1. I just wanted to see who spent the most money back then.
One day, I suddenly wondered:
Which team in Major League Baseball paid its players the most in 2004?
You always hear people say, “The New York Yankees rely on spending money.”
But is it really that exaggerated, or are people just saying that?
I decided not to just listen to others, but to check the actual data myself.
So I turned on my computer and searched online for “2004 MLB team salaries.”
I wanted to see how much each team spent on player salaries that year.
2. I found the data, but I was shocked
I found a website called “Baseball Reference” that has a lot of old data.
It actually had a list of the total salaries for each team in 2004.
I looked down the list, and the first one was the New York Yankees.
The number that jumped out at me was $184 million.
I was stunned.
That’s not a small amount.
Even in 2004, that was a huge sum of money.
It’s equivalent to the annual income of many companies today.
I continued looking at the other teams:
- Boston Red Sox: approximately $127 million
- New York Mets: approximately $100 million
- Atlanta Braves: less than $90 million
These are all well-known powerhouse teams that spend a lot of money.
But compared to the Yankees, they fall far short.
The Yankees spent nearly $60 million more than the Red Sox,
which is equivalent to hiring an entire mid-level team.
3. Looking further down the list, the gap is even more frightening
I originally thought that the top teams were all about the same in terms of money.
But when I looked at the teams in the middle and lower ranks, I realized what “a world of difference” really means.
For example:
- Tampa Bay Devilfish: only $29 million
- Milwaukee Brewers: approximately $27 million
- Montreal Expos (the predecessor of the Washington Nationals): around $38 million
You didn’t misread that.
The Yankees spend over six times more than the Tampa Bay Rays.
That means their annual payroll could support six teams like the Tampa Bay Rays.
It’s like you make $5,000 a month, while someone else makes $30,000,
and they say they’re “about the same” as you.
The Montreal team had it even worse.
They struggled to even cover basic operations, paid their players low salaries, and no one paid attention to the team.
In the end, they moved away and became the Washington Nationals.
4. What is the average salary? The Yankees far exceed everyone else
I also looked up the average salary for that year in the league.
When you add up all the teams and divide by 30,
the average amount spent per team is between $60 million and $70 million.
What does this mean?
The Yankees’ $184 million isn’t just “a little higher than average,”
it’s more than double.
Let me give you an analogy:
If the average score in a class is 70,
and someone scores 184—that’s not just excellent,
it’s not even in the same exam.
5. Why can the Yankees spend so much money?
You might ask: Where do they get all this money?
The reason is actually quite simple:
- Large city, large fan base
New York is one of the largest cities in the United States, with high television broadcast fees, ticket sales, and sponsorships. - Strong revenue-generating stadium
The Yankees have their own home stadium, where they sell tickets, food, and souvenirs, generating a very stable income. - They have a long history and are very famous
They are one of the most successful teams in baseball history, having won 27 World Series championships.
Fans are willing to spend money to support them, and advertisers are willing to invest in them.
So they are not “spending money recklessly,” but rather “earning a lot, so they spend a lot.”
However, the way they spend their money also makes many people unhappy.
6. What problems does this gap cause?
Having a lot of money is not necessarily a good thing.
This huge wage gap actually makes the game less fair.
Think about it:
One team can hire three all-star players,
while another team can’t even afford one.
How can the game be played?
The strong teams get stronger, and the weak teams never have a chance.
Although the Tampa Bay team had the lowest salaries that year, they later made it to the World Series through smart management.
But they couldn’t rely on high salaries to poach players; they had to train new players themselves or find players who had been discarded by other teams.
It’s like having two students in a class:
One parent hires five tutors and buys a bunch of learning machines;
The other can only study on their own.
Do you think their grades will be the same?
7. Has the situation improved now?
Today, MLB has actually made some adjustments.
For example, they have established a “luxury tax” system:
If you spend too much money, you have to pay an additional tax to the league,
which is used to help small market teams.
But even so, big teams like the Yankees and Dodgers can still spend more money.
This is because their income is so high that they are willing to pay the tax.
So the phenomenon of “richer teams being stronger” has not been completely resolved to this day.
8. Conclusion: Unequal competition lies behind the numbers
I looked up these salary data originally just to find out “who spends the most.”
But after reviewing them, I realized that what’s more important isn’t the numbers themselves,
but the issue they reveal: unequal distribution of resources.
In 2004, the Yankees spent $184 million to build a super team,
while some teams couldn’t even afford $40 million, struggling to cover basic operational costs.
This isn’t because the players aren’t trying hard enough or the coaches aren’t good enough,
but because from the very beginning, their “starting line” was too far behind.
So, the next time you see the Yankees win,
don’t just say, “They’re so lucky to have all that money.”
Also consider:
In a competition where everyone wants to win,
shouldn’t every team have a chance?
That’s what sports competitions should always uphold:
a fair playing field.
