I have read all too often in posts from WSI to mlb.com from White Sox fans that the Sox do not spend money. I have read about the Sox not signing free agents, and not being big spenders when it comes to the market and paying for a solid team to take the field. I wondered, is this true? Have the Sox spent the majority of the last 30 seasons spending below market value on their teams? I created the line graph above to chart the trends for MLB's average payrolls against the White Sox' payrolls over the last 30 seasons.
As you can see, the Sox payroll stays around the league average mostly. The biggest gaps are from 1985-1992 when the Sox payroll was below league average; 1992-1998 when Sox payroll was above league average; 1999-2005 when Sox payroll was again below league average and 2006-2010 when you can see the Sox payroll is far above the league average. This pretty much averages itself out. Let's break this down season by season.
Catfish Hunter was the first player to make $1,000,000+ dollars in a single year of a contract after he was signed by the Yankees, since the contract included a $1,000,000 signing bonus. Another player, though, was first to make a million dollars a year over the life of a contract. After the 1979 season ended Nolan Ryan signed a free agent contract that made him the first player in MLB history to make $1,000,000 a year outright. Dave Parker had signed a contract in 1978 with the Pirates which paid him $1,000,000 a year; however, the Pirates worded this contract in such a way that it did not appear he was making a million a year so that nobody would know.
Compare this to the White Sox entire team payroll for 1980: $1,810,375. Average player salary? $72,415. The Sox ranked 24th out of 26 MLB teams that year in payroll. So how have the White Sox kept up with rising payroll trends since that first $1,000,000 a year player? Let's take a look at the progression of the top player contract vs. the White Sox payroll and top paid player. Payroll statistics are limited for the 80's but once we hit the 90's and 2000's, they're readily available.
In 1981, the White Sox brand new owner Jerry Reinsdorf decided to spend more money than the previous year, and Carlton Fisk was signed and became their highest paid player. He made $580,000 that season which was well above even the average player salary for the highest paid team. In 1981, the Sox payroll was $4,816,450 with an average player salary of $192,658. Average MLB payroll was $4,679,177. Jerry Reinsdorf also tripled the promotional budget. He made sure that his team was spending money, as Veeck had gutted the team over the previous few seasons and taken spending in a downward spiral.
In 1985, the Sox scaled back a bit and fell to 19th in team payroll. The Sox did have two players making over one million dollars that season: Julio Cruz and Tom Seaver. The highest paid player in the league was Mike Schmidt, who made $2,130,000. The average MLB payroll was over $10 million. In 1986, the Sox payroll moved up a spot to 18th. In 1987, the payroll was scaled back again and fell to 21st. In 1988, it fell again to 24th out of 26 teams at just $7,736,952. In 1989 and 1990 it remained around 24th.
It should be noted that 1985-1987 was the collusion period in which owners conspired together to keep payrolls and player contracts down because they had been rising rapidly. During two different offseasons, most free agents were not signed by other teams and were forced to resign with their previous teams for less money. MLBPA filed collusion grievances three different times and in all three instances, MLBPA won. The final tally in payments owed by MLB owners was $280 million. After this ruling and payment in 1990, salaries and payrolls began to rise rapidly again.
In 1993, the Sox payroll shot up to 5th($42,115,723) and they had 15 players making more than $1,000,000. The top payroll that season belonged again to the Toronto Blue Jays($51,935,034). The top player salary belonged to Bobby Bonilla again at $6,200,000. The highest paid player on the White Sox was Jack McDowell at $4,000,000. In 1994, the Sox payroll fell a little to 8th($40,144,836). In 1995, the Sox payroll stayed the same at $40 million. In 1996, payroll jumped back up to 5th($44,827,833) which put them well above the league average of $33,690,148. That season, Frank Thomas' salary jumped to $7,100,000. Individual player salaries around the league were climbing higher and higher per season.
In 1997, the Sox signed Albert Belle and paid him $10,000,000, a team record for a single year and for MLB. Frank Thomas made $7,150,000. The team's payroll, despite these high contracts, actually declined to $41,849,500, which was 14th in baseball. The top payroll that season was the Yankees' $73,389,577. In 1998, Gary Sheffield($14 million) soared past Albert Belle($10 million) to become the highest paid player in MLB history for a single year. Sox team payroll dropped to $37,880,000, which ranked 17th. Average team payroll in MLB in 1998 was $40,691,972.
In 1999, Albert Belle moved on to the Orioles and a pay raise to $11 million. The White Sox highest paid player was Frank Thomas at $7 million even. The team payroll fell dramatically to $24,535,000, which ranked 25th out of 30 teams. The Sox only had five players making more than one million dollars that season. The highest payroll in MLB was the Yankees at $91,990,955. There was a sizable gap between the Sox payroll and even the average MLB payroll of $47 million.
