The book "Moneyball" by Michael Lewis focused on Oakland A's General Manager (and Mets 1st round draft pick) Billy Beane, and his quest to take advantage of inefficiencies in the baseball player market. Working with a limited payroll, Beane needed to maximize the value he received from his players. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Beane's A's consistently had strong seasons despite limited resources. To find out which team got the most value from its payroll, I calculated how much each team paid per win in 2008, using payroll figures listed here. (Note that I do not include game 163 between the Twins and White Sox, and also that the Orioles, A's, Nationals, Marlins, Cubs and Astros played 161 games instead of the standard 162.) Here are the results, and please pardon the formatting:1. Florida Marlins______$259,958
2. Tampa Bay Rays_____$451,759
3. Oakland Athletics____ $639,562
4. Minnesota Twins_____$706,622
5. Pittsburgh Pirates_____$736,795
6. Kansas City Royals____$776,607
7. Arizona Diamondbacks__$807,350
8. Texas Rangers________$863,792
9. Milwaukee Brewers____$900,046
10. Colorado Rockies_____$927,777
11. Washington Nationals__$931,542
12. Cleveland Indians_____$974,939
13. Baltimore Orioles_____$988,180
14. Cincinnati Reds_______$1,003,753
15. Houston Astros_______$1,034,075
16. San Franciso Giants____$1,068,118
17. Philadelphia Phillies____$1,068,151
18. Toronto Blue Jays_____$1,147,000
19. San Diego Padres______$1,169,486
20. St. Louis Cardinals_____$1,170,052
21. LA Angels___________$1,192,163
22. Chicago Cubs_________$1,222,637
23. Chicago White Sox_____$1,376,735
24. Boston Red Sox_______$1,404,632
25. LA Dodgers__________$1,411,143
26. Atlanta Braves________$1,422,556
27. New York Mets_____$1,553,858
28. Detroit Tigers________$1,874,124
29. Seattle Mariners______$1,934,328
30. New York Yankees_____$2,349,231
The Florida Marlins, unfortunately, are the Billy Beane Award winner. Fun fact: the 2 Florida teams are the only current MLB franchises to have never lost a playoff series. Check back in a few weeks to see if that is still true. The Mets were the 4th least efficient team this season, though that's not surprising considering the humongous payroll. I don't think this list is much consolation for fans of the A's, Pirates, D-Backs and Royals. Also, if you haven't read "Moneyball", please go out and do so. It's a a must for any baseball fan, and reads quickly so that it can be started and finished in a weekend.
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4 comments:
It'd be interesting if you did a cost analysis of Mets pitchers and how much the Mets paid for them per out, earned run, whatever (or some other stat).
also, not sure if i agree completely with the salary per win. a big chunk of the Mets salary went to guys who didn't play much (PEdro, El Duque, Wagner, Moises, etc.).
is Scott Schoenweiss worth 3 mil? Jesus.
Also, in an earlier post, you said that D. Wright is one of the ten best players in the league. Maybe Jose is up there also. But...they're barely in the top ten of the mets in terms of highest salaries. Are these superstars gonna get a huge raise anytime soon?
I like you blog, esp. your response to comments.
Any way that you could change the format a little so that your responses to comments can be more easily read. I fear that I miss some good ones.
Keep up the good work! ;)
@ Comment #1:
Why shouldn't the salaries of guys who didn't play much count in this type of analysis? The dollars paid to El Duque and Moises Alou are the same currency as those paid to Carlos Beltran and Johan Santana. It's a way of measuring risk ($$ paid by Mets for players) vs. reward (the win column). Of course Schoeneweis was not worth $3 million this year, but that is the contract Omar Minaya signed him to. The 4 players you mention all represent one of the Mets glaring problems - reliance on signing aging free agents to play major roles. All 4 players are age 35+ (El Duque, 45+?) and broke down physically at one time or another as Mets.
David Wright and Jose Reyes are both signed long term during 2006, in a prudent move by Omar Minaya that will likely save the Mets millions down the road. Wright is locked up through 2012 (option for 2013) at about $9 mil/year. Reyes is signed through 2010 (option for 2011) at about $6 mil/year.
@ Dawn Sheggeby
Thanks for the kind words Dawn. For now, this is the best format I have for comments. I too wish it was easier to find and read the comments section. I'd recommend checking the box that says "email followup comments" after you post one, to see what others have to say after you. Comments are encouraged - positive, negative, whatever.
Also, to view the comments section in an easier format, you can click the title of the blog post and you're taken to an interface that's easier on the eyes. Hope this helps.
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