Mailbag: The 100 Players Making the Highest Percentage of Team Payroll
Posted by Neil Paine on July 7, 2011
Today, we had a question from Jesse:
"As the trade deadline draws closer, I started to think of just how much money guys really make. I was watching a Phillies-Marlins game and watched Hanley Ramirez loaf it down the line and strike out with a chance to win the game, my dad remarked [to] me that he must make a big percentage of the payroll on that team. It got me thinking, what guy takes the biggest chunk out of the payroll? It's a little unfair, considering A-Rod's $32,000,000 contract would leave about $4,000,000 left for the entire rest of the roster for the Royals. But, with my informal research, I got it down to Todd Helton, Travis Hafner, and Carlos Lee. Yikes. Is there any way to figure this out with B-R?"
You can't find it with the current site tools, but I compiled the data from the USA Today Salary Database, and was able to put together this list (based on Opening Day payrolls and rosters):
| Rank | Player | Team | Salary | Team Payroll | Pct |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carlos Lee | Houston Astros | $19,000,000 | $70,694,000 | 26.9% |
| 2 | Travis Hafner | Cleveland Indians | $13,000,000 | $49,190,566 | 26.4% |
| 3 | Todd Helton | Colorado Rockies | $20,275,000 | $88,148,071 | 23.0% |
| 4 | Ichiro Suzuki | Seattle Mariners | $18,000,000 | $86,524,600 | 20.8% |
| 5 | Joe Mauer | Minnesota Twins | $23,000,000 | $112,737,000 | 20.4% |
| 6 | Hanley Ramirez | Florida Marlins | $11,000,000 | $56,944,000 | 19.3% |
| 7 | Miguel Cabrera | Detroit Tigers | $20,000,000 | $105,700,231 | 18.9% |
| 8 | Vernon Wells | Los Angeles Angels | $26,187,500 | $138,543,166 | 18.9% |
| 9 | Johan Santana | New York Mets | $21,644,707 | $118,847,309 | 18.2% |
| 10 | Prince Fielder | Milwaukee Brewers | $15,500,000 | $85,497,333 | 18.1% |
| 11 | Michael Young | Texas Rangers | $16,174,974 | $92,299,264 | 17.5% |
| 12 | Derek Lowe | Atlanta Braves | $15,000,000 | $87,002,692 | 17.2% |
| 13 | Jayson Werth | Washington Nationals | $10,571,428 | $63,856,928 | 16.6% |
| 14 | Heath Bell | San Diego Padres | $7,500,000 | $45,869,140 | 16.4% |
| 15 | Carlos Beltran | New York Mets | $19,325,436 | $118,847,309 | 16.3% |
| 16 | Chipper Jones | Atlanta Braves | $14,000,000 | $87,002,692 | 16.1% |
| 17 | Francisco Cordero | Cincinnati Reds | $12,125,000 | $75,947,134 | 16.0% |
| 18 | Zack Greinke | Milwaukee Brewers | $13,500,000 | $85,497,333 | 15.8% |
| 19 | Alex Rodriguez | New York Yankees | $32,000,000 | $202,689,028 | 15.8% |
| 20 | Barry Zito | San Francisco Giants | $18,500,000 | $118,198,333 | 15.7% |
| Rank | Player | Team | Salary | Team Payroll | Pct |
| 21 | Grady Sizemore | Cleveland Indians | $7,666,666 | $49,190,566 | 15.6% |
| 22 | Matt Holliday | St. Louis Cardinals | $16,317,774 | $105,433,572 | 15.5% |
| 23 | Jason Bay | New York Mets | $18,125,000 | $118,847,309 | 15.3% |
| 24 | Alfonso Soriano | Chicago Cubs | $19,000,000 | $125,047,329 | 15.2% |
| 25 | Adrian Beltre | Texas Rangers | $14,000,000 | $92,299,264 | 15.2% |
