Our “Happy Learned How to Putt” Moment
December 11, 2008Blatant Show Of Disrespect
December 11, 2008I can’t say I’m surprised that CC Sabathia is now the highest-paid pitcher in Major League history. When I look at the record seven-year $161 million contract that Sabathia signed, It reassures me that the Tribe made the right decision in trading him last July. There is no way a team of the Tribe’s resources can ever compete with the Yankees’ ability to whimsically add an “extra year” and $21 million more. If Matt LaPorta pans out as is hoped, it will soften the blow of watching the Big Lefty in pinstripes:
If I could replay last season perfectly, we would have won the World Series and CC would have pitched well for us. And even if CC filed for free agency and we lost him, we would have had him until the end of the season. But we had to deal with the reality of the season. There’s no question that the trade was highly preferable to letting him walk as a free agent based on where we were as a team. –Cleveland GM Mark Shapiro
But, there’s more to it for me than all of this. It’s not just that I hate the Yankees. And, it’s not that I’m blaming them for using the system to their advantage. We’d all love for teams like the Yankees and Red Sox and their financial ilk to have some kind of compassionate conscience relative to outspending the other 25-or-so teams, but we all know the business is about winning, and since the Yankees didn’t make the playoffs we all knew they were going to break the bank to try to get back there in 2009.
It’s the system, purely and simply. I know I’m not really breaking any new ground here, but bear with me. The Yankees (I’m picking on them because of the context of the CC deal) can afford to make mistakes. Their Carl Pavano deal immediately springs to mind. They can go out, outbid anyone and everyone, and if it doesn’t work out, it’s no skin off their nose. Contrast that with a team like Cleveland which, if they went out on a limb and made the kind of offer to Sabathia that New York has done–and God forbid something happened and it didn’t pan out–has basically submarined the next seven years’ worth of seasons because they cannot get out from under his crippling salary. Shoot, even Angels GM Tony Reagins said, “We knew what the numbers were with CC, and we couldn’t be a player in those terms.” When even the LA teams can’t get involved, something is horribly wrong with the system.
Again, I know you all know this. So, what’s in my craw about this CC deal? Well, there are two things.
1. Brian Cashman gets “credit” for being “diligent”.
There was a great “feel-good” story on MLB.com about how Cashman’s “diligence pays off.” Now, obviously, I’m biased, but I think that if Mark Shapiro had the bank account that Cashman has to work with, the Indians would win the World Series every year. Shapiro has showed over his tenure that he knows how to scout, as it seems every trade he makes brings players back in return that contribute to the team and organization. The team hasn’t been the model of drafting, but in baseball the draft is less important long-term than it is in sports such as football or basketball. Being able to pinpoint talent in foreign countries and in other organizations is just as valuable, if not more so. To me, a GM with the resources at his disposal of Cashman should get FIRED for missing the playoffs in any given season. Yet, Brian Cashman gets credit for boarding a plane with $20 million more of his boss’s money? Way to really work yourself!
To me, the fact that Cashman had to fly out to California, and outbid HIMSELF just to get CC to sign is indictment enough of New York’s problems. The next highest bid (below the Yankees’ first offer of 6 years for $140 million, that is) was the Brewers’ offer in the neighborhood of $120 million. So, New York not only upped that by $20 million, but then OUTBID THEMSELVES by $21 million MORE just to get him?? Somewhere even Tom Hicks is laughing. “Once the Yankees got involved, we knew what we were up against,” said Doug Melvin, general manager of the Brewers. “We also made a very substantial offer, and it wasn’t enough.”
And, on top of ALL of that, the trickle-down effect that this contract has on other free agent picthers will be felt across the league. Every club that thought they might have had a chance with Sabathia must now move on to their next priority in the game of musical chairs, only now the are fewer chairs and everyone knows that the music will stop at any time: once the guy at the top of the FA list signs, the follow-up deals are usually fast and furious. And THAT, in turn, makes it tougher for the smaller and mid-market teams to compete, as CC’s contract and the ensuing game of musical chairs only serves to drive the prices up on mid-level guys, pricing them out of those smaller markets. And on top of THAT, the Yankees themselves still have enough left over to go after ADDITIONAL guys in that group (like AJ Burnett AND Ben Sheets, for example), which will also serve to drive the prices up, since the Yankees can outbid everyone else.
