Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Fun With Numbers (Economics)

Everyone knows the Yankees have far and away the highest payroll in baseball, but here's HOW high that payroll is:

The gap between the Yankees (1st) and the Mets (2nd) is greater than the gap between the Mets (2nd) and the Mariners (10th).

The Yankees pay their infield $81 million. Just the 1B, 2B, 3B, and SS. That's more than the entire payroll of 17 major league teams.

The Yankees have three of the top five highest paid players in baseball, and six in the top 25, twice as many as any other team.

The Yankees have the three highest paid pitchers in the American League.

The Yankees, in their defense, are actually spending 4% less money than they did last year, though there is still time for a trade.

So, next time someone talks about the Yankees and uses terms like "aura" and "mystique" and similar nonsense, please remind them they're forgetting the key ingredient: capital.