MLB Financials by Year

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1989 Baseball Payrolls

This is a team-by-team payroll listings for the 1989 season. The league per-player average was $505,572 and the average team payroll was $14,237,877. You can also view figures for 1988 or 1990 and individual player salaries here. Other financial information is available for many seasons using the tool on the right.

1989 PAYROLLS 1989 PAYROLLS 1988/1990 RANK TEAM AVERAGE TOTAL 1 New York Mets  $865,741   $21,300,878  2 Los Angeles Dodgers  $696,988   $21,147,506  3 Boston Red Sox  $674,078   $19,064,885  4 New York Yankees  $567,144   $18,482,251  5 Oakland Athletics  $723,623   $17,722,999  6 San Francisco Giants  $696,988   $17,255,083  7 Kansas City Royals  $586,261   $17,101,047  8 Houston Astros  $569,070   $16,761,625  9 St. Louis Cardinals  $561,856   $16,077,333  10 Toronto Blue Jays  $606,806   $16,016,666  11 California Angels  $586,171   $15,362,333  12 Montreal Expos  $550,590   $15,141,222  13 Minnesota Twins  $556,323   $14,303,000  14 Detroit Tigers  $506,246   $14,147,763  15 San Diego Padres  $523,363   $14,004,000  16 Pittsburgh Pirates  $399,929   $12,463,000  17 Cincinnati Reds  $394,303   $12,257,000  18 Chicago Cubs  $427,937   $12,167,000  19 Milwaukee Brewers  $363,517   $11,901,500  20 Baltimore Orioles  $324,636   $10,944,499  21 Texas Rangers  $373,875   $10,831,781  22 Cleveland Indians  $342,391   $10,349,500  23 Atlanta Braves  $339,246   $9,065,334  24 Chicago White Sox  $310,061   $8,981,094  25 Seattle Mariners  $299,183   $8,702,500  26 Philadelphia Phillies  $298,552   $8,633,000

Sources: Associated Press December 5, 1991/Major League Baseball.

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.