The Price of a Win in Baseball: The Big Spenders
3. Chicago Cubs (356 wins, $629.3MM payroll, $1.768MM per win)
Reid Compton-USA TODAY Sports
Let’s get the bad news out of the way first. The Cubs’ 356 wins are the second least – to the Houston Astros (312). Only in 2009 have the Cubs finished a season over .500 (83-78). They have finished in 5th place in each of the last four seasons, with 2013’s finish residing as the NL Central’s cellar team. The Cubs also have posted an opening day payroll in excess of $100MM in each of the past five years.
Granted, the club has managed to shed some payroll in trading Alfonso Soriano, Matt Garza, and Scott Feldman among other deals.
The good news? The payroll doesn’t look like it will approach $100MM for 2014 (and for the first time since 2007) with Cot’s currently showing the team has committed $70.1MM, and Baseball Reference showing an estimate of $77.8MM.
Still, the Cubs will most likely keep paying over $1MM per win for 2014, but that “cost” should take a bit of a fall.
Breakdown:
| Cubs | Payroll | Wins |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | $106,837,810 | 66 |
| 2012 | $109,316,000 | 61 |
| 2011 | $134,004,000 | 71 |
| 2010 | $144,359,000 | 75 |
| 2009 | $134,809,000 | 83 |
| TOTALS | $629,325,810 | 356 |
| $/WIN | $1,767,769 |