It shows, once again, that Hal Steinbrenner is a barely committed-to-win competitor within MLB's billionaire ownership gene pool.
When it comes to spending revenues on payrolls, the Yankees fall into the middle of the pact, percentagewise, below such renowned cheapskates as KC and Baltimore.
When it comes to revenues, the chart shows the Dodgers and Yankees far ahead of the mottled masses. The Dodgers raked in $752 million, a mere $26 million more than the Yanks. But LA spent 73 percent of that money on payroll. The Yankees spent less than half.
Basically, the Dodgers and Yankees grab their fans by the ankles, hoist them upside-down into the air, and vigorously shake them.
But LA's ownership then uses the money to buy players. The Steinbrenners add lake houses.
Basically, this chart confirms Yank fan suspicions for a last decade: The Steinbrenners hoover money and pretend to cheer. It does not calculate their true wealth. As owners of YGE - Yankee Global Enterprises - the family not only possesses a majority of the Yankees, but 25 percent of the YES Network, 20 percent of the New York City Football Club of Major League Soccer and 10 percent of AC Milan, an Italian soccer club. They have more money than we shall ever imagine. No matter what happens, no matter how badly the Yankees play, the owners cannot lose. What we write here, it doesn't matter. The team can win and lose. The Steinbrenners can only win.
I say this with the pathetic confession of someone who has rooted for the Yankees for 70 years - from Mickey to Horace to Thurman to Mel Hall to Jeet and now, gulp - The Martian. From the beard ban to Devin Williams. From "Holy Cow!" to "That's baseball, Suzyn." I have given up. I do not expect to ever see another Yankee world championship. But I do have a fallback hope.
It's all gonna crash.
Next winter, around now, a hard rain is coming. The owners and the players - the billionaires and the millionaires - are headed to nuclear war. And to fans like me, both sides long ago became gluttonous and miserable.
Historically, I've favored the players. But last winter, something happened. For me, it was the greed and lack of loyalty shown by Mr. Juan Soto. It still stings. Yankee fans spent a year giving Soto unrequited love and loyalty. The Yankees offered him $750 million. And he jumped for a dollar more, then blamed a security guard for pissing him off.
Nah, I'm starting not to care anymore.
Next year, it's all coming down. Let it.
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19 comments:
Great reporting, Duque! And yes, it speaks again to how essentially deceptive and self-interested the Steinbrenners are...
I’m surprised the work stoppage after next season hasn’t gotten more traction. I guess in a country where the government shuts down and nobody cares it should be surprising.
...As you guys know, I jumped on the "burn it down" bandwagon a while back. You hear that phrase bruited about all the time now, usually by people talking about the country as a whole, or Western civilization, and of course it's madness, the sort of non-solution solution advocated by morons on both the right and the left (Believe it or not, "ending Western civilization" is popular amongst the tragically hip on our college campuses these days. Sigh.)...
...Exactly, 999!
And when it comes to those greater things...NO, "burn it all down" is absolutely idiotic. Usually, it comes from people who don't like congestion pricing or some minor tax or the look a dem cat-eatin' immigrants (grrrrr!), or future dentists who like to talk about revolution and are, as mentioned, morons.
We live in a near-paradise, and it could easily be a full-on, no-holds-barred paradise, if many of those same people would just pay attention and vote for solutions, instead of being mesmerized by the Orange Monkey or that revolutionary prof with the oh-so-cute beard. But...
...BUT...
Thanks for publishing this. One of svereal reasons the Yankees players are vacationing now.
...When it comes to baseball, and pretty much all professional sports in America today—YES, burn it down. By the most peaceable means imaginable. Walk away, don't pay in, don't put up with it anymore.
I disagree with our Peerless Leader in that I still am all for the players, as the talent, over management. No one has yet won a spot on a major-league roster because his daddy left him one. (Though the players, too, should drop all their hypocritical, far-right politics and pretenses that they are just good ol' boys, which is about as real as Duck Dynasty these days.)
But I digress...
From an Athletic article on Ben Rice: 'Rowson said Rice showed up to spring training “convicted in his approach.”'
Did Rowson teach this mangling of the language to Boone, or did Boone teach it to Rowson? Maddening, either way.
...Baseball wants to have yet another nuclear showdown, at least the fifth in my rooting (from 1966) lifetime? Fuck 'em. Press the big red button on our favorite game, and let's see what happens. Maybe it will be a game again.
When it comes to the money, the way they play, or all the aggravating, "Stand Up to Cancer" type of nonsense, time to begin the world again, as a man even greater than Rob Manfred once said.
Hoss, perhaps the next book should be more about this…..
You forgot to mention that the Yanees own part of the Manchester City FC in the English Soccer League. Yup, for the Steinbrenner family, it's all Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows.
If we burn down Western Civilization, what do we live in? And how's the rent there?
Hey, why should the government appropriate the 32 billion to pay for the ACA subsidies when it can pay 40 billion to Argentina and prop up its economy so the Trump family and billionaire friends don't lose their investments in that country? As for Americans losing their access to health care? Let them eat cake.....in the Donald J. Trump Ballroom, of course.
I have a shed in the back - it will be available discounted below market rates . . .
That sounds like a nice refuge. And since Western Civilization will be burned down, we won't need cable or wifi. Oil lamps, maybe. Just how far back are we burning?
Burn it down. I'll light the match. THEY are the ones burning down western civilization. Let them take their rocket ships to Mars on a one way trip. We give them a week to clear out. I'm done done done done done.
And partial ownership of A.C. Milan in the Serie A Italian League...
Hoss, pains me to disagree with anything you write here, b-b-but... I present to you vlad the 2nd.
Yankees real revenue is easily twice what they report.
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