But sure, Cashman’s a GREAT GM, everybody! He works HARD!
2. CC went against everything he said he truly “wanted” in signing this deal.
Sorry, CC, but you’re not exempt from my anger here, either. I’m one of “those” fans. I boo’ed Albert Belle. I was at Manny Ramirez’s first game back at Jacob’s Field as a Red Sox, and I boo’ed him mercilessly, too. Now, I’m not going to boo CC. The Tribe did the smart thing in trading him, and I can’t blame him for testing the market; I knew there was no way we could keep him, either. But Carston Charles, don’t say things like, “I want to play in the NL,” and “I want to play in California,” and then turn around and sign with the Yankees only because they went temporarily insane and bid against themselves for your services. And, the worst part about it is this: “[W]hatever the Yankees want, the Yankees can get. Even if they have to bid against themselves, as they did with Sabathia — to outbid his remaining concerns about family life in New York, giving him about $160 million over seven years.” This is the text-book definition of SELLING OUT, CC. Don’t hide behind Derek Jeter’s lobbying that living in New York isn’t all that bad (“You can stay out there six months in the offseason and still be a West Coast guy, right?”) as the reason you’re going. We all know you signed the contract because they made it 15% more valuable. I guess I shouldn’t direct this only at CC; I just wish players would forget the words, “it’s not about the money.” Because in the end, CC proved that is always IS. Even for the nice guys. Again, I can’t hate on CC, because he never said things like Thome did about the “hometown discount” to stay with the Tribe or anything like that, and he was always a pretty stand-up guy while with the Tribe. But, if you have principles, stick to them.
I also read somewhere, however, that the contract has an opt-out clause if CC wants to get out of New York. So, I guess the joke’s on me: he gets to have his cake and eat it too. Just remember, CC: when you’re in New York, you can talk to A-Rod about money buying you happiness and winning you rings.
I write all of this not just to complain about what we all already knew to be true. I write it as a fan of a small-market team overwhlemed with a feeling of general apathy. Yes, it looks like we’re going to sign Kerry Wood, which has the potential to be a good deal. But, it just makes me feel apathetic to know that Sizemore will be gone whenever he gets to free agency. Victor will be gone. If LaPorta is good, he will be gone. There is literally almost NO chance that Cleveland will ever keep any of its free agents. And, while I give Shapiro credit for making the most out of the shoe-string budget that he has to work with, it’s totally deflating as a fan to know that there is NO chance the Indians will ever sign a FA like CC until the fundamental economics of the sport change. I ask myself the rhetorical question of: “What’s the point?” more than once during this time of year in baseball. The Indians were so close to a World Series in 2007, and have one of the best GMs in the game; yet, they had NO opportunity to go out and get the final piece of that puzzle to put them over the top in 2008. And, one wonders if they ever will. Exhibit A: Tampa Bay. What did their first good season in history get them? It got them a ticked off Yankees owner with no qualms about a $300 million payroll trying to push the wonderfully-built Rays back into third place.
You’ll pardon me if I’m a little cynical, then.
38 Comments
Well put… and yet the Indians remain my favorite team across all sports… i guess i’m just a bit masochistic, but as Cleveland fans, aren’t we all?
What’ll make you really sick to your stomach is that there are rumors now that the Yanks are now the front-runners to sign Lowe AND Burnett as well. They could spend $300M this offseason just on 3/5 of their starting rotation!!!!!
I must have missed the annoucement that Mark Shapiro was a capable GM.
I’m glad CC went to the Skankees. Now he can lose playoff games for them.
You’ve touched on a great point. Apathy is the best word for the downfall of baseball. The league needs to change its financial structure to allow every team the opportunity to keep big name players. Baseball is now fifth on my list of sports preference. I have no interest in watching Boston or New York dominate the league, and I won’t spend any money to watch baseball.
