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The Solution to the Financial Disparity in Major League Baseball

© Bryan Walker

The regular season is over, and maybe the disparity between the "big market" clubs and the "small market" clubs is not as big a problem as everyone thought. No team in baseball had a winning percentage over .600 or below .400. To look at it another way, no team had more than 97 wins or more than 97 losses. That's not bad for a league where some teams claim that they could not compete because of finances.

Also, its not just the top payroll teams making the playoffs this year. Playoff teams come from all over the spectrum of payrolls. From the Associated Press opening day estimates of team salaries, only 3 teams in the top 10 payrolls made the playoffs. Two teams in the bottom six payrolls made the playoffs. Five teams in the top half of salaries and three in the bottom half of salaries made the playoffs. Just because a team spends the money does not guarantee a playoff spot anymore. The high payroll teams are seeing what can go wrong during a season. Baltimore could not win because many players with big contracts are on the downside of their careers and not producing. Cleveland could not get to the playoffs because of injuries to significant expensive players without farm depth. Tampa Bay spent their money in the wrong places, choosing power but no pitching. Los Angeles supposedly has a problem with team chemistry. Any number of variables over the course of a 162 game season can keep expensive players and teams from producing effectively.

Want to see it another way? Instead of playoff teams, look at winning records. There was very little to indicate that a high or low payroll determines a team's record. Three teams in the top ten payrolls had a losing record. Four teams in the bottom ten payrolls had a winning record, and that includes teams that have basically gutted themselves and do not seem to be trying. Look at a list of team payrolls, and you'll see winning teams scattered throughout the list.

It seems that we could be seeing a leveling off of the effects of the 1994 strike. That's not to say that all teams are about to be spending the same amount on payroll. Clearly, the Yankees have more spending power than anyone else in baseball. Montreal has very little revenue to spend. But for competitive baseball, this year could signify a trend that lower payroll teams have learned to compete without over-paying for free agent. There's no doubt that when the 1994 strike ended, the owners had created a mess that affected competitive balance. But once losing teams begin competing, people will come see the product that's being put on the field, thus increasing revenues. Its possible that the financial problems in Major League Baseball may work themselves out without interference from the commissioners office.

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