December 21, 2015

Final 2015 MLB 40-man payroll totals are released.:
The Los Angeles Dodgers lead the way with a $291,056,310 payroll.

posted by grum@work to baseball at 04:03 PM - 8 comments

My favourite comment about the list (from Baseball Think Factory):

2. New York Yankees: $223,589,947
3. Boston Red Sox: $185,568,958
4. San Francisco Giants: $180,726,826
5. Washington Nationals: $169,277,370
6. Detroit Tigers: $164,010,992

Total number of playoff game victories: zero.

posted by grum@work at 04:05 PM on December 21, 2015

Postseason participants:
1st (Dodgers)* (LDS)
2nd (Yankees) (WC)
7th (Rangers)* (LDS)
10th (Blue Jays)* (LCS)
11th (Cubs) (LCS)
12th (Cardinals)* (LDS)
13th (Royals)* (WS)
19th (Mets)* (WS)
24th (Pirates) (WC)
27th (Astros) (LDS)

The average rank for a post-season team: 12.7
The average payroll for a post-season team: $148,930,556 (which would be 9th overall)

The average rank for a *division winner: 10.3
The average payroll for a division winner: $159,063,175 (which would be 7th overall)

The average rank for an LCS participant: 13.25
The average payroll for an LCS participant: $126,862,881 (which would be 14th overall)

The average rank for a WS participant: 16
The average payroll for a WS participant $119,335,666 (which would be 17th overall)

posted by grum@work at 04:22 PM on December 21, 2015

A middle-of-the-road payroll seems to be the new great baseball strategy.

posted by grum@work at 04:23 PM on December 21, 2015

From August 1:

posted by Ufez Jones at 06:37 PM on December 21, 2015

The correlation coefficient between wins and payroll amount is 0.28457, which means there is barely any trend/connection between payroll size and wins.

posted by grum@work at 09:22 PM on December 21, 2015

I marvel at Magic Johnson's ability to steadily increase his net worth while overpaying at frequent intervals. Both for assets and player contracts. And, he's also investing in creating greater community and opportunity at the same time, which is not a profit-driven strategy.

Although, based on what was included in the cost of the Dodgers at the time of sale and the prices that have since been paid for less valuable franchises like the Clippers and Bills, the Dodgers purchase has come to look more justifiable than it did initially. But those contracts...

posted by beaverboard at 11:07 PM on December 21, 2015

The correlation coefficient between wins and payroll amount is 0.28457, which means there is barely any trend/connection between payroll size and wins.

It could also indicate teams are crap at identifying future results and/ or long-term contracts tend to be albatrosses that block teams from replacing players with superior options. I wonder if we'll see teams start to drop players while still paying them lots of dough or some kind of Bobby Bonilla solution*.

* Which does not involve soaking a Bonilla in brine overnight.

posted by yerfatma at 08:28 AM on December 22, 2015

It would be interesting to look at the roster depreciation allowance practices for MLB to see how the different major league pro sports leagues enable teams to pad their expenses and operating costs and declare strategic net losses. The NFL may have one protocol, the NBA another, etc. Not sure if the leagues want that sort of info to be readily accessible.

posted by beaverboard at 11:25 AM on December 22, 2015

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