by NoMaas’ Reginald Cornelius III
It’s a great day to be a fan of the boys from the Boogie Down. The Yankees are back on top and fans everywhere are enjoying a moment to soak it all in. Of course, whenever the Yankees do well, haters will automatically say they only won because they were able to spend more than anybody else.
Yes, the Yankees spent more on payroll than their vanquished foes, but so does almost every other champion. Take a look at the last 30 years of baseball payrolls. Now compare that to the list of World Series victors. Remember those small market Twins? Outspent the Cardinals and the Braves. Those poor Blue Jays who can’t compete in the AL East? They had the highest payroll in the league in both of the seasons they won the Series. Oakland Athletics? They spent more than the Giants in 1989 on their way to a sweep. The Dodgers had the second highest payroll in 1988 when they won. Even the lowly Royals outspent their opponents in their 1985 championship run.
Notice the pattern here? You should. Not including the Yankees, the team with the higher payroll wins the World Series more than 70% of the time. In that same time period, the Yankees have gone to 8 world series and have won 5 of them, or about 63% of the time. So on average, the Yankees being in the World Series has not really had a detrimental affect on the head-to-head chances of their lower-payrolled opponents.
Now people will say that it’s still different because of the scale in which the Yankees outspend. After all, we are not talking a few million dollars difference, but multiples of millions of dollars. While that is true, we then start getting into a discussion about the system the Yankees work in. Some people may complain about the Yankees’ broadcast rights advantage, but if you were to ask those owners if they would rather have a salary cap, or get a cut of the merchandise the Yankees help sell, what do you think the answer would be? Please don’t blame the Yankees because their owners like to spend money (sometimes unwisely) to win.
Perhaps the most ridiculous argument of all is that the Yankees’ outspending of their opponents is somehow unique to sports. The Lakers spent more than the Magic, the Steelers spent more than the Cardinals, and the Penguins spent more (yes, barely) than the Red Wings. It’s not even a uniquely American phenomenon. Look at the top football leagues in Europe and you’ll discover they’re all dominated by the biggest spenders. The Premiership is a playground for Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal, and Liverpool. In La Liga, it is Barcelona and Real Madrid (who don’t have the Yankee Universe, but are known as the Galacticos). Within Serie A, it is Internazionale, AC Milan, and Juventus.
In other words, the Yankees are not disgracing the world of sports and spirit of competition with their quest to be the best. Anybody who argues that way is either stupid, intellectually dishonest or both. If you’re a Yankee fan, enjoy this championship and be happy knowing your owners are going to try and make sure it all happens again next year.
26 Comments
Interested Reader November 6, 2009 21:51
Personally I don’t even think it’s debatable. Here are the rules, play within them and win however you feel you need to. I wouldn’t care if the Yankees thought they needed to spend a trillion dollars. It’s their business and they do it to make money. The fans love the fact that OUR team is willing to go out and compete year in and year out. No other team can say that, including the Red Sux.
Interested Reader 2 November 6, 2009 22:20
I personally love feasting on Red Sox fans’ tears when they cry payroll.
Sidenote: Look at Ham’s response on his new blog
UPDATE, 11;26 a.m.: It’s sad that some people can’t enjoy a sports without resorting to insults. But typical. If you feel that strongly about it, send an e-mail rather than clutter up this blog.
http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/2009/11/all_you_can_do.html
I wonder why he cluttered up nomaasian interwebs during the ‘interested reader’ scandal instead of sending nomaas a direct email. Hmm.
Rob November 7, 2009 08:25
I find it’s helpful to point out to SFs that they spent $40 million LESS in 2009 than they did in 2007. Were they any more gritty and plucky? Ask them where that extra $40 million went. The Jimmy Fund?
