THE GILDED AGE: FOUR TEAMS TOP $70M IN MLB PLAYER PAYROLL

          As MLB opens its season on Tuesday, the "gulf between
     the sport's have and have-not franchises is wider than
     ever," according to Mark Maske of the WASHINGTON POST. 
     Today in MLB, "you have to spend big to win big."  Tigers GM
     Randy Smith: "I don't think you have to spend $60 million or
     $70 million to win.  But it's clear that in order to get
     into the playoffs, you're going to have to spend, and spend
     pretty big."  Maske notes that no MLB club had a winning
     record last year with a player payroll of less than $40M. 
     Acting Commissioner Bud Selig: "There's no sense in deluding
     one's self.  You could see this coming five to eight years
     ago."  Selig added, "We just need to improve the system. ...
     One could make a convincing case here that there's just not
     enough cost restraint built into the system."  Maske lists
     MLB team player payrolls for the '98 season.  The figures
     use the "payroll-calculation method" used by management's
     Players Relations Committee.  The method includes the
     salaries of all players on the 40-man roster, bonuses and
     benefits.  For players with multiyear deals, the average
     annual value of the contract is used.  The MLBPA does not
     include benefits in payroll calculations.  Player payrolls
     of MLB's 30 teams (WASHINGTON POST, 3/27): 
     
     

  
 
    
TEAM
    
PAYROLL
    

    
 
      
TEAM
    
    
PAYROLL
  
  
 
    
BALTIMORE
    
 
      
$74,303,497 
        
    
    
MILWAUKEE
    
 
      
$48,753,716 
        
    
  
  
 
    
ATLANTA
    
 
      
$71,639,725 
        
    
    
HOUSTON
    
 
      
$48,403,250 
        
    
  
  
 
    
BOSTON
    
 
      
$71,318,403 
        
    
    
CHI. WHITE SOX
    
 
      
$45,887,914 
        
    
  
  
 
    
N.Y. YANKEES
    
 
      
$70,583,730 
        
    
    
ANAHEIM
    
 
      
$45,479,584 
        
    
  
  
 
    
CLEVELAND
    
 
      
$66,850,303 
        
    
    
ARIZONA
    
 
      
$43,565,417 
        
    
  
  
 
    
TEXAS
    
 
      
$64,154,180 
        
    
    
PHILADELPHIA
    
 
      
$42,065,084 
        
    
  
  
 
    
COLORADO
    
 
      
$62,179,513 
        
    
    
FLORIDA
    
 
      
$40,917,001 
        
    
  
  
 
    
CHICAGO 
      CUBS
    
 
      
$59,391,084 
        
    
    
TAMPA BAY
    
 
      
$39,872,584 
        
    
  
  
 
    
TORONTO
    
 
      
$58,494,370 
        
    
    
KANSAS CITY
    
 
      
$39,089,251 
        
    
  
  
 
    
SEATTLE
    
 
      
$58,017,231 
        
    
    
DETROIT
    
 
      
$37,390,084 
        
    
  
  
 
    
LOS ANGELES
    
 
      
$57,642,751 
        
    
    
MINNESOTA
    
 
      
$34,883,022 
        
    
  
  
 
    
N.Y. METS
    
 
      
$57,378,501 
        
    
    
CINCINNATI
    
 
      
$32,467,793 
        
    
  
  
 
    
ST. LOUIS
    
 
      
$56,204,396 
        
    
    
OAKLAND
    
 
      
$26,646,584 
        
    
  
  
 
    
SAN DIEGO
    
 
      
$52,292,624 
        
    
    
PITTSBURGH
    
 
      
$24,407,251 
        
    
  
  
 
    
SAN FRANCISCO
    
 
      
$50,318,200 
        
    
    
MONTREAL
    
 
      
$16,031,584 
        
    
  


          MORE MLB NOTES: In Boston, the GLOBE features an
     extensive series on MLB's search for talent in international
     markets, including Asia, Australia, Cuba and the Dominican
     Republic.  Red Sox GM Dan Duquette: "It's hard finding
     talent in the States because kids just aren't playing enough
     baseball.  You have to explore every avenue for talent, and
     the international market is now a critical avenue" (BOSTON
     GLOBE, 3/27)....USA TODAY's BASEBALL WEEKLY editors
     interview MLBPA Exec Dir Don Fehr and MLB COO Paul Beeston
     in the current issue.  Beeston, on attracting more fans of
     color: "We're trying to do it. ... You can't say we're not
     advertising.  Can't say we're not out there."   Fehr, on the
     image of the players: "I think since the strike ended there
     has been a sustained effort to reach out, to do more, to
     incrementaly rehabilitate the image of the players and the
     image of the game" (BASEBALL WEEKLY, 3/25 issue).