The thing about Tampa Bay, however is that their entire rotation is amazing, and young. Garza, Shields, Kazmir, Sonnastine… all better than whomever the Tribe trots out there as a #2.
It’s going to be really hard to replace Sabathia, regardless of any “deal” we get…
@Gmoney: since they just hand out Exec of the Year awards based on who’s “turn” it is…
I’ve been thinking about this whole booing CC thing when he comes back here to pitch. And I’ve come tot he conclusion that he is NO DIFFERENT THAN MANNY, THOME, BELLE, and the rest. I mean ya he gave us great years and 2007 was fantastic, until he choked in the playoffs. I laughed because I know he wont emotionally be able to handle the NY media once he chokes again in the playoffs, he probably won’t ever win a ring and if he does it’s because someone else carried the load and not him. I don’t hate him and he was my favorite player while he was here, but I no longer respect him anymore. It’s too bad too.
I also can’t stand how ESPN acts like he didn’t pitch for us since 00′ or wat ever it was, he did win a CY YOUNG with us.
I hate to think Grady will leave. IF that day ever came I would truly walk away from the game of baseball. I may watch games on TV but I’d never go to a Tribe game again until they were in a clinching game of the World Series.
@S-Dub… I do think it’s a little different as we the front office wasn’t foolish enough to believe he’d stay. That does cushion the blow somewhat. But I’ll still boo him for giving any glimmer of hope that he’d stay by saying how much he loved Cleveland, how great his time was here, and that his options were really open regarding his future. Right. I’m sure Romeo Crennel is pretty open to staying in Cleveland next year too but it’s not going to happen either.
I’m surprised that there hasn’t been more of an attempt to link this move and LeBron’s ‘impending depature’ to NY aside from a short sportscenter snippet. Still irks me to hear LeBron talk about the Yankees as ‘we.’ I’m sure the Indians and Cavs FO would prefer him keep his mouth shut on the subject.
As an Indians fan, it is always depressing around winter meeting time. The consolation I have is that appears that CC wanted to be a Yankee as much as we wanted him to be one. I hate the Player’s Union. I also fear the day Grady becomes a free agent.
But it’s not all bad this year. At least we got a closer (albeit with an extensive injury history)! And we traded the Karim Garcia memorial Silver Slugger, Franklin Guitierriez. It’s not all bad.
speaking of mis-use of ‘we’ (and i admit to being a fan that uses ‘we’ all the time)… i certainly do not work for the front office of the indians… sigh.
Maybe this ridiculous deal (and other ones the Yankees are sure to make) will finally get the gutless owners of the 25 or so “non-major market” teams to band together and force MLB to adopt revenue sharing like the NFL and NBA.
The Yankees of 2009 will embody everything that is wrong with sports, from their ridiculously bloated payroll to the outlandish prices that they’ll be charging at the new “Yankee Stadium”.
hey at least this year we didn’t go to bed thinking Manny re-signed only to wake up to him as a Red Sox.
aw come on man, while now it would appear that CC would’ve left the tribe had they not dealt him, that’s not how it went down. and thats the difference between him and thome, manny, and belle, who basically just waited out the year to leave (“i love it here!”). CC, like the rest of the team, was ready to make another run at the world series and see how the season panned out (hence him not wanting to talk about it until the season was over), but it just so happened that they sucked for the first half of the season and everybody had to go to plan B.
i guess that sounds like a small technicality, but i dont think CC did cleveland really any wrong in this. he didnt ask to be traded, he didnt say he was going to stay only to leave the first chance he got. the indians traded him (as they should have), and now, as much as i hate to say it, he did the logical thing and took the most money ever offered to a pitcher.
god i hate the yankees.
Given all of this, should we try to extend Sizemore now, rather than three years from now? I wonder if it’s even considered by the brass…
DP, welcome to the club
Gmoney,
http://www.baseball-almanac.com/awards/aw_sney.shtml
/still down to watch the clippers live
I agree with the feelings that CC actually betrayed his own preferences just because of money. Can’t say what I would do in his shoes since I’ve never made a money decision even close to that.
