MLB Distributes Record $65.36M In Postseason Player Compensation

MLB distributed $65.36M in postseason player compensation for '12, up 14% from last year and a new league record. The money, generated from 60% of the gate receipts of the first three games of each Division Series and first four games of each LCS and the World Series, is largely a function of the ballpark capacities of the participating teams and ticket prices. Under the new format, 50% of the Wild Card games also goes into this, as well as the 60% of the initial games in the subsequent rounds. The presence of the Yankees, Giants, Cardinals and Tigers, among others, helped boost the compensation pool to its new height. The world champion Giants divided their $23.53M portion of the pool into 50 full shares of $377,002.64 each, another new league record, and 11.1 partial shares and 12 cash awards. This year's total is more than twice the size of the compensation pool from '01. With the expanded MLB postseason going into effect this year, payouts were given to just the 10 playoff teams. In years past with the eight-team postseason format, the four regular-season clubs that finished second in their divisions but did not make the playoffs also received funds.