| 26 | Carlos Zambrano | Chicago Cubs | $18,875,000 | $125,047,329 | 15.1% |
| 27 | Brandon Phillips | Cincinnati Reds | $11,437,500 | $75,947,134 | 15.1% |
| 28 | Milton Bradley | Seattle Mariners | $13,000,000 | $86,524,600 | 15.0% |
| 29 | Ryan Ludwick | San Diego Padres | $6,775,000 | $45,869,140 | 14.8% |
| 30 | Ryan Zimmerman | Washington Nationals | $9,025,000 | $63,856,928 | 14.1% |
| 31 | Chris Snyder | Pittsburgh Pirates | $6,250,000 | $45,047,000 | 13.9% |
| 31 | Paul Maholm | Pittsburgh Pirates | $6,250,000 | $45,047,000 | 13.9% |
| 33 | Albert Pujols | St. Louis Cardinals | $14,508,395 | $105,433,572 | 13.8% |
| 34 | Josh Johnson | Florida Marlins | $7,750,000 | $56,944,000 | 13.6% |
| 35 | Chris Carpenter | St. Louis Cardinals | $14,259,403 | $105,433,572 | 13.5% |
| 36 | Felix Hernandez | Seattle Mariners | $11,700,000 | $86,524,600 | 13.5% |
| 37 | Torii Hunter | Los Angeles Angels | $18,500,000 | $138,543,166 | 13.4% |
| 38 | Justin Morneau | Minnesota Twins | $15,000,000 | $112,737,000 | 13.3% |
| 39 | Johnny Damon | Tampa Bay Rays | $5,250,000 | $41,053,571 | 12.8% |
| 40 | Jose A. Bautista | Toronto Blue Jays | $8,000,000 | $62,567,800 | 12.8% |
| Rank | Player | Team | Salary | Team Payroll | Pct |
| 41 | Fausto Carmona | Cleveland Indians | $6,287,500 | $49,190,566 | 12.8% |
| 42 | Jake Peavy | Chicago White Sox | $16,000,000 | $127,789,000 | 12.5% |
| 43 | Rafael Furcal | Los Angeles Dodgers | $13,000,000 | $104,188,999 | 12.5% |
| 44 | Nick Markakis | Baltimore Orioles | $10,600,000 | $85,304,038 | 12.4% |
| 45 | Javier Vazquez | Florida Marlins | $7,000,000 | $56,944,000 | 12.3% |
| 46 | Carlos Guillen | Detroit Tigers | $12,922,231 | $105,700,231 | 12.2% |
| 47 | Justin Verlander | Detroit Tigers | $12,850,000 | $105,700,231 | 12.2% |
| 48 | David Wright | New York Mets | $14,250,000 | $118,847,309 | 12.0% |
| 49 | CC Sabathia | New York Yankees | $24,285,714 | $202,689,028 | 12.0% |
| 50 | Tim Lincecum | San Francisco Giants | $14,000,000 | $118,198,333 | 11.8% |
| 51 | B.J. Upton | Tampa Bay Rays | $4,825,000 | $41,053,571 | 11.8% |
| 52 | Jason Marquis | Washington Nationals | $7,500,000 | $63,856,928 | 11.7% |
| 53 | Brian Roberts | Baltimore Orioles | $10,000,000 | $85,304,038 | 11.7% |
| 54 | Aramis Ramirez | Chicago Cubs | $14,600,000 | $125,047,329 | 11.7% |
| 55 | Kosuke Fukudome | Chicago Cubs | $14,500,000 | $125,047,329 | 11.6% |
| 56 | Ryan Howard | Philadelphia Phillies | $20,000,000 | $172,976,379 | 11.6% |
| 56 | Roy Halladay | Philadelphia Phillies | $20,000,000 | $172,976,379 | 11.6% |
| 58 | Kyle Lohse | St. Louis Cardinals | $12,187,500 | $105,433,572 | 11.6% |
| 59 | Ryan Doumit | Pittsburgh Pirates | $5,200,000 | $45,047,000 | 11.5% |
| 60 | Aaron Rowand | San Francisco Giants | $13,600,000 | $118,198,333 | 11.5% |
| Rank | Player | Team | Salary | Team Payroll | Pct |
| 61 | Ben Zobrist | Tampa Bay Rays | $4,687,300 | $41,053,571 | 11.4% |
| 62 | Mark Teixeira | New York Yankees | $23,125,000 | $202,689,028 | 11.4% |
| 63 | Victor Martinez | Detroit Tigers | $12,000,000 | $105,700,231 | 11.4% |
