MLB Payrolls

		Highest Payroll ($ millions)
1		New York Yankees	$ 209
2		New York Mets	$ 138
3		Detroit Tigers	$ 138
4		**Boston Red Sox	$ 133
5		**Chicago White Sox	$ 121
6		**Los Angeles Angels	$ 119
7		**Los Angeles Dodgers	$ 119
8		**Chicago Cubs	$ 118
9		Seattle Mariners	$ 118
10		Atlanta Braves	$ 102
		Lowest Payrolls
1		Florida Marlins	$ 22
2		**Tampa Bay Rays	$ 44
3		Oakland Athletics	$ 48
4		Pittsburgh Pirates	$ 49
5		Washington Nationals	$ 55
6		Minnesota Twins	$ 57
7		Kansas City Royals	$ 58
8		Arizona Diamondbacks	$ 66
9		Baltimore Orioles	$ 67
10		Texas Rangers	$ 68

** Playoff team. Other teams are Milwaukee ($81 million) and Philadephia ($98 million).

There is a case here that that Tampa Bay Rays are the best managed team in baseball right now. Is it a coincidence that Wall Street's own Stu Sternberg is the managing partner of the team?

John Henry, another money manager, bought the Red Sox in 2002 and has won 2 World Series titles. No other team has won more than 1 title since his purchase. Sure, financiers have too much hubris and their questionable leveraging and valuation practices are huge black eyes on the industry. But they seem to be succeeding in baseball, at least relative to the owners who inherited their teams or who came from other walks of life.

A final tidbit: the New York Yankees' non-starting pitchers account for $39 million, almost double the entire Marlins payroll.