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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