Ranking the Baseball Re$ult$

On Opening Day I made my fearless baseball predictions. Click on the link to see how I did. Unlike the stock pundits who tell you to put your life savings in established companies like Pfizer and Worldcom, and the tabloid psychics who predict Britney Spears' marriage will last forever, I actually check back to see how smart I am (or was).

I also pontificated the day earlier that a baseball team's chance of success was directly linked to how much money they have. Now when it comes to business and issues like world trade, capitalism rules. But in sports a team with either cheap owners or zero new revenue streams is screwed. I don't want to repeat myself (click on the link to see my rant again) but I said if your favorite team has a small payroll you shouldn't waste adrenalin worrying because there is no way they will ever win their division, let alone pass .500.

I was questioned on that strategy by some people in my work and leisure life who are too lazy to post a comment on the blog, so let's see how my payroll theory worked out.

TOP AMERICAN LEAGUE PAYROLLS

1) NY Yankees -- Won AL East
2) Boston Red Sox -- Won AL Wild Card
3) Anaheim/LA Angels -- Won AL West
4) Seattle Mariners -- Last place, AL West
5) Chicago White Sox -- Won AL Central

The low-salaried and hyped Cleveland Indians and Oakland A's were good teams but didn't make the post-season, proving the Moneyball approach still doesn't work.

TOP NATIONAL LEAGUE PAYROLLS

1) NY Mets -- Third place, NL East
2) LA Dodgers -- Fourth place, NL West
3) Philadelphia Phillies -- Second Place, NL East
4) Atlanta Braves -- Won NL East
5) Chicago Cubs -- Fourth Place, NL Central

Interesting! However, there are a glut of teams in the $80-$100 million range. The winners, all close behind the top five, were the Cardinals ($83 million, sixth place); the Astros ($75 million, seventh place) and the Padres (the fluke this year at a puny $55 million). The NL West was pretty much a wash with nobody wanting to win. Also, the NL East also has the most teams in the top of the payroll ladder than any other baseball division, and all of those teams obviously can't make the playoffs. I'm not using that as an excuse, but it's worth noting.

The NHL learned the hard way what happens without parity and a salary cap. One day baseball will too. I'm going to hold my breath until Bud Selig and Don Fehr figure it out.

There, I'm done.

More Info:

Baseball Prospectus on the salary cap and Why there's no middle class in baseball