Major League Baseball Payrolls in 2011
by Matthew on Dec 27, 2011 1:30 PM PST
in Around Major League Baseball
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PrintI didn't notice it when the AP released the numbers a few days ago, but Maury Brown rolled out a note about them and added the percentage change each team had from 2010. I took that and added in their number of wins and a binary playoff indicator and made the table below sortable if you click on the column headers. It's not anything fancy or particularly groundbreaking, though you can tease stuff out of the data if you wish. Yes, the Mariners spent enough to field a winning team. Yes, it would be great if they spent more. Yes, you can win with a variety of payrolls. Yes, blackberry is the quantifiably best flavor of jam.
| Team | Payroll Spent | % Change | # Wins | Playoffs? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yankees | $216,044,956 | 0% | 97 | Y |
| Red Sox | $174,116,280 | 2% | 90 | N |
| Phillies | $165,313,989 | 14% | 102 | Y |
| Angels | $143,099,729 | 16% | 86 | N |
| Mets | $142,244,744 | 12% | 77 | N |
| Cubs | $140,608,942 | -1% | 71 | N |
| White Sox | $125,814,762 | 12% | 79 | N |
| Giants | $125,111,390 | 23% | 86 | N |
| Twins | $115,419,106 | 12% | 63 | N |
| Tigers | $113,230,923 | -17% | 95 | Y |
| Cardinals | $113,156,467 | 15% | 90 | Y |
| Dodgers | $109,865,640 | 0% | 82 | N |
| Rangers | $103,967,140 | 40% | 96 | Y |
| Mariners | $98,067,684 | 5% | 67 | N |
| Rockies | $96,145,529 | 9% | 73 | N |
| Brewers | $93,234,011 | -1% | 96 | Y |
| Braves | $88,128,545 | -1% | 89 | N |
| Orioles | $86,856,480 | 19% | 69 | N |
| Reds | $81,621,587 | -1% | 79 | N |
| Astros | $81,139,621 | -10% | 56 | N |
| Blue Jays | $75,851,382 | -13% | 81 | N |
| Nationals | $72,022,999 | 0% | 80 | N |
| Athletics | $70,476,206 | 14% | 74 | N |
| Diamondbacks | $65,603,602 | -7% | 94 | Y |
| Marlins | $61,940,280 | 31% | 72 | N |
| Indians | $53,533,393 | -12% | 80 | N |
| Pirates | $51,784,810 | 17% | 72 | N |
| Padres | $45,620,873 | 5% | 71 | N |
| Rays | $44,969,740 | -42% | 91 | Y |
| Royals | $44,566,470 | -42% | 71 | N |
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Those 67 wins....
that is painful to look at. At least it isn’t the 63 that the Twin have though. Gotta take a “win” where you can get one.
Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer say hello.
“Hello, we’re expensive and injured!”
by Adam B on Dec 27, 2011 2:27 PM PST up reply actions 2 recs
So was pretty much everyone else.
Basically, we got to watch the Red Wings in Twins uniforms, try to play in the Majors.
"Don't take life for granted, because tomorrow isn't promised to any one of us." -Kirby Puckett
"Tell Gardy there's nobody around to protect him now." Ozzie Guillen
by less cowbell, more 'neau on Dec 27, 2011 3:26 PM PST up reply actions
Cubs too, at 71 wins for 140 mil. Ouch.
Fans are typically idiots.
by The Typical Idiot Fan on Dec 27, 2011 4:19 PM PST up reply actions
Top 10
1. Rays $494,172.97
2. Royals $627,696.76
3. Padres $642,547.51
4. Indians $669,167.41
5. Diamondbacks $697,910.66
6. Pirates $719,233.47
7. Marlins $860,281.67
8. Nationals $900,287.49
9. Blue Jays $936,436.81
10. Athletics $952,381.16
by TrashiDawa on Dec 27, 2011 1:57 PM PST up reply actions 5 recs
Bottom 10 (Mariners are in this group...surprise!)
30. Yankees $2,227,267.59
29. Cubs $1,980,407.63
28. Red Sox $1,934,625.33
27. Mets $1,847,334.34
26. Twins $1,832,049.30
25. Angels $1,663,950.34
24. Phillies $1,620,725.38
23. White Sox $1,592,591.92
22. Mariners $1,463,696.78
21. Giants $1,454,783.60
by TrashiDawa on Dec 27, 2011 1:59 PM PST up reply actions 5 recs
Does $ per win ever tell us anything other than "Hey, that's kinda neat?"
I suppose it attempts to find who spends money efficiently but it’s not like teams near the bottom can reset the payroll to reallocate funds to players differently based on past performances every year.
It's just kind of neat to see how efficiently teams are spending money.
It doesn’t really mean much though because efficiency doesn’t equal success.
Thanks for providing the data, by the way.
Information is good! I’ve just been curious how far we can go with it in this case.
It gives us all another reason to hate the Rays
And a way to feel superior to the Yankees, I’ll take it.
If you go further it shows that playoff teams pay less than average per win.
$1,233,630 being average, playoff teams spent $1,192,931 per win. Unless you eliminate the outliers, then it is $1,137,001. Or just eliminate the Yankees and you get $1,045,169 per win. However, without the Rays you balloon up to $1,292,754 per win, a striking $59,124 difference!.. So, yeah, it doesn’t seem to mean anything other than “Hey, that’s kinda neat.”