| 64 | Jorge de la Rosa | Colorado Rockies | $10,000,000 | $88,148,071 | 11.3% |
| 65 | Brett Myers | Houston Astros | $8,000,000 | $70,694,000 | 11.3% |
| 66 | Hiroki Kuroda | Los Angeles Dodgers | $11,765,724 | $104,188,999 | 11.3% |
| 67 | Aaron Cook | Colorado Rockies | $9,875,000 | $88,148,071 | 11.2% |
| 68 | Randy Wolf | Milwaukee Brewers | $9,500,000 | $85,497,333 | 11.1% |
| 69 | Lyle Overbay | Pittsburgh Pirates | $5,000,000 | $45,047,000 | 11.1% |
| 70 | Joakim Soria | Kansas City Royals | $4,000,000 | $36,126,000 | 11.1% |
| 71 | Chone Figgins | Seattle Mariners | $9,500,000 | $86,524,600 | 11.0% |
| 72 | Adam LaRoche | Washington Nationals | $7,000,000 | $63,856,928 | 11.0% |
| 73 | Mark Buehrle | Chicago White Sox | $14,000,000 | $127,789,000 | 11.0% |
| 74 | Kelly Johnson | Arizona Diamondbacks | $5,850,000 | $53,639,833 | 10.9% |
| 75 | Ryan Dempster | Chicago Cubs | $13,500,000 | $125,047,329 | 10.8% |
| 76 | Scott Rolen | Cincinnati Reds | $8,166,666 | $75,947,134 | 10.8% |
| 77 | Wandy Rodriguez | Houston Astros | $7,500,000 | $70,694,000 | 10.6% |
| 78 | Ricky Nolasco | Florida Marlins | $6,000,000 | $56,944,000 | 10.5% |
| 79 | Dan Uggla | Atlanta Braves | $9,146,942 | $87,002,692 | 10.5% |
| 80 | Josh Beckett | Boston Red Sox | $17,000,000 | $161,762,475 | 10.5% |
| Rank | Player | Team | Salary | Team Payroll | Pct |
| 81 | Jason Kendall | Kansas City Royals | $3,750,000 | $36,126,000 | 10.4% |
| 82 | James Shields | Tampa Bay Rays | $4,250,000 | $41,053,571 | 10.4% |
| 83 | Tim Hudson | Atlanta Braves | $9,000,000 | $87,002,692 | 10.3% |
| 84 | Joe Saunders | Arizona Diamondbacks | $5,500,000 | $53,639,833 | 10.3% |
| 85 | Francisco Rodriguez | New York Mets | $12,166,666 | $118,847,309 | 10.2% |
| 86 | Bronson Arroyo | Cincinnati Reds | $7,666,666 | $75,947,134 | 10.1% |
| 87 | Joe Nathan | Minnesota Twins | $11,250,000 | $112,737,000 | 10.0% |
| 88 | John Lackey | Boston Red Sox | $15,950,000 | $161,762,475 | 9.9% |
| 89 | Alex Rios | Chicago White Sox | $12,500,000 | $127,789,000 | 9.8% |
| 90 | Hunter Pence | Houston Astros | $6,900,000 | $70,694,000 | 9.8% |
| 91 | Joey Votto | Cincinnati Reds | $7,410,655 | $75,947,134 | 9.8% |
| 92 | Chris B. Young | Arizona Diamondbacks | $5,200,000 | $53,639,833 | 9.7% |
| 93 | Billy Butler | Kansas City Royals | $3,500,000 | $36,126,000 | 9.7% |
| 94 | Josh Hamilton | Texas Rangers | $8,750,000 | $92,299,264 | 9.5% |
| 95 | Magglio Ordonez | Detroit Tigers | $10,000,000 | $105,700,231 | 9.5% |
| 96 | Paul Konerko | Chicago White Sox | $12,000,000 | $127,789,000 | 9.4% |
| 96 | Adam Dunn | Chicago White Sox | $12,000,000 | $127,789,000 | 9.4% |
| 98 | Michael Cuddyer | Minnesota Twins | $10,500,000 | $112,737,000 | 9.3% |
| 99 | Jose Reyes | New York Mets | $11,000,000 | $118,847,309 | 9.3% |
| 100 | Roy Oswalt | Philadelphia Phillies | $16,000,000 | $172,976,379 | 9.2% |
July 7th, 2011 at 2:40 pm
[...] Players Making the Highest Percentage of Team Payroll: Neil Paine of B-R lists the players whose salaries represent the biggest chunks of their teams’ payrolls. [...]
