Thursday, October 05, 2006
May the best man win...
The New York Yankees have paid almost $199,000,000 for their roster this year. That's ONE HUNDRED NINETY-NINE MILLION DOLLARS. Not too bad, when you consider that they are in hot pursuit of a 27th World Series title. What easier way to get it than to buy it?
Here are the payrolls of the other seven teams currently in contention (in millions):
- New York Mets $100.9
- Los Angeles Dodgers $99.1
- St. Louis Cardinals $86.9
- Detroit Tigers $82.3
- San Diego Padres $68.9
- Minnesota Twins $63.8
- Oakland As $62.3
The Yankees are rich, no doubt about it. In fact, the highest-paid three players on the team, Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, and Jason Giambi make between them $66.6 Million. Yes, that's three dudes who make MORE than the entire Oakland As or Minnesota Twins organizations! Add in the next highest guy, Mike Mussina at a paltry $19M, and you're up to $85.6 mil, eclipsing the rosters of both San Diego and Detroit. However, you'd need to take a teeny bit of Randy Johnson's cash in order to reach St. Louis, but with his $15.6M you'd sail past the Cards, Dodgers, and Mets.
So you have A-Rod, Kid Roctober, the Giambino, Moose, and the Big Unit - five guys who make more than most other baseball teams. The Yankees are not a baseball team, they are a bank. It's like Mr. Burns hiring all those ringers to play against the Shelbyville Nuclear Power Plant.
Anyway, if they win the World Series then they can be content that it's been worth it. And all the New Yorkers like Spike Lee, Denzel Washington, Billy Crystal, Rudy Giuliani, and Donald Trump can go on about how the greatest sporting spirit ever lives in the Bronx and stay blissfully ignorant of the real world. And by that I mean the real sports world, so I'm still stretching reality quite a bit.
Anyway, today they lost to the poor lowly Tigers (who finished the season with two fewer wins than they did). It's looking more likely that if they beat Detroit they'll face Oakland (4 fewer wins) in the next round, but a miracle might save the Twins (1 fewer win).
Consider it money well spent, boys. Oh, and try not to CHOKE on it...
