Will This Be the First Time Since 2005 That No Baseball Team with a Low Payroll Makes the Postseason?
By Jason McIntyre
It’s no secret that the teams that spend money in baseball have a significantly greater chance of reaching the postseason. Clearly, the playing field is not level. Usually, a team with a low payroll does get to the postseason, but that may not be the case this year. Last year, Texas had the 4th lowest payroll in baseball at $55 million and reached the World Series. Yet Tampa Bay, which is considered a “small market” team had a payroll of $71 million and also made the playoffs.
A worst case scenario this year? The Angels overtake the Rangers in the AL West and the Cardinals win the Central. Then, all eight playoff teams would have a payroll in the Top 15 in the league (all over $87 million), and the four teams that spent the most money to field a team all reach the postseason. Dating back to 2004, that’s never happened.
(If you’re wondering why nine teams are bolded instead of eight, it’s because the Brewers and Cards are tied atop the NL Central.)
1. New York Yankees $201,689,030 (2nd place AL East)
2. Philadelphia Phillies $172,976,381 (1st place NL East)
3. Boston Red Sox $161,407,476 (1st place AL East)
4. Los Angeles Angels $138,998,524 (2nd place AL West)
5. Chicago White Sox $129,285,539 (3rd place AL Central)
6. Chicago Cubs $125,480,664 (4th place NL Central)
7. New York Mets $120,147,310 (3rd place NL East)
8. San Francisco Giants $118,216,833 (1st place NL West)
9. Minnesota Twins $112,737,000 (4th place AL central)
10. Detroit Tigers $105,705,232 (1st place AL Central)
11. St. Louis Cardinals $105,433,572 (1st place NL Central)
12. Los Angeles Dodgers $103,788,990 (4th place NL West)
13. Texas Rangers $92,299,265 (1st place AL West)
14. Colorado Rockies $87,998,071 (3rd place NL West)
15. Atlanta Braves $87,003,192 (2nd place NL East)
16. Seattle Mariners $86,424,600 (3rd place AL West)
17. Milwaukee Brewers $85,497,333 (1st place NL Central)
18. Baltimore Orioles $85,304,038 (Last place AL East)
19. Cincinnati Reds $76,181,365 (4th place NL Central)
20. Houston Astros $70,694,000 (Last place NL Central)
21. Oakland Athletics $66,536,500 (Last Place AL West)
22. Washington Nationals $63,681,929 (4th place NL East)
23. Toronto Blue Jays $62,517,800 (4th place AL East)
24. Florida Marlins $56,944,000 (Last place NL East)
25. Arizona Diamondbacks $53,639,833 (2nd place NL West)
26. Cleveland Indians $49,188,867 (2nd place AL Central)
27. Pittsburgh Pirates $46,047,000 (3rd place NL Central)
28. San Diego Padres $45,869,140 (Last place NL West)
29. Tampa Bay Rays $41,932,171 (3rd place AL East)
30. Kansas City Royals $36,126,400 (Last place AL Central)
2010 MLB Teams in the Postseason (with payroll in parens)
Tampa (21st)
New York (1st)
Minnesota (11th)
Texas (27th)
Philadelphia (4th)
Atlanta (15th)
Cincinnati (19th)
San Francisco (10th)
2009 MLB Teams in the Postseason (with payroll in parens)
New York (1st)
Boston (4th)
Minnesota (24th)
Anaheim (6th)
Philadelphia (7th)
St. Louis (17th)
Los Angeles (9th)
Colorado (18th)
2008 MLB Teams in the Postseason (with payroll in parens)
Tampa (29th)
Boston (4th)
Chicago (5th)
Anaheim (6th)
Philadelphia (13th)
Chicago (7th)
Milwaukee (15th)
Los Angeles (8th)
2007 MLB Teams in the Postseason (with payroll in parens)
Boston (2nd)
New York (1st)
Cleveland (23rd)
Anaheim (4th)
Philadelphia (13th)
Chicago (8th)
Arizona (26th)
Colorado (25th)
2006 MLB Teams in the Postseason (with payroll in parens)
New York (1st)
Minnesota (19th)
Detroit (14th)
Oakland (21st)
New York (5th)
St. Louis (11th)
San Diego (17th)
Los Angeles (6th)
2005 MLB Teams in the Postseason (with payroll in parens)
New York (1st)
Boston (2nd)
Chicago (9th)
Anaheim (4th)
Atlanta (10th)
St. Louis (6th)
Houston (12th)
San Diego (16th)
2004 MLB Teams in the Postseason (with payroll in parens)
New York (1st)
Boston (2nd)
Minnesota (19th)
Anaheim (3rd)
Atlanta (8th)
St. Louis (11th)
Houston (12th)
Los Angeles (7th)
* The term “low payroll” is nebulous. Should it be anyone who spends below $50 million? Should it be relative to what the other teams are spending? With 30 teams, breaking them into 10s makes sense, but if you take 2004, the Orioles were 20th in payroll at $51 million; the Twins were 19th at $53 million. Tough to say the Twins were in the “medium payroll” department. Ditto 2010, when the Reds were 19th in payroll at $72.38 million; the Royals were 20th at $72.26 million.