In a game where image is heavily compared to the past, the minute intricacies, and similarities are visible throughout all parts of the game.
The history of Word Series winning-shares is limited with the amount of information out there, but courtesy of the Baseball Digest archives, we can get a better understanding;
“Beginning in 1969 winner and loser shares include League Championship Series. Loser’s shares in 1903, 1905 and 1907 and winners’ shares in 1906 and 1907 include club owners’ slices, which were added to their teams’ players’ pool.
Under a voluntary arrangement made by the club owners, the players shared in the revenue from Game 5 of the 1910 World Series as compensation for the lowest-attended among the first four contests.
Players on second, third and fourth-place teams shared in receipts for the first time in 1918. From 1919-1925, only players on second and third-place teams shared in receipts, but fourth-place clubs were included again in 1926.”
How to calculate winning shares, in this, today’s version of the game;
“Each postseason, the players’ pool, formed from 60 percent of gate receipts from the first three games of the Division Series and 60 percent of gate receipts from the first four games of the League Championship Series and the World Series, is divided among 12 teams: World Series participants, LCS and Division Series runners-up and the four regular-season second-place teams that are not Wild Cards”
Rumblings coming out of the Commissioner’s office are saying the New York Yankees winning share is valued at roughly $400,000. To put that into perspective, that is nearly the salary of three current Yankees’, Joba Chamberlain ($432,575), Brett Gardner ($414,100), and Phil Coke ($403,300).
Up until this season, the 2006 St. Louis Cardinals had a hand in being part of the highest winning shares of all time; $362,173.07. The Cardinals defeated the Detroit Tigers in what was the lowest rated World Series ever, a series that garnered a 10.1 rating. It did not take long for the lowest rating to yet again be lowered. The 2008 edition featured the Philadelphia Phillies defeating the surprising Tampa Bay Rays in five games. A 8.4 rating, that translates into approximately 13,635,000 viewers, a number so low you can’t really comprehend it until you compare it to, say, a highly anticipated return of a quarterback to Green Bay.
FOX Sports posted a huge 17.4/32 average household ratings/share, with 29.8 million viewers to set many impressive benchmarks for FOX Sports.
We all get the point. People want to see the marquee matchups. Combine those match-ups with favorable ratings, and equally favorable finish times (before 11pm est.), gives the owners, and the fans what they have been yearning for.
Up until this year, the winning shares of the previous two winners (Boston Red Sox / Philadelphia Phillies) have not matched winnings of the Cardinals, that is, until now.
The amounts stagger the mind when you look at the first shares from 1903. The total winners’ pool was $50,000 with the winner’s share being $1,182.00.
Viewing this strictly from a 2009 Yankee standpoint, makes you shake your head.
Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera, in terms of tenure (Jorge Posada was not on the 1996 World Series roster), are the longest serving teammates through the Yankee dynasty that began in 1996. In 14 years, and 13 of them in the post-season, the heart and soul of the franchise have each made roughly $2,120,000 from October to November baseball.
Not a bad deal!
Devon Teeple is an author for the Business of Sports Network, which includes the Biz of Baseball, the Biz of Football, the Biz of Basketball and the Biz of Hockey. He is a former professional baseball player with the River City Rascals & Gateway Grizzlies.
Devon is a former student within Sports Management Worldwide’s Baseball General Manager Class. Devon is the founder of The GM’s Perspective and is a intern with The Football Outsiders and contributor with the Plymouth River Eels.
Currently, Devon is a Branch Manager at a financial institution in Southern Ontario Canada. He can be reached at devon@thegmsperspective.com or devon@businessofsportsnetwork.com
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THE TOP 12 PLAYERS ON THE YANKEES OPENING DAY ROSTER MADE $72,099 PER GAME DURING THE REGULAR SEASON. $400,000 FOR THE 15 GAMES IT TOOK TO WIN THE WORLD SERIES IS A PRETTY BIG PAY CUT. LESS THAN $27,000 PER GAME. THE 2005 WHITE SOX DID BETTER $324,532 FOR 12 GAMES.
Technically speaking you can say it is a pay cut, but for those players like Coke, Gardner, and Chamberlain, $400,000 for a couple weeks work is not to shabby