Yankees Game One Infield Has the Second Highest Payroll in the Playoffs
Posted by Sean Forman on October 8, 2010
Just came across this in an e-mail exchange with a friend. Based on opening day payrolls, here are the playoff payrolls in order.
1. Phillies $142m
2. Yankees Infield + SP, $118m
3. Giants, $99m
4. Twins, $98m
5. Other 19 Yankees, $89m
6. Braves, $84m
7. Rays, $72m
8. Reds, $72m
9. Rangers, $55m
Next year, Jeter is a free agent, but the five remaining will make, $99.6m.
October 8th, 2010 at 11:41 am
The Phillies outspent the Yanks in one area? Amazing!
October 8th, 2010 at 12:06 pm
Frank, is your reading comprehension poor? The Phillies didn't outspend the Yankees in any area - that list is not a comparison of infield payrolls, it's a comparison of the Yankees' infield payroll to other teams' ENTIRE payrolls. The Phillies spent $142 million on their ENTIRE team, while the Yankees spent $118 million on their infield & SP ALONE.
October 8th, 2010 at 12:18 pm
Can u comprehend Sarcasm? Jesus!!!
October 8th, 2010 at 12:22 pm
@2, I think you're missing the sarcasm.
The infield hasn't even done the most damage.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/2010_ALDS2.shtml
October 8th, 2010 at 12:24 pm
Oh, didn't see that the post actually means infield and starting pitchers. It would be interesting to see a breakdown of that combination for every team in percentages. Or on a macro scale, throughout history to determine what w.s. winners generally spend where.
October 8th, 2010 at 12:30 pm
So in other words, outside of the infield and starting pitcher, the Phillies only spent $12 million less on their other 19 players than the Yankees did?
October 8th, 2010 at 12:58 pm
So it should only take another 100 years until we have the Hundred Billion Dollar Infield?
October 8th, 2010 at 2:02 pm
I think you're overly optimistic there, Johnny. The first Million-Dollar Infield occurred less than a hundred years ago -- and that name was a euphemism, because their combined salaries were a whole lot less than a million.
At the rate salaries are inflating, I'd guess that the Yankees will have a Hundred Billion Dollar infield by the time Bud Selig retires.
October 8th, 2010 at 2:12 pm
That's unbelievable.
The left side of the Yankees infield makes as much as the entire Rangers team! A-Rod $33mil, Jeter $22mil=Entire Rangers team.
C.C., Jeter, A-Rod, 3 players earned more, $79 million, than the Rays, Reds or Rangers.
The Yankees part-time 8th place Hitter (Lance Berkman $14.5 million), would be the highest paid Twin.
A pitcher who's not even on the Yankees playoff roster, Javier Vazquez $11 million, would be the highest paid pitcher on the Twins staff.
A-Rod, C.C., Jeter, Tex, Burnett, Rivera and Posada would be the highest payroll team in playoffs just by themselves!! 7 players, $143 million dollars.
Two Yankee pitchers who probably won't even pitch in the LDS, A.J. Burnett $16 million, Vazquez $11 million, earn more than the entire Twins pitching staff.
October 8th, 2010 at 2:22 pm
Speaking of playoffs:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/blog/archives/6341
Got six out of eight right.
October 8th, 2010 at 2:33 pm
@8
I thought he was talking about the $100,000 infield that won four pennants with the Athletics, the first one in 1910.
October 8th, 2010 at 3:22 pm
And for all that money Jeter slugged a mighty .370
October 8th, 2010 at 6:15 pm
I think it works better if you exclude Posada from the first half of the equation- catchers are normally considered part of the infield anyway. That would mean the infield & game 1 pitcher had a combined payroll of $105 million, still ahead of 6 of the other 7 playoff teams. That would mean the other 20 Yankee players had a combined payroll of $102 million, STILL more than 6 of the other 7 playoff teams.
Basically New York fielded the second AND third highest payrolls in the playoffs.
October 8th, 2010 at 6:17 pm
Sorry, should be "catchers aren't" in the first sentence above.
October 8th, 2010 at 6:19 pm
Umm, does this sicken anyone? The fact that 9 guys on the Yanks are making over a combined 100 million. That really makes me sick. If you have 25 guys on a team the combined payroll should barely be over 100 mil.
October 8th, 2010 at 7:13 pm
Dillion @15
Actually the 4 highest paid Yankees combined make over $100 million.
As do the next 8 highest paid Yankees.
Actually the highest paid Pirate would be the 16th highest paid Yankee, just ahead of a set up man and a pitcher who has 4 IP's in the past 3 years.
October 8th, 2010 at 8:03 pm
I thought ARod made more than the Pirates
October 8th, 2010 at 9:31 pm
If you have 25 guys on a team the combined payroll should barely be over 100 mil.
What cavern do you pull that number out of? Are you an heir to the Steinbrenner fortune?
October 8th, 2010 at 11:42 pm
You could also put it this way:
A-Rod, C.C., Jeter, and Tex, were 4 players that cost $99 million dollars this year, slightly more than the ENTIRE Twins team.
October 9th, 2010 at 10:20 am
[...] Stadium garages have increased parking prices 74% for the ALDS — from $23 to $40. … Money Fact: Cap’n Intangibles and Slappy McBluelips are making more than the entire Rangers [...]
October 9th, 2010 at 3:57 pm
Cot's has the Rangers' opening day payroll at $68.1 Million.
What's the source for the $55M?
Also, do the Yankees really have five players in their infield? I assume Posada is being counted as an "infielder".
October 9th, 2010 at 6:58 pm
So?
October 9th, 2010 at 7:04 pm
#15, the owners of the Yankees are making considerably more than 100 million. Does that, too, make you sick?
October 10th, 2010 at 11:35 pm
I'll assume Dillon's mind has been blown by the idea that salary may not be directly related to societal value.
October 11th, 2010 at 1:00 pm
[...] Yankees do have twice your payroll — Game 1′s infield earns more than your entire team — but they’re not unbeatable as the ’07 Indians, ’06 Tigers and ’05 [...]