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 What price success? Orioles, Dodgers bucking the big-market theory
Posted: Wednesday July 14, 1999 11:28 PM
By Ryan Hunt, CNN/SI These days, $2,191,730.06 can buy you a lot of things. For the Baltimore Orioles, it has been the average price of one win this season. As the season heads into the second half, the Orioles and Los Angeles Dodgers are well aware of what that kind of money isn't guaranteed to buy -- a championship. And despite the free-spending ways of each franchise, both reside in last place in their respective divisions. That's not exactly money well spent. The Orioles have a payroll of more than $78.9 million. For Peter Angelos' cash, the team has 36 wins at the All-Star break. Baltimore is looking up at Tampa Bay in the AL East standings, a team with a payroll of more than $45 million less than the O's. And for their ineptitude, the Orioles have the distinction of being the least efficient club in the majors, in terms of dollars per victory.
The Yankees are the only American League team with a higher payroll than the Orioles. Even New York is paying an average of $1.635 million per victory this season. But with World Series rings on their fingers, the price is a little more tolerable. In the National League, the Dodgers are by far the least efficient. Los Angeles has averaged $2,032,460.33 for its 39 victories. For the Dodgers, it all comes down to this: Kevin Brown signed the first $100 million contract in baseball history this past offseason. At the break, he has a 9-6 record -- the same mark as Texas' Mike Morgan, who signed for $600,000 over the winter. In contrast, the Montreal Expos are the most efficient club in the majors. The Expos, who draw an average of 9,073 fans a game, had an Opening Day payroll of a little more than $16.1 million. For their cash, they have 33 wins -- three less than the Orioles - which averages $490,166.67 per victory. But for the Expos to average the same cost per win as the Orioles, they would have to be 7-76.
While Montreal is out of contention, three clubs that didn't break the bank are in the thick of the playoff races at the halfway point. Cincinnati is tied for the NL Central lead. Only Cleveland, Atlanta and the Yankees have higher winning percentages. But the Reds are averaging $676,791.04 for their wins - more than $500,000 less than any of those big-market giants. Philadelphia, meanwhile, is only 7 1/2 games out despite having an Opening Day payroll of $30.2 million, breaking down to $658,641.30 per victory. And Oakland's bargain busters are averaging $540,333.32 per win -- good enough for second place in the AL West. But, alas, for the Orioles and Dodgers, the phrase "bargain basement" is nothing more than an oxymoron.
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