Yankees owner Hank Steinbrenner opened his mouth today complaining about the luxury taxes and revenue sharing fees his team must pay.
According to Steinbrenner, in an ESPN article, the Yankees will pay roughly $130 million due to their exorbitant payroll.
“We’ve got to do a little something about that, and I know Bud wants to correct it in some way,”…”At some point, if you don’t want to worry about teams in minor markets, don’t put teams in minor markets, or don’t leave teams in minor markets if they’re truly minor,” Steinbrenner said. “Socialism, communism, whatever you want to call it, is never the answer.”
Now, Steinbrenner, let me be the fist to say bite me. And I mean hard. They aren’t targeting you because you are a “big market” team. They are targeting you because your father pretty much ruined the competitive balance of the season and made any team NOT in a big market another farm team for the monied elite.
What you aren’t getting, you pompous windbag, is that teams existed in “smaller markets” before the phrase “small market” meant what it does today – because of your organization. The last team to spend more than the New York Yankee were the 1998 Baltimore Orioles, with a payroll just over $70 million. From then on out the Yankees have not only outspent everyone, they outspent everyone by a mile. It is not that the Yankees spend the most, no not at all. Let them spend the most, NYC is one of the richest cities in the world they should logically have the highest payroll but the problem is this: the gap between number 1 and number 2.
According to Cots the 2009 rankings went like this
1) Yankees
2) Mets
3) Cubs
4) Tigers
5) Phillies
The key here is the Yankees and their $206 million payroll was more than 67 million dollars more than the Mets. The difference between number 1 and number 2 was the same as the difference between numbers 2 and 21 !
In 2010 that gap has closed a bit because of the Red Sox insane offseason. But it does not change the point that due to your Caligula-esque opulence there are now three distinct classes of team in the AL; New York and Boston; Oakland and Tampa; Everyone else.
“Socialism,” really Hank? Really, are we going there? Ask the NFL how socialism and revenue sharing has worked out for them. The greatest thing about the NFL is that virtually every team has a chance, meanwhile in the American League you already have playoff tickets in the design phase because you spent the most money. A-Rod this year will make more than HALF of the entire Toronto Blue Jays’ salary. He will make less than $2 million less than the ENTIRE Pittsburgh Pirates.
If the combined payrolls of the top five earners on your team (A-Rod, CC, Jeter, Tex and AJ) was a team payroll – it would be the seventh highest payroll in the league.
Now I know what you are thinking, another disgruntled Oriole fan complaining about the Yankees, well yeah – so what. I’m right. Its not that the Yankees spend the most, they spend at a level and do things that no team can possibly compete with. Look at what Boston did this year, does anyone think they can honestly keep that up for as long as the Yankees have? They have set up an environment where any team not in that elite class needs to be very smart, and very lucky, to compete in this league.
So forgive the world if no one comes to your defense under this tax. And if this be socialism:
So be it.