jonnym77 November 7, 2009 13:34
I am a Yankee fan from the UK. I am also a Manchester United fan so I am used to the culture of “you’re team spends more than mine, therefore that’s the reason that you win”. It’s easy to say this but consider the facts: ALL teams will play harder against the Yankees/Manchester United/Real Madrid than they will against the Kansas City Royals (and other similar teams in other sports). In fact when players from opposing teams see the fixtures for the upcoming season it is well known that the “lesser” teams players look first for when they will play the biggest team (my team LOL). Also consider that spending money doesn’t automatically bring success. I have seen many teams (with new oil rich owners) spend huge amounts of money and achieve little or no success. If there were no Yankees/Man Utd etc then there would be no one to spread the wealth. When the Yankees go to other city’s then more fans will come to watch – increasing turnover & profit for other teams. When the Yankees or other large teams make a trade excellent prospects or large sums of money are also traded. It is up to the “lesser” teams to use this wisely. I’m sure that there are other major factors that I have missed so would be interested to hear of them
MyTriState.us November 7, 2009 16:02
we think baseball needs a salary floor – how much was the Marlins entire payroll last year, $40 million? That’s ridiculous – its a disgrace. Are teams investing the luxury tax money they receive on free agents? doubt it… they’re pocketing it. remember when the old Tampa bay devil rays management said the money went to ballpark improvements? thats floridian for ‘we pocked the cash.’ or, ‘ownership went to hawaii.’ MLB needs a salary floor and complete transparency on how luxury tax money is spent, especially by small market teams.
Interested Reader November 7, 2009 18:48
I heard Buster Olney whining about the new baseball economics on Thursday morning. He said a bunch of teams were about to non-tender a bunch of players.
I don’t care. Fuck ‘em. I only care about my team (The Yankees) and I don’t give a rat’s ass whether I’m entitled or not. Go get Lackey, go get Chapman, go get Holliday and Bay and Figgins. I do NOT give a fuck. We win 10 belts in a Row?! Fine. That’s what I want.
If Pete doesn’t like it then fuck him too. He can go eat another giant mixing bowl of lucky charms while sitting in his apartment in his tighty whitey.
The Ghost of '78 November 8, 2009 02:47
jonnym77 and Interested Reader: Well said!
What the fuck is happening to America? Achievement is under attack and baseball (read: Yankees) will be next — after our Marxist administration gets done destroying the free market economy that built our great nation.
The NFL was great before the salary cap. Back in the day it used to mean something to beat the 49ers, ‘Skins, etc. — teams that spent, spent wisely, kept rosters intact in the face of free agency, and performed at a high level year in and year out. When your team drafted well, developed players and had a plan, it was very satisfying to earn your way to the elite class and have a shot at the championship. The Parcells Jints were a fine example.
Today, you can go from 4-12 to the Super Bowl, then back to 4-12 overnight. That may work for NFL fans, but baseball deserves a better fate.
Let the clueless whine about money while the greatest franchise in the history of sports goes about the business of putting together the roster that will provide the best odds to secure Championship #28.
As Interested Reader sez: Fuck ‘em!
Steve F. November 8, 2009 11:03
I live in PA and have come across my fair share of Phillie fans with their panties in a bunch. This is what I’ve been telling them:
1.) The Yankees had more home grown players on their playoff roster than the Phillies did.
2.) The Yankees beat a team with about half of their payroll. If is such a travesty, if you really believe that, then you better discredit your beloved 2008 championship team who beat a team (the Rays) with about 1/3 of their payroll. Mathematically speaking, 2008 was a bigger “miscarriage of justice.”
3.) And what it all basically comes down to, whether your a Phillies fan or some other whiny hater, the Yankees aren’t doing anything wrong. They’re not breaking any rules. They are doing nothing unethical. If you really are upset about the lack of financial parity in Major League Baseball (and it isn’t an unreasonable opinion) you should direct your energy at fixing the system, not the Yankees. There were no complaints when the Red Sox set the record for the highest payroll for a World Series winner in 2004 and again in 2007. The fact that people focus their resentment solely on the Yankees only in times of big dollar acquisitions or in this case success, proves that they really don’t care about payroll disparity. All they want to do is find any reason they possibly can to discredit the success of the hated Yankees. They ignore all any facts and any reason that gets in the way of their predetermined opinion of them and the desired image of them as the bad guys.
modey3 November 8, 2009 20:59
How is this unfair? When a team picks up a type-A free agent they lose a #1 draft pick to the team they got the free agent from and that team gets an extra pick in the sandwich round (between 1st and 2nd round) of the draft. How is this unfair? The MLB rules ensure more than fair competition. The Tampa Bay Rays are prime example that the current system works.
Yankeefan November 9, 2009 06:34
Money is the foundation of the teams. their use is up to the team. Da Yanks use them well, thats all I can say
truth November 9, 2009 09:28
Has there ever been a year in the Boss George era when the Yankees have won spending less and being smarter than any of their rivals in the MLB? I doubt it. Every other team has to win spending less and being smarter than the Yankees.
