Yankees ruining baseball

[Bubbahotep]

Now that Texiera has signed an 8 year 180 million dollar contract, the Yankees have spent 423 million this winter on 3 players. They could have bought 25% of GM. They are getting out of control, even the Red Sox don't have that kind of money. The potential for smaller teams to go bankrupt and fold is going to be a stark reality soon.

 

[LindenCy]

Now that Texiera has signed an 8 year 180 million dollar contract, the Yankees have spent 423 million this winter on 3 players. They could have bought 25% of GM. They are getting out of control, even the Red Sox don't have that kind of money. The potential for smaller teams to go bankrupt and fold is going to be a stark reality soon.

I agree. It is now ridiculous.

 

[mplscyclone]

The Yanks have been destroying baseball for a long time now.....

 

[jdoggivjc]

The only way to solve this is a salary cap. Too bad the unions will never go for it. Getting the Yankees to overpay their athletes is actually part of their job description.

 

[Cyclones_R_GR8]

It is completely out of control. I have yet to understand how they plan on filling seats in that new stadium.
One of the sports radio talk shows was talking to a New York lawyer a few weeks ago. He has held 4 season tickets for years. Every year he wrote a check for $88,000 to pay for those tickets. Now those same 4 tickets would cost him $880,000.

 

[Cyclonepride]

Ruining? More like ruined. I stopped watching anything except the playoffs 15 years ago. I stopped watching the playoffs about 5 years ago.

 

[kingcy]

Money sure hasnt been buying them Championships the past few years. In this economy, with what is going on in NY with the market, I dont know how fans can think spending that money is good. The Yanks are way past the line of reality.

 

[LindenCy]

Ruining? More like ruined. I stopped watching anything except the playoffs 15 years ago. I stopped watching the playoffs about 5 years ago.

I hate the "made for TV" playoffs. The regular season used to mean more in baseball. It isn't as bad as hockey or basketball yet (regular season wise), but it is getting there.

 

[ISUonthemove]

This is why I stopped following baseball 15 years ago. I refuse to buy a ticket to any professional sporting event.

 

[Bubbahotep]

What makes it hard for me is players who are good and play for teams like the Brewers, Twins, Royals, etc. Will leave and take the money, which I don't blame them, but it's hard for these teams to develop an identity. The days of George Brett and Robin Yount sticking with a team their entire career are over.

 

[Klaverius]

Please. Perhaps you missed the entire 2008 season, where Tampa of all teams made the series. And maybe you didn't notice that the Rays are in the same division as Boston and New York.

No team is going to go bankrupt with the luxury tax in place. Teams like KC and Tampa benefit financially from teams like New York spending so much. The luxury tax doesn't create parity like the cap in the NFL, but it makes certain that even the perpetual losers can turn a profit.

 

[mj4cy]

If half a billion is what it takes to keep up with those pesky 40 million a year payroll Tampa Rays....well I guess that's what they have to do.


Man I hate the Yankees

 

[Bubbahotep]

Please. Perhaps you missed the entire 2008 season, where Tampa of all teams made the series. And maybe you didn't notice that the Rays are in the same division as Boston and New York.

No team is going to go bankrupt with the luxury tax in place. Teams like KC and Tampa benefit financially from teams like New York spending so much. The luxury tax doesn't create parity like the cap in the NFL, but it makes certain that even the perpetual losers can turn a profit.

Tampa Bay is losing money hand over fist, and the small market clubs are doing the same. The luxury tax will do nothing to help these clubs in the long run, when they have to pay 5-8 million a year just to keep a mediocre player. I guarantee the Rays will be bottom feeders again after their young stars bolt for the money, and I'm willing to bet Tampa Bay won't have a franchise within 10 years.

 

[Together2813]

I was looking foward to this year in baseball but I don't know how any fan of any team other than the Yankees could. If it was a perfect world fans wouldn't go to any baseball games and let the players/clubs suffer for not making the money to pay them.

If players can go on strike and ditch the fans, fans should realize they can go on strike and ditch the teams until there is some fairness to this system.

 

[HOTDON]

Please. Perhaps you missed the entire 2008 season, where Tampa of all teams made the series. And maybe you didn't notice that the Rays are in the same division as Boston and New York.

No team is going to go bankrupt with the luxury tax in place. Teams like KC and Tampa benefit financially from teams like New York spending so much. The luxury tax doesn't create parity like the cap in the NFL, but it makes certain that even the perpetual losers can turn a profit.

Having read just the headline, I was thinking the exact same thing; they'd be ruining baseball if they were actually winning championships with that payroll.

The part that goes beyond just the Yankees is the fact that they inflate salaries to such a rediculous degree that when the players finally want out of NY, no one can afford them, and if they do, they can't afford anyone with which to surround that player. The Yankees have a ripple effect that hurts everyone. The only thing that stops the Yankees from signing every player in the league is the number of open spots on their roster.

 

[LZclone]

I just hope that the Yankees continue to NOT win the Series after spending all the money they do.

 

[CycloneErik]

They tried contraction not long ago, and that got really ugly. I still think they had a case for it, and that businesses have a right to close, but that argument wasn't real popular.

 

[JRCampy]

I didn't know this before, but the luxury tax doesn't get distributed to smaller market teams...


MLB's current collective bargaining agreement sets a 'payroll threshold' each season that is somewhat similar to a salary cap. For the 2007 season, this threshold has been set at $148 million ($155 million in 2008). Should the average annual value of a team's total salary contracts surpass this threshold in any year, they pay a 'tax' on the amount over the threshold. The tax is graduated such that a team pays a progressively higher percentage every year it exceeds the threshold, to a maximum of 40%. As an example, when Roger Clemens signed with the Yankees this season, his salary was reported at $18.5 million. But since the Yankees have already exceeded the payroll threshold several times, they were forced to pay the maximum luxury tax on his salary of 40%. Applied to Clemens' salary, the tax comes to $7.4 million. So in actuality, Clemens is costing the Yankees $25.9 million this season. The Luxury Tax is also called the 'Competitive Balance Tax'. Ironically, the money from the tax isn't distributed to smaller market teams to promote competitive balance. Instead, it goes into an 'Industry Growth Fund' that MLB uses for player benefits and to promote the growth of baseball around the world. Money is distributed to smaller revenue teams, but that money comes from MLB's revenue sharing program, which is entirely separate and independent of the luxury tax.

I'm perfectly fine with them spending all the money they want, it will make that much funnier when they miss the playoffs yet again. :wink: It was amusing that the Red Sox owner came out with a statement yesterday saying that even they can't keep up with the Yankee spending.

 

[JRE1975]

It is completely out of control. I have yet to understand how they plan on filling seats in that new stadium.
One of the sports radio talk shows was talking to a New York lawyer a few weeks ago. He has held 4 season tickets for years. Every year he wrote a check for $88,000 to pay for those tickets. Now those same 4 tickets would cost him $880,000.

The problem is those people in New York are spending that kind of money for the tickets. This gives the Yankees all this money to go buy a winner and pay for this new multi-billion dollar stadium that the only way they can fill it in NYC is to win championships. It is a vicious circle that will hurt the game in the long run, and I am a Yankees fan! I will not be surprised if they also sign Manny!

I have been told by friends in NYC, another factor is the egos involved. George Stienbrenner is real sick and his sons want to win another title for dad before he goes, i guess at any cost.

I saw yesterday that thier luxury tax last year was $26.7 million, which is no penalty at all for them.

 

[Palmer]

this issue along with the strikes, steroid inflated records....is why baseball is no longer the pastime and far behind football.