Who's getting their money's worth?
From the Orioles to the Mets, and everyone in between
A reminder to vote in the VIEW FROM THE BLEACHERS poll I posted yesterday, which is open to all paid and free subscribers. It’s your chance to share your thoughts on the Marlins’ season so far and what lies ahead in the 2nd half, as well as to voice your opinion on the rule changes MLB has implemented in 2023. VOTE TODAY!
The Marlins began the 2nd half of the season with a 5-2 loss to Baltimore last night in the opener of a 3-game series at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The O’s came out of the All-Star break with the 3rd-best record in MLB despite the #29 Opening Day payroll in the sport ($60.8 million, according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts), while the Marlins opened the 2nd half with the 4th-best-record in MLB despite ranking 25th in season-opening payroll ($92.6 million).
The combined Opening Day payroll of the 2 clubs ($153.4 million) is $300,000 less than the payroll of the Minnesota Twins (who are 17th in MLB in payroll) and less than the total Opening Day payrolls of 17 of the other 28 ML clubs.
In fact, there are 37 active big leaguers who are currently playing under contracts worth more over the course of the deals than the combined 2023 salaries of the entire Opening Day rosters of the Marlins and Orioles.
By subtracting their payroll rank from their record rank, the Orioles are tied with the Rays with an ML-best +26 in record-to-payroll ratio (29th in payroll and 3rd in record…their record ranks 26 spots higher than their payroll) while the Marlins are 3rd behind Baltimore and Tampa Bay with a +19 RTP ratio (23rd in payroll and 4th in record).
So this weekend is a get-together between 2 of the teams that have gotten the most bang for their buck so far in 2023, which will be illustrated in a couple of the charts below.
It should come as no surprise the Mets (22nd in winning percentage with the #1 payroll) and Padres (20th in record and #3 in payroll) reside at the other end of the rankings for record-to-payroll ratio in 2023 as well as in terms of Opening Day payroll dollars spent per first-half victory, as shown in the 3rd chart below.
Here’s a look at how the 30 major league clubs stack up as they come out of the All-Star break.
Chart #1 ranks teams by first-half winning percentage and lists their Opening Day payroll ranking.
Chart #2 ranks them by their respective RTP ratio.
Chart #3 ranks clubs based on Opening Day payroll dollars spent per first-half victory.
ML CLUBS RANKED BY RECORD AT THE ALL-STAR BREAK (with payroll rank)
Braves 60-29 (Record: #1, Payroll #8)
Rays 58-35 (Record: #2, Payroll #28)
Orioles 54-35 (Record: #3, Payroll #29)
Marlins 53-39 (Record: #4, Payroll #23)
Dodgers 51-38 (Record: #5, Payroll #5)
Rangers 52-39 (Record: #T6, Payroll #9)
D-Backs 52-39 (Record: #T6, Payroll #21)
Reds 50-41 (Record: #T8, Payroll #26)
Astros 50-41 (Record: #T8, Payroll #14)
Blue Jays 50-41 (Record: #T8, Payroll #7)
Giants 49-41 (Record: #11, Payroll #10)
Phillies 48-41 (Record: #12, Payroll #4)
Brewers 49-42 (Record: #T13, Payroll #20)
Yankees 49-42 (Record: #T13, Payroll #2)
Red Sox 48-43 (Record: #15, Payroll #12)
Mariners 45-44 (Record: #16, Payroll #18)
Guardians 45-45 (Record: #17, Payroll #25)
Twins 45-46 (Record: #T18, Payroll #17)
Angels 45-46 (Record: #T18, Payroll #6)
Padres 43-47 (Record: #20, Payroll #3)
Cubs 42-47 (Record: #21, Payroll #11)
Mets 42-48 (Record: #22, Payroll #1)
Pirates 41-49 (Record: #23, Payroll #27)
Tigers 39-50 (Record: #24, Payroll #19)
Cardinals 38-52 (Record: #25, Payroll #14)
White Sox 38-54 (Record: #26, Payroll #13)
Nationals 36-54 (Record: #27, Payroll #22)
Rockies 34-57 (Record: #28, Payroll #16)
Royals 26-65 (Record: #29, Payroll # 24)
Athletics 25-67 (Record: #30, Payroll #30)
RECORD TO PAYROLL RATIO (Payroll rank minus Record rank)
Orioles +26 (Payroll ranks 29th, record ranks 3rd)
Rays +26
Marlins +19
Reds +18
D-Backs +15
Guardians +8
Brewers +7
Braves +7
Astros +6
Pirates +4
Rangers +3
Mariners +2
Dodgers 0
Athletics 0
Giants -1
Twins -1
Blue Jays -1
Red Sox -3
Nationals -5
Royals -5
Tigers -5
Phillies -8
Cubs -10
Cardinals -11
Yankees -11
Angels -12
Rockies -12
White Sox -13
Padres -17
Mets -21
DOLLARS SPENT PER WIN (Opening Day payroll/wins before the All-Star Break)
Orioles $1.13 million per win
Rays $1.26 million per win
Reds $1.66 million per win
Marlins $1.75 million per win
Pirates $1.79 million per win
Guardians $1.99 million per win
D-Backs $2.23 million per win
Athletics $2.27 million per win
Brewers $2.42 million per win
Nationals $2.81 million per win
Mariners $3.05 million per win
Tigers $3.13 million per win
Braves $3.38 million per win
Twins $3.42 million per win
Royals $3.55 million per win
Astros $3.60 million per win
Rangers $3.77 million per win
Red Sox $3.78 million per win
Giants $3.83 million per win
Blue Jays $4.20 million per win
Dodgers $4.36 million per win
Cubs $4.39 million per win
Cardinals $4.64 million per win
Angels $4.71 million per win
White Sox $4.77 million per win
Rockies $5.06 million per win
Phillies $5.06 million per win
Yankees $5.67 million per win
Padres $5.79 million per win
Mets $7.87 million per win
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Very interesting information! Thank you!