Major League Baseball: Baseball – Astronomical Salaries and New Rules

Die Major League Baseball starts the new season: with record salaries and new rules for more speed in the game

The salaries paid in Major League Baseball are already astronomical. Aaron Judge (30) from the New York Yankees gets $360 million for another nine years, Manny Machado (30) from the san diego padres 350 million for another eleven years.

4.22 million on average

When Major League Baseball (MLB) starts its new season on Thursday, the staff of the 30 clubs will be paid better than ever. Last year, the league made eleven billion dollars in sales, and the average salary of the players was $4.22 million.

Top earners when it comes to the annual salary: the veteran but still excellent pitchers Justin Verlander (40) and Max Scherzer (38) from the New York Mets with 43.33 million each.

Many unsigned players cause high expenses

Because twelve teams are now making the playoffs and thus have a chance of making the World Series, more and more club owners are being tempted to spend too much. In addition to the Padres, hedge fund manager Steve Cohen is the main driver of the competition: he will pay the 26 players of his New York Mets $ 385 million a year in the future. He also has to pay a $111 million fine for breaking the $233 million limit.

The main reason for the flood of dollars: many players without a contract (“free agents”) who came onto the market in winter. Among them this time: four outstanding shortstops. They occupy a key position on the field, and they collect accordingly lavishly.

Dansby Swanson receives $177 million for seven years from the Chicago CubsCarlos Correa 200 million for six years from the Minnesota TwinsXander Bogaerts 280 million for 11 years from the Padres and Trea Turner 300 million for 11 years from the Philadelphia Philliesthe 2022 final series (World Series) against the Houston Astros lost.

Rule changes for more speed

To keep the money flowing, MLB has changed some rules: They want more action. Some changes are intended to make defense more difficult, leading to more hits and runs (points). The most important innovation, however, is the introduction of the stopwatch, which means that there is no more dawdling, under normal circumstances the ball must be in play after 15 seconds at the latest.

That seems to help: The preparatory games only lasted around 2:30 hours on average instead of the previous 3:03 hours. For what is currently probably the best baseball player in the world, this means a double change. Shohei Ohtani, a 28-year-old Japanese man from the Los Angeles Angelsis an equally outstanding pitcher and Batter. Because he is two superstars in one, many clubs are already checking how full their bankroll is. After the season, Ohtani would be a free agent. If you want him, you have to call $ 500 million.