Money doesn’t buy you Happiness – ask George Steinbrenner
Posted by: Richie Rich in 2007 MLB, TIWIHTOF
Do not forward this to George Steinbrenner. Brian Cashman has been trying to hide it from him all Spring.Â
My Dad always used to tell me that there’s a big difference between activity and accomplishment. And that the hardest working people weren’t always the highest paid. And something about Money not buying Wins.
As a lifelong Cub Fan, I’ve seen his theories proven every summer at Wrigley Field and across Baseball in general. Teams with the best players (and often the most expensive players) get trumped by some team with less than half the experience (and payroll).
Are lower payroll clubs hungrier? You bet.  Those players are playing like crazy so they can be on one of those dream teams Steinbrenner rolls out – and get the contract that goes along with it. It’s true again so far this season. A quick look at the stats will show you things like this comparison …
| Division | Team | Record | 2007 Payroll | $ Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AL East | Red Sox | 30-13 | $143,526,214 | 2 |
| AL East | Orioles | 20-24 | 95,107,807 | 10 |
| AL East | Yankees | 19-23 | 195,229,045 | 1 |
| AL East | Blue Jays | 19-24 | 79,925,600 | 17 |
| AL East | Devil Rays | 18-25 | 24,124,200 | 30 |
| AL Central | Tigers | 27-16 | $95,180,369 | 9 |
| AL Central | Indians | 26-15 | 61,673,267 | 23 |
| AL Central | White Sox | 21-19 | 109,680,167 | 4 |
| AL Central | Twins | 20-23 | 71,439,500 | 19 |
| AL Central | Royals | 17-28 | 67,366,500 | 22 |
| AL West | Angels | 27-18 | $109,251,333 | 5 |
| AL West | Athletics | 22-21 | 79,938,369 | 16 |
| AL West | Mariners | 19-20 | 106,516,833 | 7 |
| AL West | Rangers | 17-27 | 68,818,675 | 21 |
| NL East | Mets | 28-15 | $117,915,819 | 3 |
| NL East | Braves | 26-18 | 89,492,685 | 13 |
| NL East | Phillies | 22-22 | 89,368,214 | 14 |
| NL East | Marlins | 21-23 | 30,507,000 | 29 |
| NL East | Nationals | 16-28 | 37,347,500 | 28 |
| NL Central | Brewers | 27-17 | $71,986,500 | 18 |
| NL Central | Astros | 21-22 | 87,759,500 | 15 |
| NL Central | Cubs | 20-22 | 99,937,000 | 8 |
| NL Central | Pirates | 19-24 | 38,604,500 | 27 |
| NL Central | Reds | 17-27 | 69,154,980 | 20 |
| NL Central | Cardinals | 16-25 | 90,286,823 | 12 |
| NL West | Dodgers | 25-19 | $108,704,524 | 6 |
| NL West | Padres | 24-20 | 58,235,567 | 24 |
| NL West | D-Backs | 24-21 | 52,067,546 | 26 |
| NL West | Giants | 21-22 | 90,469,056 | 11 |
| NL West | Rockies | 18-26 | 54,424,000 | 25 |
Like the Yankees, the Red Sox also spent a ton of cash in the AL East this season. But the Red Sox are running away with a 10.5 game division lead while the Yankees are struggling to compete with three AL East teams whose combined payrolls ($199 million) they almost outspent by themselves.Â
The AL Central is being led by the lowest paid team in the Division. The NL Central has a slew of overpaid ballclubs. The NL West has an underacheiver in the Giants. Only the NL East and AL west are really hashed out by salary.
And for more Salary Goodness … Check this out … A guy named Ben Fry, who happens to have a Doctorate from MIT, has created a sweet little gadget which tracks MLB Team Payrolls vs their Win-Loss Records. It’s even done in a visual format – allowing even those Baseball Fans with no math skills to see which teams are performing at, above, or below their payroll in comparison to the rest of the League.Â
Check it out – it’s really cool.
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