Money Can’t Buy Happiness…Or Wins in Major League Baseball, Apparently

Baseball is the one sport where team payrolls greatly differ.

No salary cap allows teams in large markets with rich owners (see New York Yankees) to outbid any team when it comes to signing a player. There is the luxury tax, which requires payments for going over a predetermined amount in total payroll, but this is never a problem for teams like the Yankees or Red Sox.

Due to this unequal distribution of wealth throughout the league, it is interesting to see if the money is actually paying off.

To do this I will present the standings if payroll determined the order in each division and then show the actual standings. (The payroll numbers are courtesy of cbssports.com.)

AL East

Payroll Standings

1. New York Yankees ($197,962,289)
2. Boston Red Sox ($173,186,617)
3. Baltimore Orioles ($81,428,999)
4. Toronto Blue Jays ($75,489,200)
5. Tampa Bay Rays ($64,173,500)

Actual Standings

1. Baltimore Orioles (28-17)
2. Tampa Bay Rays (27-18)
3. Toronto Blue Jays (24-21)
4. New York Yankees (23-21)
5. Boston Red Sox (22-22)

AL Central

Payroll Standings

1. Detroit Tigers ($132,300,000)
2. Chicago White Sox ($96,919,500)
3. Minnesota Twins ($94,085,000)
4. Cleveland Indians ($78,430,300)
5. Kansas City Royals ($60,916,225)

Actual Standings

1. Cleveland Indians (25-18)
2. Chicago White Sox (22-22)
3. Detroit Tigers (20-23)
4. Kansas City Royals (17-26)
5. Minnesota Twins (15-28)

AL West

Payroll Standings

1. Los Angeles Angels ($154,485,166)
2. Texas Rangers ($120,510,974)
3. Seattle Mariners ($81,978,100)
4. Oakland Athletics ($55,372,500)

Actual Standings

1. Texas Rangers (27-18)
2. Oakland Athletics (22-23)
3. Seattle Mariners (21-25)
4. Los Angeles Angels (20-25)

NL East

Payroll Standings

1. Philadelphia Phillies ($174,538,938)
2. Miami Marlins ($118,078,000)
3. New York Mets ($93,353,983)
4. Atlanta Braves ($83,309,942)
5. Washington Nationals ($81,336,143)

Actual Standings

1. Washington Nationals (26-18)
2. Atlanta Braves (26-19)
3. New York Mets (24-20)
4. Miami Marlins (24-20)
5. Philadelphia Phillies (22-23)

NL Central

Payroll Standings

1. St. Louis Cardinals ($110,300,862)
2. Milwaukee Brewers ($97,653,944)
3. Chicago Cubs ($88,197,033)
4. Cincinnati Reds ($83,309,942)
5. Pittsburgh Pirates ($63,431,999)
6. Houston Astros ($60,651,000)

Actual Standings

1. St. Louis Cardinals (25-19)
2. Cincinnati Reds (24-19)
3. Houston Astros (21-23)
4. Pittsburgh Pirates (20-24)
5. Milwaukee Brewers (18-26)
6. Chicago Cubs (15-28)

NL West

Payroll Standings

1. San Francisco Giants ($117,620,683)
2. Los Angeles Dodgers ($95,143,575)
3. Colorado Rockies ($78,069,571)
4. Arizona Diamondbacks ($74,284,833)
5. San Diego Padres ($55,244,700)

Actual Standings

1. Los Angeles Dodgers (30-14)
2. San Francisco Giants (23-21)
3. Arizona Diamondbacks (20-25)
4. Colorado Rockies (16-27)
5. San Diego Padres (16-29)

Observations

As seen by the numbers, the Cardinals are the only team who are in first in both the payroll and actual standings. Even they are only .5 games above the Reds, who come in fourth in payroll in the NL Central.

Another interesting statistic is that out of the top five payroll teams (Yankees, Phillies, Red Sox, Angels, and Tigers) only the Yankees have a record above the .500 mark. That is only good enough for fourth in the AL East, which is being led by the Orioles who rank 19th in payroll.

Other division leaders who rank low in payroll are the Indians (21st) and the Nationals (20th). It is still early in the season, but money does not always buy success. Ask the Angels about their most recent investment.

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