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Wednesday, May.16/2012

Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer and @chuckbooth3024 on twitter)- Once again the New York Yankees top the charts for payrolls in the Majors, although the other teams are definitely catching up a little.  Now while the below charts tell us a story on value, obviously you are better off being one of the teams that spends more money.  Tampa Bay, Toronto and Baltimore are amongst some of the best valued teams for payroll and wins so far.  This bodes well for the competitive balance in the American League East long-term.  What I am also seeing, is that teams that are on the bottom of the payroll scale are starting to invest money in their teams.  One can only hope that the Houston Astros will start investing in the club once they shift over to the AL West.  Oakland may be still playing ‘Moneyball’ as the top value for each win, however this concept will only carry them so far.  The team still needs to find a long-term home so they can catch up with the moneys spent by the rest of the Major Leagues.

Jeffrey Loria

If a team spent or chopped of more than 10 Million Dollars in payroll from 2011, I made a note of this.    The highest rising team for Payroll in 2012 was the Miami Marlins who jumped from 56 Million dollars in Payroll for the 2011 season, to 118 Million Dollars in 2012.  You can say what you want about this club, Jeffrey Loria has at least stepped up with his pocketbook thus far in the New Marlins Ball Park.  The Texas Rangers have jumped another 28 million from last year’s payroll and 62 million from 2010.  If they want to see Josh Hamilton in a Rangers uniform next year, it may take yet another quantum leap in financial resources.  The Atlanta Braves and St. Louis Cardinals once again have proven they are smartly run franchises.  They don’t change much from year to year in payroll, yet both teams continue to find themselves near the playoff bar.  None of these teams have crippling long-term contracts either.  Finally, you must give it up to Alex Anthopoulos for his creative genius trades of Vernon Wells and Alex Rios. Having these two gentlemen and their 35 million dollars a year combined off the books was sheer stealing.  The Blue Jays must be proactive when it comes to spending money to keep the momentum going.  With the extra wildcard spot now available, the fans will support this club if they contend. Toronto has always been a front-runner type of sports city.  Next Wednesday I will share with you about an idea that they use in the Europe for soccer based in payroll re-alignment.  It is a concept that is not as important now with an extra wild card added, however it will be a strong argument to help some of the teams compete long-term based on both payroll and geography.

Billy Beane’s Oakland A’s are the best value for wins in 2012 so far versus payroll, but that doesn’t mean the team can stay so low in payroll dollars long term.

Won-Loss Records for top  6 Value clubs.

 ***Thank you to our Baseball Writer- Douglas “Chuck” Booth for preparing today’s feature on MLB reports.  To learn more about “The Fastest 30 Ballgames” and Chuck Booth, you can follow Chuck on Twitter (@ChuckBooth3024) and you can also follow Chuck’s website for his successful Guinness Book of World Record Bid to see all 30 MLB Park in 23 days click here  or on the 30 MLB Parks in 23 days GWR tracker at the Reports click here. To Purchase or read about “The Fastest 30 Ballgames Book please click here . ***

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