The $1 million plateau
There is some dispute about which player signed the first $1 million per season contract. Some say Pittsburgh’s Dave Parker did so when he signed a five-year, $5 million deal with the Pirates. But the deal was incentive-laden, and Parker never actually earned $1 million in any of his five seasons playing on that contract.
Thus the distinction falls to Nolan Ryan who, following the 1979 season, became a free agent. Ryan signed with the Houston Astros, who paid him $4.5 million over four seasons. He earned $1.125 million in 1980, the contract’s first year. The best available sources indicate that Parker actually earned $775,000 in both 1979 and 1980.
But even Ryan’s breakthrough of the $1 million milestone doesn’t mark the beginning of the acceleration of player salaries. Adjusted for inflation, that $1 million equates to only $3.74 million today.
Who else will earn $3.74 million for playing major league baseball in 2023? Among others, San Diego reliever Luis Garcia ($3.75 million). Garcia earns that on the basis of a 10-season career in various teams’ bullpens, during which he has a 19-24 record, a 4.05 ERA, 11 saves and 424 appearances covering 409 innings of work.
Garcia signed a two-year deal with San Diego in December of 2021. He was 4-6 with a 3.39 ERA and 3 saves in 64 appearances (61 innings) last season. Obviously we have not yet arrived at Nolan Ryan standards.