Frederick the Elephant November 9, 2009 09:35
Personally, I don’t care if the Yankees spend a billion dollars more than the next team…as long as they win, we can keep counting the rings.
wade November 9, 2009 11:54
Dont forget about the fact that George is playing by the rules of the CBA that MLB set forth.
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truth November 9, 2009 16:46
In terms of the CBA you are correct. The theme of the blog piece was “Did the Yankees buy the championship?” vs. “Did the Yankees Cheat to win the Championship?” though. They didn’t cheat, but most seem to believe they did buy it. Then it comes down whether you believe that $$$ can buy you anything more meaningful than another ring on the pile.
swedski November 10, 2009 04:22
All this talk is Bull!”#¤. Yes the Yankees spend more, yes they make more. As a Yankee fan I am glad that my team (which is a money grubbing organization) at least re-invests that money back into the team. That is what is important. The Pirates and others like them take the money and run. As one poster said, the Yanks also spread a lot of money around and bring in revenue for teams when they come to town. I have said it before, Boston, Philly, The Mets and others can also spend this kind of money and still make money. If they don’t shut up. This is a buisness and the Yanks have a good model for utilizing their market (Yes it is big) and expanding that market. Living here in sweden the most popular logo seen on the streets is the white NY from the Yankees cap. Baseball is not even a big sport in Europe yet I see more Yankee caps than I see Man u caps. Thats smart buisness. To keep it up you have to win. SInce Cashman has come in he has tried to spend smarter and use younger players but hey to stay on top you need to win and to consistently win you may have to spend a little more,that is what the Yanks do. God Bless’em
Wade November 10, 2009 06:41
Imagine if all owners were like George where winning a world series was the number one priority. Not like most owners where they are only interested in making a profit, or owning their own racing team in NASCAR. They could be more worried about chapter 11 laws and selling the team off.
All sports should take a look how George runs things. Yanks have arguably the best owner in all sports.
greg November 10, 2009 12:57
baseball is a more of a bussiness than anything else. They should really go with the nfl style of salary cap so a team like Pittsburgh has a chance on April 1st. Yankee fans love the yankees not the sport and it was evident last year when they didn’t make the playoffs. I don’t even hate the Yankees as much as their spoilled “If we don’t win a champioship we are a failure” fans.
John November 10, 2009 21:48
I find it fascinating that the fans of “small market” teams take their team owners cheapness with great pride. They’d rather put down money on an inferior product and defend their “poor” ownership.
It’s like bragging that you bought a Smart Car for the price of a Lexus.
Me, I’ll take the Lexus!
wexy November 11, 2009 21:10
the writers always complain about payroll. Why did my pal sportswriter George Vecsey go from Newsday to the New York Times?
More money,more readers, more prestige.
It applies to every line of work not just baseball.
People who slam the Yankees are just being hypocritical.
truth November 12, 2009 12:33
I don’t think I’ve ever seen evidence that as a percentage of total team income the Yankees spend more than anyone else. I don’t think the better owner argument holds water. I would like to see the data to prove me wrong. I believe the Yankees spend more because they have more, plain and simple. They have also spent plenty of $$$ on Smart Cars like Carl Pavano and the Big Unit. The diff is that they can afford to spend their way out of bad decisions where other teams can not. No evidence that they are smarter. The reason to care about all of the $$$ the Yanks throw at players is that they are making it too expensive for anyone other than fan boys or the rich to watch a game live. And what are you paying all that $$$ for? To celebrate self absorbed diva’s like Arod and Tex? Eventually true Yankee fans will die out as a breed because they can’t afford to pass the game experience to to their kids and then all you’ll have left is the blow hards. Judging from what I see on this blog (I don’t care if they spend a billion dollars …) the process is in high gear already.
sam November 12, 2009 14:48
After years of anticipation, the Yankees win the series once again, I now anticipate Yankees Memorabilia to hit record highs.
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truth November 13, 2009 16:11
How can you compare the Yankees to a real business when we call know that they are the richest beneficiary of a government protected monopoly? By having their cut of the largest market isolated from economic competition they are closer to propped up Mao Communists than the are to being poster boys for the free market. The Yankees a paragon of US free market virtue … What a joke!
Kronosaurus November 16, 2009 22:50
Did the Yankees buy a championship?
Yes, they did. So did the Manchester United, Chelsea FC, FC Barcelona, Real Madrid CF, AC Milan, Juventus, etc, etc…
music October 14, 2011 15:55
fine, old post but interesting still