How Much Parity is There Really in Baseball?

I’m a big baseball fan, and while baseball remains a great sport, it’s not perfect/ of course there is the taint that is the steroid era, however that’s not what I’m here to write about. Parity and equivalence makes baseball more entertaining, however does it really exist in the game or is it a misconception.

It’s a misconception, while as of today the pennant races are nowhere near being over, but let’s look at the contending teams, division by division. As will see, it’s very rare that small market teams are still contending this time of year, as teams with high payrolls are out of the hunt.

AL East

While the Sox and the Yanks are battling out right now, they stand one and two respectively in the AL East. The Tampa Bay Rays are very much in the hunt while ranking 25th overall in payroll.

However it’s no coincidence that the Yankees and red Sox are at the top because this past off season the Yankees made the three biggest splashes acquiring CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira, and AJ Burnett, and the Red Sox went out and spent some money acquiring John Smoltz, and Brad Penny while extending some of their current players.

It also remains no coincidence that the Orioles rank 23rd in payroll and dead last in the
AL East.

AL Central

The Tigers are currently in first place with a two-game lead over the White Sox, ironically the Tigers are fifth in payroll, and the White Sox are 12th, both in the top half playing in big markets. The Twins are the exception as they’re four and a half games out of first place, while ranking 24th overall in payroll.

However, the Kansas City Royals are 21st overall in payroll while being dead last in the AL Central. And the underachieving Indians are 15th in payroll, which shows how bad they are underachieving while teams like the Rays and the Twins remain in the hunt.

AL West

The Angels are at the top and seem to be running away with the division with a four and a half game lead over the Texas Rangers. The Angels are sixth in payroll, while the Rangers are exception as they rank 22nd in payroll but are only two and a half games out in the Wild Card; however they have been a bad team for a while and have completely built from the farm system.

Also no coincidence that the Oakland Athletics are dead last in the division and rank 26th overall in payroll.

NL East

The Phillies rank first with a seven-game commanding lead in the NL East, ranking seventh in payroll. The Mets are decimated by injuries as they have the most talented disabled list which includes core players like Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado, and Carlos Beltran, however on paper the roster is a playoff contender, they rank second in payroll.

The Mets were able to go out and spend big money on Francisco Rodriguez. While the Marlins are just a bit better than a .500 team, they rank dead last in payroll which is near 37 million, that’s less than half the Yankees infield.

NL Central

The Cubs and Cardinals are in a dead even tie, however payroll wise they are far from that, the Cubs rank third in payroll, while the Cardinals are 13th. The Pirates are last in the Central and 28th in overall payroll as they are strictly rebuilding for the future.

NL West

The Dodgers hold a commanding six game lead over the Giants, the Dodgers rank ninth in payroll, making their big splash in the offseason resigning Manny Ramirez. Again no coincidence that the Padres are dead last in the division twenty two and a half games back, while ranking 29th in payroll.

The conclusion

Parity is existent in baseball but it’s obvious that teams playing in big markets have a huge advantage. Teams contending in small markets like the Rangers and Rays have to build from the farm, however it seems that there will be no team like last year’s Rays this season.