 I hear Yankee haters complain all the time about the Yankees payroll and what it affords them to do, but you don't hear a peep from the other franchises or owners that they compete against. You would think a small market team like the Kansas City Royals would be on the top of the dugout step screaming at the top lungs crying foul ball! But they don't and there are some very good reasons for that.
• The Yankees play by the rules. They choose to spend well over the luxury tax threshold but pay their fair share of payroll luxury tax. In 2008 they paid $26.9 million in luxury tax. In 2007 they paid $23.9 million. In the past 6 seasons since the luxury tax was instituted they have paid $148.3 million in luxury tax. The only other team that paid a luxury tax last year was the Detroit Tigers who paid $1.3 million.
• Who do you think gets the $148.3 million in luxury tax? Right, the teams that are being trounced upon by the Yankees on the field. I haven't seen an audited report, but the lowest published report I could find has those same Kansas City Royals who while being routinely humbled by the Yankees on the field, being enriched by them off the field by the tune of almost $5.5 million. We'll kick my ass and pay me! Not a bad deal getting paid for some humility. And it's not that bad. Even the worst baseball teams in the league routinely win 1/3 of their games.
• The Yankees business model is the envy of all other teams. Dave Checketts (the same Checketts who just dropped Rush Limbaugh from the ownership group bidding on the St. Louis Rams) had a group prepared to pay top dollar for the LA Dodgers but they wouldn't sell him the TV network. It didn't matter what he offered, there was no price! They own the TV station, the food concessions, the merchandising, air you breathe in the stadium ... From a business standpoint; there is no other American team in any sport that comes anywhere close to rivaling the Yankees Empire.
This year going into the season the New York Yankees had the highest payroll for the ninth consecutive season, paying their players a total of $201.4 million. The highest-paid player is still the Yankees' Alex Rodriguez, making $33 million, a $5 million raise from 2008.
The average MLB salary in 2009 is $3.26 million, which is a 4 percent increase from $3.14 million in 2008. However, almost half (14 of the 30) of the teams had a lower opening-day payroll than last season, and that even includes the Yankees, who paid their players more than $209 million in 2008!
Ten of those 14 teams cut their roster budget by at least $10 million.
The San Diego Padres made the biggest cut, lowering their payroll by almost $20 million to $43.8 million, second-lowest in baseball.
Let's put the NY Yankees ability to acquire the very best talent in some perspective. The Yankees next closest competitor in the American league from a both a competitive standpoint as well as a payroll stand point is the Boston Red Sox. Fair enough, great rivalry right. The Yankees payroll is $80 million more than them!! 60% or 18 of the 30 MLB teams have an entire payroll less than the difference between the Yankees and the Red Sox!!
There are 30 MLB teams so if each team had the same payroll each team would have 3.3% or the leagues payroll. The NY York Yankees have a 7.7% of the leagues total payroll all by themselves. The Yankees payroll is more than the combined payroll of the Marlins, the Padres, the Pirates, and the Nationals and they would have $10 million left over to spare. That's four MLB franchises!
The Yankees luxury payroll tax last year of $26.9 million was $5.1 million more than the Florida Marlins actual payroll itself! In fact, A-Rod's salary alone last year was more about $6.2 million more than the entire Florida Marlins roster. Read that again.
 Does your team have the ability to pay $26 million to the Hanshin Tigers (what a scam that is) and then pay Kei Igawa $20 million for him to pitch in the minor leagues for 5 years? More than anything, it's the Yankees ability to throw as mush shit up against the wall as possible have be happy if only the smallest bit of feces sticks. That's $46 million for nothing! And that's only one of many failed purchases they made. How did the $40 million they spent on Carl Pavano work out? But they can absorb it.
Seem kind of anti-competitive? Consider the ability of the Yankees to shut other teams out of acquiring a player that the Yankees themselves want. This past offseason, the Yankees committed $161 million to CC Sabathia; $82.5 million to A.J. Burnett and then still had the wherewithal to commit $180 million to Mark Teixera! Who else could possibly do that?
The bottom line is that if you get a high priced free agent it's because the Yankees let you or they didn't want him.
A high payroll does not in fact ensure you a World Series championship. It doesn't ensure you a World Series trip. In fact, as evidenced by the Yankees last year it doesn't even ensure you a playoff spot. The NY Mets are routine poster children for this. But a high payroll especially one that is so exorbitantly high does ensure you the opportunity to compete for a championship each and every year, a luxury that the teams near the bottom of the payroll food chain don't have.
Am I offended that the NY Yankees are able to buy the opportunity to win championships? Sure I am, but I'm jealous too. They run their franchise better than peers and I wish my team had the management that they do.
This year's luxury payroll tax will soon be calculated and it remains to be seen what it will be. But you can be sure of this, even if the Yankees sweep in seven games you won't hear a peep from any MLB team owners as they are eagerly awaiting their disbursement of millions from this year's NY Yankees luxury payroll tax payment. Checks are due January 31st. - Mike Cardano
Mike Cardano is the founder of the Around the Horn Baseball Blog and the Extra Point Football Blog.
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