper/

This sketch looks at all 30 Major League Baseball Teams and ranks them on the left according to their day-to-day standings. The lines connect each team to their 2009 salary, listed on the right.

by BrianRose on Jul 31, 2009 6:02 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs

rec!

This is Victor's home. Victor Jose, you too.

by westbrook on Aug 2, 2009 4:22 PM EDT up reply actions

I wish I could root for the Marlins, but I … can’t.

Usually, an incredible waste of pixels.

by emd2k3 on Jul 31, 2009 9:11 PM EDT reply actions

I wonder if you could run a .500 ball club for two years with a payroll under $20M.

Steel Nick

by nickjs21 on Aug 2, 2009 7:21 PM EDT up reply actions

If you had all 40 guys at the league minimum (which I think is $400k), you would be at $16 M. To have 40 league minimum players hit .500 would be a very tall feat. Heck, we couldn’t hit .500 this year with $80 M and the AL Central is considered weak.

by ShawnK on Aug 3, 2009 2:06 PM EDT up reply actions

agree

this is just a down year in baseball. Heck if you are in the division lead you could go 4-6 in a 10 game stretch and only be a game out

Carlos Guillen, the Latino Nick Punto

by The_Fan on Aug 9, 2009 3:50 AM EDT up reply actions

You know that the total number of wins across teams is the same every year, right?

by Logodaedalus on Aug 9, 2009 4:46 AM EDT up reply actions

yes, but I am referencing

what I saw earlier in the season

Carlos Guillen, the Latino Nick Punto

by The_Fan on Aug 9, 2009 11:32 AM EDT up reply actions

I’m not sure what you’re getting at…. For every game that’s played there’s exactly one win and one loss recorded. Are you saying the races are closer than usual this year?

by Logodaedalus on Aug 9, 2009 1:14 PM EDT up reply actions

why yes, yes i am

Carlos Guillen, the Latino Nick Punto

by The_Fan on Aug 9, 2009 3:56 PM EDT up reply actions

Hey, mister I-root-for-everyone-but-the-Indians … at least you could stop using the subject line, pay attention to your surroundings a little bit.

Well, that's just, like, your opinion, man.

by Jay on Aug 9, 2009 4:05 PM EDT up reply actions

I root for everyone

bt the Tigers

Carlos Guillen, the Latino Nick Punto

by The_Fan on Aug 9, 2009 5:27 PM EDT up reply actions

Not sure how that translates to “a down year in baseball”, but okay.

by Logodaedalus on Aug 9, 2009 5:15 PM EDT up reply actions

It translates to fewer good-to-outstanding teams, because of greater parity.

Well, that's just, like, your opinion, man.

by Jay on Aug 9, 2009 7:03 PM EDT up reply actions

Yeah, I get that, but I wouldn’t call that a “down year” overall.

by Logodaedalus on Aug 9, 2009 9:33 PM EDT up reply actions

Me neither. I just like to play translator for the clueless. It’s my charity work. There are clueless people in my family, actually.

Well, that's just, like, your opinion, man.

by Jay on Aug 9, 2009 9:47 PM EDT up reply actions

Which are you saying is clueless?

by Logodaedalus on Aug 9, 2009 11:57 PM EDT up reply actions

Oh, and don’t worry, Sam will start understanding things eventually.

by Logodaedalus on Aug 9, 2009 11:57 PM EDT up reply actions

I hope so. I swear, he can be such a baby sometimes.

Well, that's just, like, your opinion, man.

by Jay on Aug 10, 2009 12:43 AM EDT up reply actions

I don’t know, my daughter is 20 months old and she thinks we should bunt more.

by Brad D on Aug 10, 2009 1:05 AM EDT up reply actions

My six-year-old nephew roundly condemned Ryan Garko.

Well, that's just, like, your opinion, man.

by Jay on Aug 10, 2009 1:18 AM EDT up reply actions

My now 10 year old hated Garko. He thinks Marte should play more. I thought he’d take the trade of Victor harder having just spent his birthday money on a #41 jersey, but he told me he thought the Indians needed pitchers more than they needed catchers (“isn’t that what Carlos Santana is for?”).

My 6 year old daughter, on the other hand, mostly thinks Grady is awesome and says trading Cliff Lee was “stupid” because she liked him, and he was the only Indians pitcher she has ever seen pitch in person. About CC she says “I remember him, he was the fat one. I liked him before, but now he’s a Yankee, so I hate him.”

by FredOx on Aug 10, 2009 9:22 AM EDT up reply actions

That #41 could end up being the best Indians jersey investment in decades.

Well, that's just, like, your opinion, man.

by Jay on Aug 10, 2009 9:42 AM EDT up reply actions

Also! Your kids are geniuses.

My main observation about my nephew was that he was just about as astute as his father (my brother) and definitely way above the norm for cleveland.com.

Well, that's just, like, your opinion, man.

by Jay on Aug 10, 2009 9:43 AM EDT up reply actions

Most of their friends are Yankees or Red Sox fans, for no readily apparent reason, so they’ll always seem geniusy in context. Besides, our family is far better at mathematics than we are at athletics, so it doesn’t take much to raise sabemetricians. I can teach xFIP far more easily than I can teach either one to hit a curveball.

by FredOx on Aug 10, 2009 10:05 AM EDT up reply actions

Nobody should be throwing curveballs at that age anyway.

Well, that's just, like, your opinion, man.

by Jay on Aug 10, 2009 10:28 AM EDT up reply actions

That’s another issue altogether, of course. We faced a 10 year old little league pitcher who had a fastball, curve and change. Not sure how many were plus pitches. That kid’s an injury waiting to happen.

by FredOx on Aug 10, 2009 10:53 AM EDT up reply actions