However, I won’t look favorably on him again. And I will laugh pretty hard when CC gives up 8 runs in the first inning of his ALDS game.
Please post the full page ad from The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel when it’s available.
Baseball does have a revenue sharing plan in place already. And the sad truth is there are many teams that receive much more money from it than they put in their teams. I am curious to see where the Tribe is on that list, because they just had a ton of salary come off the books and have signed one free agent so far. My guess is Dolan doesn’t spend what he gets from that revenue sharing plan.
The Union and agents like Scott Boras are the real villains here, not so much the Yankees and CC. Although I hate the Yankees and will now boo CC forever, I don’t blame them. The Yankees did what they had to to sign him and he took the most money.
It is pretty depressing on one hand, but on the other, I think there is no way Sabathia will be good and hold up for this contract. I think the Yankees will really be regretting this one by year four. Same if they sign Sheets or Burnett, who can’t stay healthy.
GREAT job on this piece, DP. You literally took all the words that I didn’t have the heart to write directly out of my mouth.
CC absolutely sold out. Had he signed with an NL team or a West Coast AL team, I would have cheered him the next time he pitched in Cleveland. But I will never, EVER cheer for CC again after he sold his soul to the Steinbrenner Machine.
I am totally on board with the points about apathy. That’s how I have felt about baseball for about 5 years or so now. Watching hero after hero walk out the front door to take more money in a bigger market has just left me too disheartened to allow myself to care.
The day we lose Sizemore will be the day I find it TOUGH to still let myself be hurt by the system and thus give up on baseball. I love the game. It’s a beautiful game. I love the team. I just can’t stand to have absolutely NO CHANCE of ever keeping our heroes in town.
I really don’t think he is worth that much money. He had some good seasons here but it doesn’t seem like he’s the type of player that will push a team to a championship. Obviously though, the Yankees and I have different opinions.
@ Jeff:
Regarding MLB’s revenue sharing agreement… I don’t have the specifics in front of me–I’ll leave it to somebody else to look up the details if they desire–but if I recall correctly, it is not a significant transfer involved. Revenue transfers also aren’t based on the current year’s salary… it’s either a lag or an average over several years or something. And while this may have changed recently, I believe the Dolans have paid into the plan more years than they’ve earned revenue–I don’t recall which year they flipped to the receiving side.
If I get a chance later, I’ll try to find the specifics and will repost. My curiosity is peaked.
Yeah it sucks that we were priced out of resigning CC, but its a little early to be anticipating the departure of Sizemore. Three years is an eternity in sports. As far as Victor is concerned, I’d be surprised if he didn’t retire an Indian. We already have to listen to the incessant LeBron rumors, why add to the anxiety?
man this was a well thought piece of work. nice job Dan.
can anyone really blame CC for making $23MM every year for the next 7 years? i’ve used the same argument for every athlete, would you live in NY for half a year to make an extra $3MM GUARANTEED for 7 years, regardless of injury, performance, or ability doing the same job you’re doing right now? I would.
and how long has the smiley face been at the bottom of the page?
Please disregard my earlier comment. I spent a few minutes googling the data and the terms, and I was clearly off-base in my understanding of the current state of MLB’s revenue sharing. It appears the $$ can be rather significant (over $300 million transferred in 2006), and I wonder whether this current plan can do anything to level the playing field without some sort of required spending such as a salary floor…
I love that after the season was over people were posting here that our darling CC would NEVER sign with the Yankees, he would take a discount to play near his hometown and he didn’t want the pressure of the money in NY, blah blah blah.
Why would anyone think that? He’s just like the rest.
(and there’s nothing wrong with that, just sayin…)
Good piece, but…
Folks, you guys are crazy, waaaay too emotional. If you thought there was any other outcome than this you were lying to yourself. And the boo-ing of these guys when they come back, c’mon now, they broke up with us, let it go and move on. I thought his ad in the PD was a nice gesture, he could have told us to go f ourselves, but he didn’t, he acknowledged the team, the city, the fans, and will always look fondly on his days as part of the tribe. Now had he NOT done that people would have criticized that too.