July 7th, 2011 at 3:11 pm
Billy Butler makes the list! and yet he would be one of the lowest paid Yankees.
July 7th, 2011 at 3:28 pm
The A's are the only team not represented on Neil's list.
July 7th, 2011 at 3:33 pm
Right, the A's highest-paid Opening Day players were David DeJesus, Josh Willingham, and Mark Ellis (who is no longer with the club). Each stood to make $6,000,000 this year, or 9.0% of Oakland's $66,536,500 payroll.
July 7th, 2011 at 3:39 pm
I was actually quite surprised to see the first Red Sox player (Beckett) at #80 on the list....although I assume both Crawford and AGon will be ahead of him next season.
July 7th, 2011 at 3:39 pm
Yikes. The Mets have 50% of their salary tied up to three players.
July 7th, 2011 at 3:49 pm
Amazing stat. At least 7 of the top 10 players are having below average years and/or are injured. Makes one wonder is it worth it to sign a player who is going to take up a significant chunk of the payroll. Maybe owners will learn something by looking at the top 10...nah.
July 7th, 2011 at 3:55 pm
I believe the Mets have the most players on this list, which is fitting. It's ridiculous that the six players on this list comprise 81.3% of the Mets' total payroll.
July 7th, 2011 at 3:56 pm
Carlos Lee!!
July 7th, 2011 at 4:01 pm
D'Backs have 3 guys making up 31%.
Braves have 4 guys making up 44%.
Orioles have 2 guys making up 24%.
Red Sox have 2 guys making up 20%.
Cubs have 5 guys making up 75%.
White Sox have 5 guys making up 51%.
Reds have 5 guys making up 62%.
Indians have 3 guys making up 55%.
Rockies have 3 guys making up 46%.
Tigers have 5 guys making up 65%.
Marlins have 4 guys making up 46%.
Astros have 4 guys making up 49%.
Royals have 3 guys making up 33%.
Angels have 2 guys making up 32%.
Dodgers have 2 guys making up 24%.
Brewers have 3 guys making up 45%.
Twins have 4 guys making up 53%.
Mets have 6 guys making up 81%.
Yankees have 3 guys making up 39%.
Phillies have 3 guys making up 32%.
Pirates have 4 guys making up 50%.
Padres have 2 guys making up 31%.
Giants have 3 guys making up 39%.
Mariners have 4 guys making up 60%.
Cardinals have 4 guys making up 54%.
Rays have 4 guys making up 46%.
Rangers have 3 guys making up 42%.
Blue Jays have 1 guy making up 13%.
Nationals have 4 guys making up 53%.
I'm not sure what any of this means, but I found it interesting. Oddly enough, when I got to the Braves and saw that they were pretty strong outliers among the first handful of teams, I thought, "Wow... 44%!" Then I hit some of the teams further down the list who blew them right out of the water!
July 7th, 2011 at 4:01 pm
It'd be interesting to compare this to the percentage of a team's WAR these guys individually or collectively account for.
July 7th, 2011 at 4:03 pm
And it's of course worth noting that the biggest albatross on the Mets hasn't appeared in a game since last September.
July 7th, 2011 at 4:11 pm
@11: I was just doing that for my Mets for 2011:
Hitters: Total WAR: 11.5
Jose Reyes: 4.1 (1st, 35% of WAR)
Carlos Beltran: 2.7 (2nd, 23% of WAR)
Jason Bay: 0.9 (5th, 7.8% of WAR)
David Wright: 0.8 (7th, 7% of WAR)
Collectively: 72.8% of WAR
Pitchers: Total WAR: 9.9
Francisco Rodriguez: 1.1 (5th overall, 11% of WAR)
Johan Santana: 0.0 (n/a, 0% of WAR)
If I'm doing the math right, then technically the overall production of these guys allows for their huge contracts, but this is largely because Reyes, and to a lesser extent Beltran, are playing out of their minds.
