Money doesn’t buy championships.
Not in baseball at least. Last year, we witnessed the St. Louis Cardinals defeat the Detroit Tigers in five games to win the World Series. Everyone knows that by now, but what everyone doesn’t know is that last year the Cardinals spent more than $88 million on the players on its 2006 roster, making it the 11th highest payroll (out of 30 teams) in Major League Baseball. This is significant because 10 other teams spent more money on their players than the Cardinals did, and seven of those teams failed to even make the playoffs.
Let’s look at the teams this year. The 2007 playoffs include some fascinating stories of teams and players rising to the occasion and exceeding expectations. For example, in the National League, the Arizona Diamondbacks finished the season with the fifth best record in the entire league, 90-72.
What makes this special is that in 2007, the Diamondbacks had the 26th highest payroll at around $52 million. To think that only four teams paid their players less money than the Diamondbacks is remarkable.
A logical explanation for why they are in this position lies within the team’s management to be able to find talented players and sign them to cheap contracts. The Diamondbacks have done this with Webb ($4.5 million), a Cy Young winner last year and potential winner again this year, outfielder and Rookie of the Year candidate Chris Young ($350,000) and one of the best closers in the league, Jose Valverde ($2 million).
The Diamondbacks and their $52 million payroll promptly took care of the Chicago Cubs and their $99 million payroll, eighth highest in baseball, by sweeping them in three games to advance to the National League Championship Series against the Colorado Rockies.
Another amazing story, the Rockies, came out of nowhere, literally, to steal the National League Wild Card away from the San Diego Padres. The Rockies are playing in baseball’s Final Four with the 25th highest payroll at more than $54 million.
Coming into the NLCS against the Diamondbacks, the Rockies won 17 out of their last 18 games and, in return, beat the Padres in a one-game playoff to determine the Wild Card winner. Then, they swept the Phillies (13th highest payroll with more than $89 million) effortlessly to advance.
Congratulations to Todd Helton, who has spent all 11 seasons of his career with the Rockies, a team that has a reputation of being unsuccessful. Despite numerous offers to play for more historically successful teams, he proved to be a loyal player to the Rockies, as he is currently playing in his first postseason.
You can’t talk about payroll this postseason without mentioning two other teams: the Cleveland Indians (23rd highest payroll, $61 million) and the New York Yankees, who have the highest payroll at $190 million. Cleveland defeated the Yankees in four games to advance to the American League Championship Series against the Boston Red Sox (second highest payroll, $143 million). The Yankees, for the third straight year, lost in the first round of the playoffs.
This means that the Yankees spent three times as much money on their players this year than the Indians did. They spent $27 million on one player alone, Alex Rodriguez, which is nearly half of the Indians’ entire payroll and more than the entire payroll of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays at more than $24 million.
The fact that teams with the 26th, 25th and 23rd highest payrolls remain three of the four teams still left in contention for a World Series championship is proof that money does not buy championships.
