MLB Financials by Year

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1978 Baseball Payrolls

This is a team-by-team payroll listings for the 1978 season. The league per-player average was $100,357 and the average team payroll was $2,508,923. You can also view figures for 1977 or 1979. Other financial information is available for many seasons using the tool on the right.

1978 PAYROLLS 1978 PAYROLLS 1977/1979 RANK TEAM AVERAGE TOTAL 1 New York Yankees  $188,880   $4,722,000  2 Philadelphia Phillies  $159,039   $3,975,975  3 Boston Red Sox  $147,803   $3,695,075  4 California Angels  $141,814   $3,545,350  5 Los Angeles Dodgers  $135,884   $3,397,100  6 Cincinnati Reds  $132,847   $3,321,175  7 Pittsburgh Pirates  $127,852   $3,196,300  8 Texas Rangers  $121,244   $3,031,100  9 San Diego Padres  $106,759   $2,668,975  10 Kansas City Royals  $106,532   $2,663,300  11 San Francisco Giants  $106,346   $2,658,650  12 Montreal Expos  $105,589   $2,639,725  13 Chicago Cubs  $96,222   $2,405,550  14 Milwaukee Brewers  $91,986   $2,299,650  15 St. Louis Cardinals  $89,333   $2,233,325  16 New York Mets  $86,235   $2,155,875  17 Baltimore Orioles  $82,660   $2,066,500  18 Chicago White Sox  $81,321   $2,033,025  19 Cleveland Indians  $77,013   $1,925,325  20 Houston Astros  $70,558   $1,763,950  21 Atlanta Braves  $69,699   $1,742,475  22 Toronto Blue Jays  $63,593   $1,589,825  23 Detroit Tigers  $61,012   $1,525,300  24 Seattle Mariners  $58,484   $1,462,100  25 Minnesota Twins  $51,317   $1,282,925  26 Oakland Athletics  $49,258   $1,231,450

Source: The Sporting News March 31, 1979.

Baseball Economics sources/bibliography:
Business of Baseball, The by Albert Powers
Baseball, Inc.: The National Pastime As Big Business by Frank P. Jozsa Jr.
Baseball and Billions: A Probing Look Inside the Big Business of Our National Pastime by Andrew Zimbalist
Built to Win: Inside Stories and Leadership Strategies from Baseball's Winningest GM by John Schuerholz
Free Agency and Competitive Balance in Baseball by Ronald W. Cox
The Formation, Sometimes Absorption and Mostly Inevitable Demise of 18 Professional Baseball Organizations, 1871 to Present by David Pietrusza.
Getting in the Game: Inside Baseball's Winter Meetings by Josh Lewin
State of Baseball Management: Decision-Making in the Best and Worst Teams, 1993-2003 by Scott Barzilla
In the Best Interests of Baseball? The Revolutionary Reign of Bud Selig by Andrew Zimbalist
May the Best Team Win: Baseball Economics and Public Policy, by Andrew Zimbalist
The Inside Pitch ... and More: Baseball's Business and the Public Trust by Gene A. Budig
Early Innings: A Documentary History of Baseball, 1825-1908 by Dean A. Sullivan.
Middle Innings: A Documentary History of Baseball, 1900-1948 by Dean A. Sullivan.
Late Innings: A Documentary History of Baseball 1945-1972 by Dean A. Sullivan
Total Baseball: The Ultimate Baseball Encyclopedia by John Thorn, et al.