Commentary
At cost-effective baseball, Twins win -- and Yankees finish dead last
by Dane SmithForget the actual scores of last weekend's ALDS playoff games between the Minnesota Twins and the New York Yankees -- especially since we lost -- and consider instead the cost-effectiveness competition. That contest is over, actually, and the Yankees will never catch our Minnesota Twins.
Comparing wins against total team payroll, our beloved and humble, self-effacing, team-oriented, egalitarian Twins are first among teams that made it to the playoffs. And those dang-blasted, individualistic, egotistical, rich and overbearing Yankees are dead last.
The Twins rank slightly ahead of the Colorado Rockies and the St. Louis Cardinals as the most cost-effective of the eight teams in the playoffs this year, not counting playoff wins and losses. Let's doff our caps to owner Jim Pohlad and manager Ron Gardenhire for getting the biggest baseball bang for the buck.
Last by a long, long ways, and in a league by themselves for extravagance, are the arrogant and presumptuous Yankees, who stand for the economic aristocracy and much of what is wrong in America.
Remember, all that Wall Street greed that wrecked our economy occurred just a few miles from their brand new billion-dollar ballpark in the Bronx. (Next spring we'll have a new park too, much more reasonable in total cost, and publicly owned.)
Look at the stats for the playoff teams, drawn from Massachusetts blogger Matt Sly's up-to-date analysis of Major League Baseball statistics.
I personally have been a Yankees hater since about 1958, when the overpaid overlords of baseball beat my Milwaukee Braves in the World Series, but I have not been lonely during that time.
Thousands of us progressive, egalitarian Minnesotans have resented the elitist Yankees for decades. We've always been rankled by their hollow claim to dominance. They thrive in a phony meritocracy where the field really is not level at all. They hit all those home runs, but as the numbers show, they were born on third base.
Whether baseball fans or not, fans of politics will find echoes of some of their favorite themes here.
On the one hand, the Yankees achieve a measure of success by investing huge amounts of money toward their goal, which undercuts the classic conservative view that we can't solve every problem by throwing money at it.
On the other hand, progressives are often skeptical of those who insist on looking for efficiencies and accountability to avoid any increase in spending. There is no denying that the Twins have found ways to deliver wins for less money.
In the end, baseball, like politics, is the art of the possible. The Yankees' success would be impossible -- it's absurd to contemplate, really -- without all the other teams. Let them play by themselves and let's see how much money they end up with.
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Dane Smith is the president of Growth & Justice, a self-described progressive think tank that focuses on state and local tax and budget issues.
Comments (6)
My condolences on your loss. I hope you have enjoyed the revenue sharing that was made possible by the high TV ratings, attendance money, and licensing generated by the hated Yankees.
I have always liked the Twins. They played inspired baseball. But all the money in the world won't avoid sloppy baserunning and poor pitching out of the bull pen. Yankee fans know this because we have suffered similar fates.
I just don't see how the
Congrats, Minnesota! The first line said it all. "Forget the actual scores of last weekend's ALDS playoff games between the Minnesota Twins and the New York Yankees --"
Now go start a league using your parameters an see how much revenue is generated. Keep it real...
Tsk, tsk. How could you do this article (opinion or no) and not mention MLB's revenue sharing plan? That seems deceitful. The Twins receive millions each year from revenue sharing, while the Yankees pay millions each year. MLB does not require the teams to spend the money they receive on payroll. The Twins would probably be gone without it. Essentially, you are blaming the Yankees for making money and then spending said money on players. I think this system is fair; it's not quite as socialist as the NFL's plan, but it is what keeps the Yankees from "playing themselves." Ahh yes, the great Yankees-Twins rivalry. What would we do without that? How much did the Red Sox spend this year on payroll? ($121 million). Arguably, the Red Sox got much less from their payroll than the Yankees did.
PS-Would a higher payroll help the Twins learn the fundamentals needed to beat the Yankees? I don't think so.
I wish we could afford to buy up all the talent and not have to take a risk. Keeping it real? Too bad those $2000 Yank seats couldn't sell.
On the field it is the players who win games, and as Gardy said,"Nobody on the field plays with their wallet in their pocket". However, the Yankees organization makes up for savvy scouting and player development by buying the talent that other teams have developed, cough....Joe Mauer... Revenue sharing is great, but it doesn't change the fact that the Yankee payroll is 3x that of the Twins. Digest that for a second. That allows the Yankees to go buy sabathia and teixera in the off-season, while retaining a-rod, jeter, rivera etc. The Twins on the other hand have to be strategic and don't have the luxury of signing all their best players. I agree that in the end it is the players that win the games. But you're kidding yourself if you think that payroll doesn't hedge the bet.
Nobody complained about the Yankees' payroll when it was higher AND they didn't win. As they should! Sure, they puts the odds in their favor, but in a time where teams are owned by billionaires wealthier than the Steinbrenners *cough* Pohlads *cough* why don't more teams, instead of collecting the luxury tax for themselves and crying small market poverty? Instead we have a new outdoor stadium *brr, sigh* bought by the taxpayers with a Target logo on top while HHH's name is taken off the dome in a sign of horrible disrespect for his family.
I was at game 3 of the ALDS to find nearly every Twins reference already removed from the Metrodome, including Kirby Puckett. Heresy! At least the Yankees both kept their name and took their icons to the new stadium.
Consider playoff wins into your cost-effective formula instead and you'll catch yourself dividing by zero where the Twins are concerned.
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