NEW YORK – Major League Baseball payrolls fell from $ 4,222 to $ 1,750 million last season, shortened by the pandemic. And the Los Angeles Dodgers, who went on to win the World Series, recorded the highest figure, with $ 98.6 million.
The amount spent by the Dodgers was the lowest in 20 years for the highest paid team.
The base salaries for the salary of 40 players fell to 1.54 billion dollars, according to the information sent on Friday by Major League Baseball to the teams and obtained by The Associated Press. The number has dropped from $ 3.99 billion paid in 2019.
The proportional shares of the bonuses for signing contracts totaled $ 120.6 million, a slight decrease from the previous figure of $ 122.8 million. Accumulated bonuses fell from $ 26.9 million to $ 25 million.
Meanwhile, termination payments for non-contracted renewal alternatives in 2021 totaled $ 58.2 million. It is more than double the $ 26.9 million observed for options that were not exercised in 2020, which was evidence of cost reductions amid loss of revenue by clubs.
The Dodgers won the World Series for the first time since 1988. They were the team with the highest salary, something that had not happened since 2017, when they led this category for the fourth consecutive year.
The total for the highest paid team had not been so low since 2000, when the New York Yankees paid a total of $ 95.3 million.
This time, the Yankees recorded a salary of 83.6 million dollars and were second in this criterion for the second consecutive season.
In the same city, the New York Mets were third, with $ 83.4 million last season under the Wilpon and Katz families as club owners. In the 2019 season, the Mets ranked 12th on the list.
This third place was the biggest team in 2009, when it was in second place. The Mets were acquired last month by fund manager Steven Cohen, who wants to raise the salary for next year.
The Houston Astros was fourth with $ 81.4 million, finishing eighth. The Chicago Cubs followed, falling from third to $ 80.6 million.
The San Diego Padres placed sixth with $ 76.3 million, followed by the Washington Nationals with $ 76.2 million; Texas Rangers, at $ 75.2, and Los Angeles Angels, at $ 69.9.