This franchise
is a joke, i can’t wait until we pass up Fielder so i can close the casket on being a fan.
by Promethazine & Cream Soda on Dec 27, 2011 1:58 PM PST reply actions 2 recs
I miss the days when we didn't have comments like this.
Yes, we have a coupon.
by Crystal for DH on Dec 27, 2011 2:13 PM PST up reply actions 8 recs
Show them you mean business by starting early.
...and now I'm here
by CapSea on Dec 27, 2011 2:21 PM PST up reply actions 3 recs
Yeah they raised payroll
How dare they!
by Mariner John on Dec 27, 2011 2:24 PM PST via Android app up reply actions
I bet you wished we signed Barry Zito in 2006
Determined, Jonesing Commentor
by Corco on Dec 27, 2011 2:41 PM PST up reply actions 3 recs
Damn it, I really wanted to sign Fielder until you made this comment. I'm not sure we can let this opportunity pass.
Sorry Prince, but I think we should close all of these caskets.
follow @casetines
by Kenneth Arthur on Dec 27, 2011 2:42 PM PST up reply actions
Do you even like baseball, or this team? Because it doesn't sound like it.
Why post here at all if all you’re going to do is make uneducated remarks and complaints? If you dislike the franchise so much and think that it’s a joke then aren’t you just wasting your time by posting on a blog dedicated to said franchise.
by Cascadian Man on Dec 27, 2011 3:02 PM PST up reply actions
You've made like... 11 comments so far. You're barely here as it is.
Fans are typically idiots.
by The Typical Idiot Fan on Dec 27, 2011 4:22 PM PST up reply actions
Look at it this way
It’s nice that Halo’s Heaven will have a valuable new member soon.
by ToddK on Dec 27, 2011 8:50 PM PST up reply actions 2 recs
Depends on the kind of blackberries/raspberries used for the jam.
In my book the “wild” (invasive weed) himalayan blackberries here in Washington State are the best. Especially if you get some from the east side of the state where they are larger and sweeter. They have the perfect mixture of sweetness and acidity that bites through a PB&J.
There is a raspberry farm less than an hours drive from my house.
Their raspberries are awesome, and well priced.
Their dark chocolate coated raspberries are oh my god awesome, and not so well priced. But so worth it.
by Aussie Mariner on Dec 27, 2011 10:00 PM PST up reply actions
Grape?
Grape is the McNugget of the jam/jelly world.
by branochilly on Dec 27, 2011 4:12 PM PST up reply actions 4 recs
The only drawback with either is the seeds
And trying to surreptiously work them out of your teeth without looking like a weirdo
It's not for everyone, but
my favorite’s huckleberry.
by hairofthedawg on Dec 27, 2011 5:10 PM PST up reply actions
Wrong.
Homemade wild Strawberry. Blackberry is good, but it gets dinged for the seeds that get stuck in ones teeth.
Strawberry can be good.
But it can get those gross slimy and stringy strawberry clots that sort of pop between your teeth, followed by it oozing down the back of your throat like like an octopus falling off a chair. Blackberry is refined in taste, both sweet and tart, supplying a satisfying snap to break up the monotony of the classic peanut butter and jelly.
My third post is about jam.
Strawberry-rhubarb. That’s all.
by Cuffs_Coddle on Dec 27, 2011 7:00 PM PST up reply actions
To cherry pick some numbers here...
9 of the top 13 payrolls wound up with a winning record.
Only 2 of the bottom 13 payrolls wound up with a winning record.
Kudos to the Rays and Diamond Backs… but I would sure love parity in MLB.
I think people...
….mistake correlation for causation.
I think the true underlying cause is talent…and not just raw talent, like a Smoak or even Ackley, but mature talent, like a Hernandez…who will get paid money, though not as much as a free agent (because of arbitration and team control).
The real lesson s to accumulate talent.
What you're looking for is not parity but financial equity
MLB is a pretty good example of parity, which I take to mean “competitive balance”. By one admittedly limited measure, the last 11 years have seen nine different World Series winners, and it’s not like the 2006 Cardinals steamrolled the entire NL to get there. The playoffs themselves have seen a ton of different teams cycle through in the last 10-15 years; sure, you most always see one or both of the Yankees and Red Sox, but otherwise the MLB postseason is a pretty good mixture of “big” teams and “small” teams.
What most people seem to be arguing for when they say “parity” is for a more equal distribution of money, but that doesn’t solve the problem; you will always have teams that exist pretty much solely to line their owners’ pockets. The new CBA tried to address this as much as it could, but it’s a hard nut to crack and I certainly don’t have the answer to that particular problem.
by pdb on Dec 28, 2011 9:38 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Table flows strangely on mobile devices, had to switch to full site version to read it
I don’t mean to be whiny about that, though. Not sure what there is to infer from all those dollar amounts, except the ability to laugh at the Angels if they go out, spend all that money this offseason, and end up missing the playoffs anyway.
Another way of looking at this...
because it’s the week after Christmas and work is slow, here’s that data visualized. The thing I think is interesting is that, while a higher payroll is correlated with a higher win total, a positive change in payroll doesn’t seem correlated with a change in wins.
http://public.tableausoftware.com/views/PayrollandWins/Payrollvs_Wins
by Schaefer on Dec 27, 2011 4:14 PM PST reply actions 2 recs
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