Another point, the players union would NEVER, EVER let a contract of this magnitude slide down to a smaller scale because CC wanted to stay on the west coast or in the NL or what ever personal/professional reasons he may have had. No way no how. It is their job to get the best deal for their members and the way the FA market is constructed, it starts at the top and trickles down from there, the highest paid sets the market for the rest of the FA. Something D-O-O economics…voodoo economics.
And just one final thing, would you all turn away 160M? Or would you take a 25% paycut? I sure as heck wouldn’t. Even if it was a place I didn;t want to be, knowing it was only for a specific time-frame, and after I was done, my family, my kids kids, etc. would be COMPLETELY SET FOR LIFE, I would do it in a minute.
I am a lifelong Cleveland fan, I was born into it, I always will be, and I will doom my children too, but I stopped getting too worked up over this stuff, not the losing, etc., but specifically the FA market in baseball, until it changes, it will always be this way. I still love the tribe, I still go to games, I still watch them on tv, and I kind of like the fact we are a bunch of scrappy “no namers” and we are not shelling out Yankees/Red Sox/Angels type of money for just a few players. I like the fact we are the true meaning of a team – all the parts work in unison, not just one or two pieces driving the thing. That said, I want to see Pronk back to driving a little more than he was able to the last two years…
BTW love the site.
It’s seems odd that people forget in the mid-to-late 90’s when the Indians kept signing all the big name hitters and had a payroll of $100 million…
But that was with a real owner.
deebo put it better than i did.
you guys are talking about booing a guy who wasn’t even on the team anymore because he took a ridiculously huge contract that im sure 99.5% of us would take. it sucks that he went to the yankees sure, and yes i will be laughing when he chokes in the playoffs but come on. the guy was solid when he was in cleveland and people shouldnt lose their sh_t everytime things like this happen. as much as we all hate it, it’s a business.
deebo: “Another point, the players union would NEVER, EVER let a contract of this magnitude slide down to a smaller scale because CC wanted to stay on the west coast or in the NL or what ever personal/professional reasons he may have had.”
That’s kind of part of my beef with the “system”. Hence, Welcome to the Machine.
The fact is, the Yankees outbid THEMSELVES. It’s garbage, pure and simple. I can’t say what I’d do in CC’s position, but CC has ALL of the leverage. He can do whatever he wants. Now, this is just me talking, but I think I could live on $120 million to play a sport somewhere where I am close to my family and happy and comfortable. I don’t think I would need to chase the extra money just because it’s there. I mean, it’s not like any of us could realistically ever SPEND $120 MILLION IN OUR LIFETIMES. Seriously. What’s the union going to do, kick him out?
My understanding of revenue sharing in MLB is that it’s an agregate of the team’s last five seasons’ worth of records, and the teams that win pay into the pot, the teams that lose collect. Hence, in the 90’s the Indians paid in a lot. And, every year that they have one of those 90+ win seasons wrecks their average to the point that they never collect enough to make a difference.
Yes, Jacobs spent a little more liberally, but those 90’s teams were good for a long time because of solid scouting and drafting, as well as the team gambling and buying out guys’ arbitration years. Like what we did with Peralta, Sizemore, Pronk, Victor, etc. So, what happened was that they all got paid more in the first few years than they should have, but by the time they all got to FA they were SO TERRIBLY UNDERPAID (Manny made $4 million in 2000, his walk year. Think about that. $4 million!!) that the raises they were due to make were so much that there’s no way the Tribe could compete. Further, comparing salaries of today even with those of even just 10 years ago is an impossibility of logic. It’d be like saying: “I bought a new car for $10,000 in 1994. I don’t understand why you can’t buy a new car for yourself now!”
The off-season of 2000 completely scorched the free-agent landscape because of Manny, A-Rod, Chan-Ho Park (remember him??), Darren Dreifort (remember HIM??), Mussina, Mike Hampton, Denny Neagle, Carlos Delgado getting freaking $17 million, etc. Shoot, even the Tribe ponied up for Juan-Gone. And, I hate to even open this box, but steroids are partly to blame, too. Dudes started robo-raking, and starting getting P-A-I-D.
