My dad, who reads my blog because he has to, gave me a suggestion on what to write about next. “How about the Minnesota Twins, who are moving into a new outdoor stadium for the first time since 1982. Nothing would please Twins fans like hosting the World Series in the first year of playing at Target Field!”
(Keith Allison on Flickr)
His effort to be “just another commentor” and not my dad was poor at best, especially since he used his real last name. Way to go Dad. And yes, you guessed it, he and I share a love for the Minnesota Twins. So rather than bore anyone with a 2010 season preview of the Twins and their chances to make it to the World Series (which I think are pretty good, by the way), I’m going to take a different approach. Let’s talk about Joe Mauer.
The Twins all-star, all-world catcher already has won three batting titles and was named 2009 AL MVP. He has won as many batting titles by the age of 26 as all other catchers combined in the history of baseball. Ernie Lombardi won two titles in 1938 and 1942, and Bubbles Hargrave won in 1926.
Mauer’s contract was in its final year heading into Spring Training, until the Twins signed him recently to an eight-year, $184 million deal. That’s great news for Twins fans and every other fan of teams not named the Yankees or Red Sox.
It got me thinking about baseball contracts in general and what the salaries of yesterday’s stars would be in today’s dollars. Now, I love numbers, but this comparison is a little out of my league. Thankfully, there’s a website that does the work for you.
It breaks down money comparisons in many different ways, but the one I thought was most appropriate was the Share of Gross Domestic Product. This can help determine how economically powerful rich people are. It’s a measurement of how big their wealth is compared to the economy they live in.
So, let’s take a look, shall we?
Babe Ruth
In 1927 for the Yankees, Ruth put together one of the best hitting seasons in baseball history. Three years later, reporters asked Ruth why his salary ($80,000 at the time) was more than President Hoover’s $75,000. Ruth said “What the hell has Hoover got to do with it? Besides, I had a better year than he did.”
1927 salary: $70,000.
His stats: 158 runs scored, 60 home runs, 164 RBI and a .356 batting avg.
Share of GDP salary today: $10,446,215
2009 Yankees player with similar salary: Outfielder Hideki Matsui
2009 salary: $13,000,000
Stats: 62 runs scored, 28 home runs, 90 RBI and a .274 batting avg.
Ty Cobb signs a contract in 1908.
Ty Cobb
Though widely regarded as one of the biggest jerks ever to play major league baseball, Cobb is still regarded as one of the best hitters for average ever. He won an unmatched 11 batting titles while with the Detroit Tigers. “The great trouble with baseball today is that most of the players are in the game for the money and that’s it, not for the love of it, the excitement of it, the thrill of it,” —Ty Cobb. I wonder what he would say now?
1911 salary: $9,000
Stats: 147 runs, 8 HR, 127 RBI, 83 SB, .420 avg.
Share of GDP salary today: $3,736,510
2009 Tigers player with similar salary: Outfielder Curtis Granderson
2009 salary: $3,500,000
Stats: 91 runs, 30 HR, 71 RBI, 20 SB, .249 avg.
Hank Aaron
Until the Stupidity, er Steroid, era, Hammerin’ Hank held the all-time record for home runs in a career. Then Barry Bonds and his ridiculously large noggin came around and passed him. In 1957 with Milwaukee, Aaron won the league MVP award, leading the league in runs, homers, and RBI.
1957 salary: $22,500
Stats: 118 runs, 44 HR, 132 RBI, .322 avg.
Share of GDP salary today: $695,748
2009 Brewers player with similar salary: Craig Counsell
2009 salary: $1,000,000
Stats: 61 runs, 4 HR, 39 RBI, .285 avg.
To say the great players of the past were underpaid is like saying Pluto is kinda far from Earth. I wonder if former players are bitter that today’s mediocre players receive so much compensation. I would be.
By the way, back to Mauer’s contract, here’s how his $20 million a year would compare to the best catchers ever.
Johnny Bench: 1977 salary $220,000 = $1,545,148 in 2009
Yogi Berra: 1961 salary $65,000 = $1,701,144 in 2009
Mickey Cochrane: 1934 salary $40,000 = $8,641,333 in 2009
I still think Mauer’s worth it!
Sources: Baseball Almanac for Hall of Famer salaries
USA Today for current player salaries
By the way, this commercial is exactly what it’s like for Twins fans.