July 7th, 2011 at 4:32 pm
I'd estimate half of those guys are underachieving, weren't worth (Jason being one) it in the first place, or have been or are currently injured and under performing because of that. The owners simply should have no complaints for anyone else but each other...
July 7th, 2011 at 4:48 pm
Big name missing for Boston: Carl Crawford.
July 7th, 2011 at 4:50 pm
I'm wrong, Crawford does not belong on your list. Sorry!!!!!!
July 7th, 2011 at 5:06 pm
So 64.4% of the Cubs payroll is Fukudome, Soriano, Ramirez, Dempster, and Zambrano. Nice to have that quantified. It would be close to 75% if including Carlos Pena. Disgusting.
July 7th, 2011 at 5:22 pm
Neil,
Oliver Perez should be on this list because the Mets are paying him $12 million dollars this year.
That Carlos Lee contract is just terrible and mind-boggling. Why did hell did the Astros give an over 30 defensively challenged LF/DH a 6 year $100 million dollar contract?
July 7th, 2011 at 5:42 pm
all hail Milton Bradley and Chone Figgins! Mariners are kicking themselves hard right now i'm sure..
July 7th, 2011 at 6:30 pm
Just another reminder that these guys all make way too much money.Sorry,the gravy train is going to be derailing soon.
July 7th, 2011 at 7:00 pm
Evan Longoria? Tulo?
July 7th, 2011 at 7:07 pm
Also, Dejesus makes 6 million for Oakland. He should be on the list, for sure.
July 7th, 2011 at 7:21 pm
[...] at the Baseball-Reference blog, Neil Paine has listed the top 100 salaries as a percentage of a team’s payroll, and Lee holds an edge over Travis Hafner for first [...]
July 7th, 2011 at 8:06 pm
Steve-
Why is that? They make what the market bears. MLB is doing just fine. The gravy train just keeps on chugging along.
July 7th, 2011 at 8:07 pm
Chris @ 21 Evan Longoria made 2 million in 2011 & Troy Tulowitzki made 5.5 million; both comfortably below the 9.2% of team payroll it would take to make this list.
July 7th, 2011 at 8:53 pm
24 You know,I actually have agreed with that argument for years.The numbers seem to be getting more and more obscene though.All the sports I loved as a kid are now over expanded,under talented,overpaid collections of men making exorbitant amounts of money.Just my opinion.What I meant by the gravy train derailing is that tough economic times are coming to America no matter what we do.People are not going to have the disposeable income to pour into sports(not too mention numerous other entertainment options).
July 7th, 2011 at 9:04 pm
I know this is way off topic, but a game a few days ago between the Tigers and Angels seems pretty unique to me. The Verlander - Haren battle was a great game and got me wondering. Verlander was only 1 out away from finishing the game (before he got tossed). When is the last time both teams only used 1 pitcher in a 9-inning game? Is there a way to use Play Index to find this? I would love to see the number of such games each year (or decade) over history.
July 7th, 2011 at 9:14 pm
27 Used to be quite commmon,we called them "pitching duels".You know back in the day when a starter was expected to pitch a complete game,before managers and coaches had to justify their existences(and high salaries) with pitch counts and use of numerous specialists from the bullpen.Just joking sorta.
July 7th, 2011 at 9:39 pm
@ 28 - I know what you mean. I was just thinking that this happens so rarely these days, that the Verlander-Haren duel was quite something.
July 7th, 2011 at 10:38 pm
.The numbers seem to be getting more and more obscene though.All the sports I loved as a kid are now over expanded,under talented,overpaid collections of men making exorbitant amounts of money.
I might be sympathetic to this, if the same claims hadn't been made for the past 130 years.
What I meant by the gravy train derailing is that tough economic times are coming to America no matter what we do.People are not going to have the disposeable income to pour into sports(not too mention numerous other entertainment options).
I think the tough economic times already came. Are they going to get worse? I'm no economist. Seems there will be a lot more to worry about than baseball if they do.
I'll get off your lawn now.
July 7th, 2011 at 11:23 pm
@27, Randy -- FYI, I answered that question which you also posted on my blog:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/blog/archives/12631#comment-127196
July 7th, 2011 at 11:28 pm
Does explain a lot about the Mariners, though. Ichiro, Bradley, Hernandez and Figgins make up 60% of the payroll. Combine the WAR of the three batters and you get a total of -0.7 for this year. Only Felix is in the hunt. Maybe they should write a book?