Scott, I don’t know if they’re thinking of trying to re-up Sizemore or not. If his agent has a brain in his head, there’s no way he’d let it happen, because re-upping now would be stupid when you follow the trend of what he could make as a FA in 2012. I, too, would like to believe these guys enjoy playing here enough to want to stay, but the fact of the matter is that money talks, and BS walks. And Pittsburgh is resigned to signing guys like Ramon Vazquez.
Until MLB instills some kind of cap and revenue sharing agreement like the NFL (almost like “sports socialism”) there’s no point in getting our hopes up that we’ll be able to sign a big FA like CC ever again, honestly. And that’s deflating.
“And just one final thing, would you all turn away 160M? Or would you take a 25% paycut? I sure as heck wouldn’t. Even if it was a place I didn;t want to be, knowing it was only for a specific time-frame, and after I was done, my family, my kids kids, etc. would be COMPLETELY SET FOR LIFE, I would do it in a minute.”
This argument is fallacy at best. Like CC would NOT be set for life with $120M? There’s no way he was taking any kind of pay cut. It’s not like if he didn’t sign with the Yankees that he would be making chicken feed.
And, yes if my company offered me a 25% raise, but the condition was that I had to move to New Jersey (where our main office is), I would say just out of hand I would be 50/50 on whether or not I wanted to do it. You can’t put a dollar value on comfort and happiness for yourself and your family. I know plenty of people in their professional lives that have switched jobs for more money only to completely regret it later on.
“Yes, Jacobs spent a little more liberally, but those 90’s teams were good for a long time because of solid scouting and drafting, as well as the team gambling and buying out guys’ arbitration years. …”
Also, let’s not forget that the Jake was sold out for literally more than 5 and a half years straight. Jacobs was making a LOT of money off of the novelty of the new park in the 90’s, and the cycle of making that money allowed him to spend more liberally on the players.
There’s a reason Jacobs got out when he did. He saw the writing on the wall. He made A TON of money on it, too. I wonder if the franchise is worth what Dolan paid for it at this point, sincerely.
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My understanding of revenue sharing in MLB is that it’s an agregate of the team’s last five seasons’ worth of records, and the teams that win pay into the pot, the teams that lose collect. Hence, in the 90’s the Indians paid in a lot. And, every year that they have one of those 90+ win seasons wrecks their average to the point that they never collect enough to make a difference.
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Actually, revenue sharing has nothing to do with wins and losses–it is currently based on a team’s operating income. Based on a 2006 Wall Street Journal article,
“baseball adds up 34% of every team’s net local revenue. Teams then pay or receive the difference between their figure and the league average.”
For reference, the MLB Basic Agreement can be found here: http://www.businessofbaseball.com/docs.htm#2002basicagreement
It is worth noting that 2005 is the first year the Indians did not have to PAY INTO the system. So the Dolans, whom everybody jumps on for being “cheap”, rightly or wrongly, not only carried the two highest payrolls in Indians history, but paid into the revenue sharing plan from when they bought the team until 2004.
I am unable to find comprehensive annual records, but I did find data for a few years:
2001 Indians paid $13,254,000
-created a substantial loss for the tribe, since their operating income (calculated before RS) was only $1,8881,000.
2002 Indians paid $10,612,923
2003 Indians paid $4,828,923
Data from:
http://beta.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=1803536 and
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=1333
The biggest problem with the system, best I can tell based on the data I saw and the analyses I read, is the lack of a salary floor, which allows teams like the Marlins and Pirates to pocket the money without putting it back into payroll.
Interesting articles, in case anyone else is interested in taking a peek:
http://thesportseconomist.com/2007/11/revenue-sharing-in-mlb.htm
http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-34336465_ITM
http://baseballecon.blogspot.com/2007/05/examination-of-effects-of-revenue.html
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114619267334238458.html
http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/the-upcoming-cba-and-the-battles-within-it-part-2-revenue-sharing/
“And just one final thing, would you all turn away 160M? Or would you take a 25% paycut? I sure as heck wouldn’t. Even if it was a place I didn;t want to be, knowing it was only for a specific time-frame, and after I was done, my family, my kids kids, etc. would be COMPLETELY SET FOR LIFE, I would do it in a minute.”
