85 Million

I actually did this about a week ago on another web site, but I figured I would put it here too.

According to the USA Today, the Sox payroll for 2005 was $123,505,125, while the Yankees came in at $208,306,817. That’s a difference of approximately 85 million dollars, and incidentally is more than the payrolls of all but 9 other Major League teams.

Even though both payrolls are way too high (IMO), the Yankees spent almost 85 million more than us to see the same result (knocked out in the first round of the playoffs). I thought it would be interesting to see just what all of that additional money got them in the playoffs:

Randy Johnson $16,000,000, 0 wins, 6.14 ERA
Steve Karsay $6,000,000, Did not play, released in May
Mike Mussina $19,000,000, Lost deciding game, knocked out in 3rd after giving up 5 runs

Paul Quantrill $3,000,000, Did not play, released in June
Alex Rodriguez $26,000,000, 2 hits, 0 RBI in 5 games
Felix Rodriguez $3,150,000, Did not play, did not make ALDS roster
Mike Stanton $4,000,000, Did not play, released in June
Tony Womack $2,000,000, Did not get an at-bat, could not be trusted
Jaret Wright $5,666,667, Did not play, did not make ALDS roster
Total $84,801,692,

So, at one time, King George was good at buying World Series Championships, but now all he seems to be good at buying is crap.