In 2000, Sox spending got back on track rising to 21st and $36,944,286. Their highest paid player remained Frank Thomas at $7,100,000. The average MLB payroll was $55 million. The highest payroll in MLB was again the New York Yankees, who became the first team to have a payroll over $100 million at $113 million. That season, there were fourteen players making over $10 million. Three of them were on the New York Yankees roster.
In 2001, payroll climbed dramatically to match the rise in payroll across the league. The team payroll was $62,363,000, and the highest paid player was Frank Thomas at $9,927,000 and David Wells and Ray Durham also made $9 million each. The Sox had thirteen players making a million dollars. Across MLB the average payroll was $63 million. There were 22 players making over $10 million. Alex Rodriguez set a new record for a single year, making $22 million. In 2002, the Sox scaled back to $57 million while the MLB average rose to $67 million. In 2003, the Sox payroll dropped to $51,010,000 while the average MLB payroll rose again to $69 million.
In 2004, the Sox payroll climbed back up dramatically to $65,212,500, which was close to the MLB average of $67 million, which had dropped for the first time since 1987. The White Sox highest paid player was Magglio Ordonez at $14,000,000, and four players made more money than Frank Thomas. The Yankees' payroll had grown dramatically over the past few seasons, shooting up to $182,835,513. This was partially due to taking on Alex Rodriguez' contract. I attribute this giant rise in payrolls from 1997-2004 as a direct result of the steroid era. The higher the players' statistics rose, the more they demanded to be paid. This put GMs and owners in a bind, and tied their hands. They were forced to pay to play.
In 2005, the White Sox won the World Series with a payroll of $75,178,000. The highest paid player was Paul Konerko who made $8,750,000. Four players made at least $8,000,000. The Sox and Padres were the only teams that made the post season in '05 without having a $10,000,000 player. Average MLB payroll that year was $73 million. The Yankees again set a new milestone record for payroll becoming the first team to have a $200 million payroll($208 million).
In 2006, the White Sox payroll jumped dramatically due to the World Series and the desire by the fans and the team to contend and repeat. The Sox had three players making over $10 million after picking up Thome and Vazquez. Konerko's new contract paid him $12,000,000 in 2006. The team payroll was $102,750,667. The average MLB payroll was $77 million. The Yankees payroll dropped back below $200 million at $194 million. In 2007, the White Sox payroll was $108,671,833. The highest paid player was Jim Thome at $14 million. The Sox had four players making over $10 million with another two players making $9 million. The average MLB payroll was $82 million.
In 2008, the Sox payroll jumped $11 million dollars to $121,152,667 to rank 5th. The highest paid player was still Jim Thome making $15 million. Other players' salaries rose significantly, such as Mark Buehrle who made $14 million. The Sox now had six players making $10 million. The Yankees top payroll climbed to new heights at $209 million. The average payroll around the league was $89 million. In 2009, MLB payrolls dropped across the board by a combined $47 million.
The average team payroll fell to $88 million. The Sox payroll fell dramatically to $96,068,500. Teams were worried about the economic situation of the country and were cautious about their payroll situations. It appears that Sox contracts worked themselves out in such ways to pay the players less money in this season as well, being a contributing factor in the much lower payroll. The highest paid player was Mark Buehrle at $14 million. The Sox had five players making over $10 million but no other players making over $5 million.
In 2010, the Sox payroll rose back up to $108,273,197. The Sox highest paid player was Jake Peavy who made $15 million. The Sox only had four people making $10 million but had twenty players making at least $1 million. The average MLB payroll last season was $90 million. The Yankees payroll around $206 million, still significantly higher than the second highest payroll in the league. The 2011 season projections have the Sox payroll at somewhere between $119 million and $123 million. The Sox are estimated to have five players making $10+ million, with Jake Peavy being the highest paid at $16 million. Newly acquired Adam Dunn will make $12 million.
I believe after looking at all the trends and figures, the Sox have at least averaged the league average payroll over the last thirty seasons, if not outspending it a little bit. From 2006-2010, the Sox have outspent the combined league average payroll of $430 million by almost $107 million dollars. I think Jerry and Kenny are on the same page, and that page is you need to pay to play. They have certainly come under the idea of spend to contend, and I believe it has also been smart spending. Intelligent spending is the key to success in any sport, especially in baseball.
Payroll statistics were gathered from the websites baseballchronology.com, baseball-reference.com, cbssports.com and usatoday.com.
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