We all know that in Major League Baseball money talks – and it talks pretty darn loud. If you don’t believe me, look up Albert Pujols’ salary and you’ll start to understand.
Over the past 10 years the teams with the higher salaries have dominated the league, and throughout history the trend has been that the team with the bigger payroll wins the World Series.
Last year, the St. Louis Cardinals had a payroll of just under $100 million. The year before that the San Francisco Giants did too. And in the years before that the Yankees and the Red Sox had payrolls upwards of $160 million.
And it makes sense, really; the bigger the payroll, the better the players, and therefore the better the team.
So if that’s the case, who are the contenders and the pretenders for the league and World Series in 2012?
Note that because teams are still in contract and payment negotiations with players, the order of the list is subject to change slightly, but looking just at the payroll for all 30 Major League Baseball teams, here’s where they stand in likelihood of winning the World Series this year:
1. New York Yankees
Current payroll for 2012 — $207,525,000.
2. Philadelphia Phillies
Current payroll for 2012 — $166,438,058.
3. Boston Red Sox
Current payroll for 2012 — $151,650,119.
4. Los Angeles Angels
Current payroll for 2012 — $145,820,000.
5. Detroit Tigers
Current payroll for 2012 — $127,575,000.
6. San Francisco Giants
Current payroll for 2012 — $126,708,333.
7. St. Louis Cardinals
Current payroll for 2012 — $106,612,500.
8. Texas Rangers
Current payroll for 2012 — $92,625,000.
9. Minnesota Twins
Current payroll for 2012 — $91,900,000.
10. Chicago White Sox
Current payroll for 2012 — $91,250,000.
11. Los Angeles Dodgers
Current payroll for 2012 — $90,425,333.
12. Chicago Cubs
Current payroll for 2012 — $89,972,500.
13. New York Mets
Current payroll for 2012 — $87,487,500.
14. Miami Marlins
Current payroll for 2012 — $84,485,000.
15. Atlanta Braves
Current payroll for 2012 — $83,710,667.
16. Milwaukee Brewers
Current payroll for 2012 — $83,470,833.
17. Cincinnati Reds
Current payroll for 2012 — $82,289,167.
18. Colorado Rockies
Current payroll for 2012 — $74,003,571.
19. Toronto Blue Jays
Current payroll for 2012 — $72,675,000.
20. Seattle Mariners
Current payroll for 2012 — $72,563,000.
21. Washington Nationals
Current payroll for 2012 — $67,048,929.
22. Arizona Diamondbacks
Current payroll for 2012 — $61,276,333.
23. Tampa Bay Rays
Current payroll for 2012 — $55,516,000.
24. Baltimore Orioles
Current payroll for 2012 — $52,705,333.
25. Cleveland Indians
Current payroll for 2012 — $51,810,000.
26. Houston Astros
Current payroll for 2012 — $51,700,000.
27. Kansas City Royals
Current payroll for 2012 — $49,332,500.
28. San Diego Padres
Current payroll for 2012 — $46,932,500.
29. Oakland Athletics
Current payroll for 2012 — $38,765,500.
30. Pittsburgh Pirates
Current payroll for 2012 — $34,837,000.
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