I need to find the link, but a Milwaukee economist did a study, comparing the difference between the first NY offer and MIL’s offer to CC. People that aren’t accountants or economists often look at the dollar value only, and don’t consider other factors… the guy that did the study factored in the punitive NY tax rates and the increased cost of living in NY, and showed how CC would pocket more money under the Milwaukee offer.
If anybody is interested, let me know, and I’ll try to track the link down to post it.
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My understanding of revenue sharing in MLB is that it’s an agregate of the team’s last five seasons’ worth of records, and the teams that win pay into the pot, the teams that lose collect. Hence, in the 90’s the Indians paid in a lot. And, every year that they have one of those 90+ win seasons wrecks their average to the point that they never collect enough to make a difference.
——
Actually, revenue sharing has nothing to do with wins and losses–it is currently based on a team’s operating income. Based on a 2006 Wall Street Journal article,
“baseball adds up 34% of every team’s net local revenue. Teams then pay or receive the difference between their figure and the league average.”
For reference, the MLB Basic Agreement can be found here: http://www.businessofbaseball.com/docs.htm#2002basicagreement
It is worth noting that 2005 is the first year the Indians did not have to PAY INTO the system. So the Dolans, whom everybody jumps on for being “cheap”, rightly or wrongly, not only carried the two highest payrolls in Indians history, but paid into the revenue sharing plan from when they bought the team until 2004.
I am unable to find comprehensive annual records, but I did find data for a few years:
2001 Indians paid $13,254,000
-created a substantial loss for the tribe, since their operating income (calculated before RS) was only $1,8881,000.
2002 Indians paid $10,612,923
2003 Indians paid $4,828,923
Data from:
http://beta.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=1803536 and
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=1333
The biggest problem with the system, best I can tell based on the data I saw and the analyses I read, is the lack of a salary floor, which allows teams like the Marlins and Pirates to pocket the money without putting it back into payroll.
Interesting articles I looked at, in case anyone else is interested in taking a peek:
http://thesportseconomist.com/2007/11/revenue-sharing-in-mlb.htm
http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-34336465_ITM
http://baseballecon.blogspot.com/2007/05/examination-of-effects-of-revenue.html
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114619267334238458.html
http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/the-upcoming-cba-and-the-battles-within-it-part-2-revenue-sharing/
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Until MLB instills some kind of cap and revenue sharing agreement like the NFL (almost like “sports socialism”)
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Ironically enough, several of the sports economists I read last night talked about the current system as unfair socialism. I have come around to the belief that MLB does need some sort of salary cap system. However, the current system could be tweaked to be far more effective if only the teams were required to spend the revenue sharing receipts on the team and not treat it the same as, say, merchandising revenue and just pocket it. I thought the following nugget was interesting, because it shed light on the contraction issue from a few years back (note that earlier in the article quoted below, they point out that the owners refer to this as “the Montreal Business Plan)… the other team that was mentioned for possible contraction.)
“in 2000 the Minnesota Twins received $21 million from the revenue-sharing pool–$5 million more than the salaries paid to their entire 25-man roster. Not surprisingly, they turned a profit… and not surprisingly, their brethren eventually concluded it would be cheaper to contract the Twins than to continue subsidizing their parasitic billionaire owner. If revenue sharing is ever to serve its intended purpose of making small-market clubs more competitive, recipients must be required to reinvest the proceeds in their team.”
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=1333
Oh, referring back to my earlier post #33 above… I noted the revenue sharing formula being based on 34% of local net revenues. This was the result of changes in the 2002 agreements, which is why the numbers I posted for the 2001 Indians don’t jive. Maybe it was based on gross revenue prior to 2002 or something, I didn’t research that. Anyway, just wanted to clarify.
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