July 8th, 2011 at 12:05 am
BSK @ 10
Some thoughts on your interesting table. Starting with the premise that:
1. Each team has a limited amount of money available for player salaries;
2. Each team will lose players to injury; and
3. Some of each team's players lost to injury will be the players on the list above (the 'top earners'),
we might be interested to know how much risk each team has invested in their top earners.
We can see this by measuring the top earner's salary against the total team salary (per the original list). We can also do it by measuring the sum of the salaries of the group of top earners on a team against the total team salary (per your list).
Another way to do it, and using your table, is to determine the average proportion of a team's salary that would be lost if one of the team's top earners were lost to injury for the season (= percentage of team salary earned by team's top earners / the number of top earners). Here's the result:
Team
Indians 18.33
Mets 16.20
Angels 16.00
Padres 15.50
Rockies 15.33
Cubs 15.00
Brewers 15.00
Mariners 15.00
Rangers 14.00
Cardinals 13.50
Twins 13.25
Nationals 13.25
Tigers 13.00
Yankees 13.00
Giants 13.00
Blue Jays 13.00
Pirates 12.50
Reds 12.40
Astros 12.25
Orioles 12.00
Dodgers 12.00
Marlins 11.50
Rays 11.50
Braves 11.00
Royals 11.00
Phillies 10.67
Diamondbacks 10.33
White Sox 10.20
Red Sox 10.00
In other words, even though 'only' 55% of the team's salary is tied up in the top earners, the Indians appear to be the most highly-geared. By that I mean that on average, a loss of any of Hafner, Sizemore or Carmona would be a bigger waste of money to the Indians than an average loss any other individual top earner to any other team.
Using the other end of the table, the White Sox have 51% of their team salary tied up in their top earners. That's a greater proportion than 19 other teams, so they're clearly heavily invested at the top of the market. However, their 51% is spread across five guys (Peavy, Buehrle, Konerko, Dunn, Rios), so their average throw-away is 10.20%.
Maybe that's just a long-winded way of saying, "even if you have a lot of money to spend at the top end of town, you'd still be wise spread it around".
(And of course, the 'top earners' are arbitrarily determined by the list cut-off, so this is probably meaningless).
July 8th, 2011 at 8:50 am
[...] Baseball-Reference put out a list of the 100 players making the highest percentage of their team’s payroll. [...]
July 8th, 2011 at 10:20 am
[...] http://www.baseball-reference.com/blog/archives/12686 Posted by Spooty at 10:20 am Daily Links [...]
July 8th, 2011 at 10:30 am
#27. Didn't Marichal and Spahn possibly pitch a mutual 15 inning game at some point. I may have the pitchers wrong. Let me think about it. Somebody else will probably remember.
July 8th, 2011 at 11:09 am
@36 This is the game you're thinking of: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SFN/SFN196307020.shtml
Willie Mays hit a home run off Spahn in the bottom of the 16th to break a scoreless tie, as both Spahn and Marichal went the distance. Spahn, who was forty-two years old, had pitched 27 consecutive scoreless innings to that point. He took his normal turn four days later and pitched a shutout.
July 8th, 2011 at 1:02 pm
30 Ha!I'm 39 but I am an old fart.So stay off my lawn!!
July 8th, 2011 at 1:43 pm
Put Vernon Wells back on the Jays and remove Eric Thames (who I assume is at the minimum) and VW's salary would make up 29.7% of the Toronto payroll. Great trade by Anthopoulos even though Rivera was just released and Francisco (received for Napoli) has been horrible.
July 8th, 2011 at 7:01 pm
[...] an interesting piece on the Baseball Reference blog yesterday, Neil Paine looked at the 100 players making the highest percentage of team payroll, and the Yankees are surprisingly not well represented. A-Rod’s $32 million salary is only [...]
July 8th, 2011 at 7:06 pm
I'm late to the party here, Neil, but great blog.
@39
David, agreed about Anthopoulos finding a dancing partner for Vernon Wells even if Juan Rivera is designated for assignment. That was a shrewd move by AA.
@3 @4
Kahuna & Neil P., where was the origin of moneyball again? Please refresh my memory. 🙂