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 Frugal forces Low-budget Reds, A's hoping prudence leads to postseason
Posted: Tuesday August 17, 1999 10:28 PM
By Desmond M. Wallace, CNN/SI Oakland and Cincinnati may be considered small markets in baseball's economic battlefield, but there is nothing small about the numbers both teams are putting up in the win column. Despite their relatively paltry team payrolls, the Reds and A's are making a serious run at the postseason. At the start of the season, it seemed that many baseball observers automatically pegged the deep-pocketed Dodgers and Orioles as postseason contenders. But a funny thing happened on the way to the World Series payoff. This season, the Reds ($33.2 million) and A's ($22.8 million) rank 22nd and 26th, respectively, in the majors in team payroll.
No team that has won the World Series in at least the previous five seasons ranked any lower than fourth in the majors in team salaries in their respective title years. Last season, the budget-busting Yankees doled out $65 million en route to their 24th championship. And Houston's $48 million payroll was the lowest of any of the playoff teams. Yet, the Reds are fighting for the National League Central title and the A's are in thick of the wild-card race in the American League. Even with the tremendous inflation of baseball salaries, Oakland would have the lowest payroll of any playoff team in seven years. And since their matchup in the 1990 World Series, the Reds and A's have found different ways to win. In 1999, their playoff drives have largely been buoyed by the efforts of some of the lower-paid stars in the game. Through Tuesday, Cincinnati second baseman Pokey Reese, who will make $270,000 this year, was batting .283. Team stolen-base leader Mike Cameron will make $295,000 in '99. All-Star first baseman Sean Casey, who is hitting .344, will earn just $220,000 this season.
Oakland left fielder Ben Grieve already has hit 20 homers this year. His $300,000 salary would seem to make the rising star quite a bargain. Miguel Tejada, who ranks fourth among AL shortstops in fielding percentage, earns just $230K. Conversely, Los Angeles and Baltimore, who between them have payrolls of nearly $158 million, currently trail their division leaders in the standings by a combined 36 games. While generally speaking, it takes money to compete for a major league pennant, Cincinnati and Oakland have shown that more than anything else, it takes talent and a desire to win. Just take one look at their places in the standings and not their place on the salary totem pole.
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