Do teams that spend more on player salaries win more games? The combined player salaries and win totals of all 30 Major League Baseball teams are presented below. Do you think there will be a correlation between higher salaries and winning?
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| Baseball Team | Combined Salaries (in millions of dollars) | Total Wins |
|---|
| New York Yankees | 198 | 95 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 175 | 81 |
| Boston Red Sox | 173 | 69 |
| Los Angeles Angels | 154 | 89 |
| Detroit Tigers | 132 | 88 |
| Texas Rangers | 121 | 93 |
| Miami Marlins | 118 | 69 |
| San Francisco Giants | 118 | 94 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 110 | 88 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 98 | 83 |
| Chicago White Sox | 97 | 85 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 95 | 86 |
| Minnesota Twins | 94 | 66 |
| New York Mets | 93 | 74 |
| Chicago Cubs | 88 | 61 |
| Atlanta Braves | 83 | 94 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 82 | 97 |
| Seattle Mariners | 82 | 75 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 81 | 93 |
| Washington Nationals | 81 | 98 |
| Cleveland Indians | 78 | 68 |
| Colorado Rockies | 78 | 64 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 75 | 73 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | 74 | 81 |
| Tampa Bay Rays | 64 | 90 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 63 | 79 |
| Kansas City Royals | 61 | 72 |
| Houston Astros | 61 | 55 |
| Oakland Athletics | 55 | 94 |
| San Diego Padres | 55 | 76 |
The scatterplot shows a correlation between salary and wins. How can one explain the fact that the Washington Nationals won so many games more than the Philadelphia Phillies, even though they spent considerably less?
There are a number of factors that could explain why the Nationals had a better record than the higher-paid Phillies. Some examples may include: The Phillies’ star players are older and have had the opportunity to sign lucrative contracts, while the Nationals’ star players are “up and coming” and haven’t received their big payday yet; some of the Phillies’ stars had major injuries, etc. In addition, current salaries are, generally, based on past performance. While a highly paid veteran may have had great success in the past, there is no guarantee that this will be the case in the future.
The data sets used in these examples were obtained from public domain and third-party sources, and are intended for educational purposes only. All facts and figures may become inaccurate, out-of-date, or subject to revision without notice.
Photo: baseball, © David Lee/Shutterstock.