As the World Series approaches, many baseball fans will watch the postseason games and reflect on how the rosters of the competing teams were built in their quest to be crowned champions.
For three of the four teams participating in the American League Championship Series or National League Championship Series, investing in superstars with big contracts was the way to go.
According to the Sportico article, “Money Talks As Mets, Dodgers, Yankees advance in MLB Playoffs” author Barry M. Bloom states: “The New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees spent just over $1 billion combined on their 40-man rosters, as per Spotrac and are now a step away from the World Series.”
With the economics of the MLB being in poor shape, largely due to there being no salary cap in the sports, allowing teams’ in larger markets to spend more than their small market counterparts and certain owners unwillingness to invest in their team, leading to a decline of interest in the sport.
The Yankees' opponent in the ALCS, the Cleveland Guardians, is a clear outlier from the other three teams in the final four, only having a payroll of approximately $106.4 million.
Other post-season teams that featured high payrolls include the Houston Astros, ranking third with a $255,271,371 payroll; the Philadelphia Phillies, ranking fourth with a $247,149,605 payroll; and the Atlanta Braves, ranking sixth with a $236,433,901 payroll, according to Spotrac.
While high payrolls may not determine how much success a team has, as the seventh-ranked Chicago Cubs, who put forth $230,067,975 towards their roster and didn’t qualify for the postseason in 2024, it is an indicator of how much potential a team has.
Unlike the other three major professional sports, Major League Baseball does not have a salary cap, allowing big market teams with aggressive owners, such as the Mets, Yankees, Dodgers, and Phillies to spend as much as they want, creating a clear talent gap between them and small market teams with status-quo owners such as the Oakland Athletics, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Miami Marlins in the dust.
The Marlins, who have the fourth lowest payroll in baseball, made the playoffs in 2023, largely due to the incredible work of General Manager Kim Ng and Manager Skip Schumaker.
While the team did not spend money at the rate of their postseason counterparts, they did have a strong culture and grit. According to the MLB.com article Marlins hope ‘23 is springboard for ‘24 “The Marlins produced a 15-win turnaround in large part because of their ability to rally; their six wins when trailing by three-plus runs at the end of the seventh were the most by an MLB team in the Modern Era, according to OptaSTATS.” This shows that the chemistry of the team is very important as well, and that there is a way for clubs who don’t spend to succeed. Therefore, regardless of how much a team spends, ownership can still be a problem if they don’t hire the right people to lead the team. Having a good owner truly does mean everything in baseball.
Ownership elected not to renew Ng’s contract following the 2023 season, and Schumaker opted out of his following the 2024 campaign, as new general manager Peter Bendix plans on pursuing yet another rebuild to the Marlins roster, something Schumaker doesn’t want to be a part of.
The Marlins, who finished the season 62-100, traded star players Tanner Scott, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Bryan De La Cruz, Trevor Rogers, and others at the trade deadline in July, in order to acquire top prospects. This trade deadline haul saved the team about $10 million in payroll, according to the Forbes article: “The Miami Marlins purged their payroll yet again.”
This is only one example of how a team went from a solid competitor to rock bottom during a short time span.
The Oakland Athletics, who currently own the league’s lowest payroll, have not just been having issues on the field, as they finished with a 69-93 record this season, but off of it as well, due to spending habits by owner John Fisher.
For years, Fisher and Major League Baseball have been wanting to construct a new stadium for the Athletics, as the state of the RingCentral Coliseum, where the Athletics played since 1968, declined.
According to The Oaklandside article: “Cat feces, cobwebs, moths”, Oakland A’s complaint about Coliseum conditions states: “Feces from feral cats, a moth infestation, mold, a nearby homeless encampment, broken seats, and plumbing and water leaks all made the checklist of problems Vice President of Stadium Operations David Rinetti sent to Coliseum Authority Executive Director Henry Gardner in a letter on May 12.”
With their lease at the Coliseum expiring following the conclusion of the 2024 season and a lack of progress between Fisher and the City of Oakland, in terms of building a new stadium, Fisher made the decision to cease negotiations with the city and begin constructing a new stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada.
While the team waits for the completion of the stadium, they will play at a Minor League ballpark in Sacramento, California.
Fisher has also been criticized for trading star players when their contracts are nearing their expiration, such as Matt Chapman, Chris Bassitt, and Sean Murphy, rather than paying them.
Thus, the Athletics have the lowest payroll in baseball and will be playing in a Minor League stadium, starting next season.
Saving the best for last, the Pittsburgh Pirates, who currently own the second lowest payroll in baseball, I don’t even know where to start here.
Team owner Bob Nutting has often been regarded as complacent and not one who spends money, in terms of improving the roster. In fact, many believe that the team has been complacent under his tenure as owner.
Following the 2019 season, Nutting and the Pirates embarked on a full rebuild, parting ways with general manager Neal Huntington and manager Clint Hurdle. Replacing them were Ben Cherington and Derek Shelton.
Since the duo of Cherington and Shelton took over, the Pirates have totaled a 295-413 record, one that would lead to firings of both men, in most situations.
Instead, Nutting retained Cherington and Shelton both, showing that saving money is more important than winning.
In fact, Nutting and the Pirates faced a situation this year where their decision-making with money was criticized. First Baseman Rowdy Tellez, a fan favorite, was designated for assignment with just six games to go. More importantly, Tellez was just four at-bats short of earning a $200,000 bonus, which further strengthened the claim that the Pirates have made recent decisions based on saving money, and not building a competitive team.
The Pirates were 73-83 and eliminated from the postseason picture at the time of Tellez’s release.
The economics of baseball differ from the three other sports, and that limits the amount of parody throughout the league. Commissioner Manfred needs to look at taking significant steps in order to hold owners who fail to spend an adequate amount to be competitive, and who simply just don’t care about winning accountable.
Ultimately though, I feel that having both a locker room that connects well with each other that values good comradery and having an owner/front office that is willing to spend money, in order to bring top-end talent to the organization help make an organization good. The teams in baseball that win championships have both, and if you want to be elite, you must have both. They truly do complement each other like ketchup and mustard.
Until then, the economics of Major League Baseball will be problematic, leading to a continuing decline of interest in the game.
Comments