MLB: Can you guess who the highest paid player in baseball is?!
Posted by Sabrina B. @gametimegirl
The Kansas City Royals are barely making more than Alex Rodriguez this year.
The salaries for Kansas City’s 27 players on its opening day roster and disabled lists total $36.1 million, according to an analysis of major league contracts by The Associated Press.
A-Rod alone makes $32 million atop the New York Yankees’ $201.7 million payroll. He is baseball’s highest-paid player for the 11th straight year.
Overall, baseball salaries were nearly flat for this season, which started Thursday. The average salary for the 844 players on opening day rosters and disabled lists was about $3.3 million, up just 0.2 percent from last year. The increase was the lowest since a 2.7 percent drop in 2004.
Kansas City’s payroll was cut in half from $72.3 million at the start of 2010. The Royals tradedZack Greinke, and Gil Meche retired.
“I’m not worried that it’s too low,” Royals general manager Dayton Moore said. “I look at it as something that gives us tremendous flexibility going forward as an organization to be competitive as we negotiate for players.”
The Yankees, as usual, had the top payroll but dropped to $201.7 million from $206.3 million at the start of last season.
The Philadelphia Phillies, once considered a small-market team, were second at $173 million following the offseason signing of Cliff Lee. The Phillies began last year fourth at $141.9 million but have been given a financial boost by 123 consecutive home sellouts during the regular season.
“We wouldn’t be here if we didn’t have the fans supporting us the way they supported us,” GM Ruben Amaro Jr. said. “It’s really plain and simple: We don’t sell out games, we don’t give ourselves a chance to be even in this stratosphere.”
Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira isn’t bothered by competition at the top of the spending list.
“It’s great for baseball anytime you get teams willing to go out there and improve their team,” he said. “It’s great for baseball.”
The Boston Red Sox are third on the salary list at $161.4 million, followed by the Los Angeles Angels ($139 million), Chicago White Sox ($129.3 million), Chicago Cubs ($125.5 million) andNew York Mets ($120 million). The totals don’t include salaries owed released players – Carlos Silva ($11.5 million for the Cubs) and Oliver Perez ($12 million) and Luis Castillo ($6.25 million for the Mets).
The World Series champion San Francisco Giants are eighth at $118.2 million, up from $97.8 million. The AL champion Texas Rangers rose to 13th at $92.3 million from $55.3 million.
“Obviously I don’t make the financial decisions, but as a manager you certainly appreciate how ownership stepped up and kept the team intact after a special year to try to give us a chance to do this again,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “I’ve been on the other end and seen clubs dismantled. It’s frustrating.”
The Tampa Bay Rays, the 2008 AL champions, dropped from 21st at $71.9 million to 29th at $41.9 million, after shedding Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena, Matt Garza and Rafael Soriano. TheCleveland Indians fell from $61.2 million to $49.2 million.
The Pittsburgh Pirates’ payroll went up from a major league-low $35 million to 27th at $46 million. The San Diego Padres’ increased from $37.8 million to $45.9 million.
There were 453 players — nearly 54 percent of those in the major leagues on Thursday — making $1 million or more. That was up from 433 at the start of last season.
Fifty-five players make the $414,000 minimum, up from 41 at the minimum last year. The median salary, the point at which all equal numbers are above and below, remained at $1.1 million, down from a record $1,125,000 in 2009.
Behind A-Rod on the list of top-earning players was the Angels’ Vernon Wells at $26.6 million, followed by Yankees teammates CC Sabathia ($24.3 million) and Teixeira ($23.1 million),Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer ($23 million) and injured Mets pitcher Johan Santana ($21.6 million). Figures include salaries and prorated shares of signing bonuses and other guaranteed income. For some players, parts of deferred signing bonuses and salaries are discounted to reflect present-day values.
-AP
THE BLOG
HOT 97
LINKS
MUSIC
Bobby Konders Presents: Massive B Legacy, Vol. 1
Release Date: November 19th, 2018 Bobby Konders Presents: Massive B Legacy – Volume 1 is now available and includes ten features on ten tracks. Burro Banton, Vybez Kartel, Bounty Killa, Sizzla, T.O.K., Elephantman, Richie Spice, Chezidek, Chronicle, and King Kong. You can listen on Apple Music, Spotify, and Tidal.
#MusicStillMatters New Music: A Boogie – Nice For What
A boogie gave fans a snippet of this one via his instagram. Finally after all the request to drop the full version from fans – here it is. Check A Boogie’s version of “Nice For What.” Listen below.
#MusicStillMatters New Music: Dave East – Imagine
Dave East is set to release the 2nd installment of his “Karma” series, next week on July 27. Check out this new one off the tape called “Imagine.” Listen below.
#MusicStillMatters New Music: 070 Shake – Accusations
The G.O.O.D. Music rookie 070 Shake releases a new one called “Accusations.” Listen below.
(Video) Tony James – Sweat Slow
Toronto’s very own Tony James has released his major label debut single and visual for “Sweat Slow.” Tony says this one “Is about the one that got away, so we wanted to show the beautiful, happy women representing the ex-girlfriends of the men who took them for granted.” Look out for more from Tony this…
#MusicStillMatters New Music: Childish Gambino – Summertime Magic / Feels Like Summer
Childish Gambino aka Donald Glover follows up his video/song “This Is America” with not only one, but two records for the summer. The “Atlanta” creator tweeted “summer pack,” with a link to his songs, “Summertime Magic” and “Feels Like Summer.”
#MusicStillMatters Stream: Meek Mill – Legends Of The Summer
Meek Mill decided to treat his fans to new music when he dropped a new EP called “Legends of the Summer.” the 4-track tape features Swizz Beatz, Jeremih and PNB Rock. Stream below.
#MusicStillMatters Stream: Future – Beast Mode 2
Future links up with Zaytoven for the follow up to 2015’s “Beast Mode” titled “Beast Mode 2” which includes 9 tracks with a feature from Young Scooter. Listen below.
#MusicStillMatters New Music: T-Pain – Boo’d Up (Remix)
First it was Nicki Minaj and Quavo who put their touch on the track to mixed reviews. Then Fabolous laid his verse on the hit single. Now, T-Pain decided to give his take on the track. Listen below.
TECH TALK
We Know What YG’s Next Purchase Will Be: This ALL RED Special Edition iPhone!
An all red iPhone is on the way – I’m sure much to the delight of the Bloods. LOL! A special edition red version of the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus have been introduced, in celebration of the 10-year anniversary of Apple’s partnership with HIV/AIDS organization, (Red).
(Video) Apple Unveils New Spaceship Campus Called “Apple Park”
One of Steve Jobs projects he left behind before his untimely death from pancreatic cancer, was the Apple spaceship campus. Take a look.
(Video) Lil Wayne Featured In EA’s ‘Need For Speed: No Limits’ Game
While we still have no Carter 5 in sight, we can at least get SOMETHING from Lil Wayne in the form of EA’s new mobile game, Need For Speed: No Limits. Players can drive as Weezy in the game, and both his voice and likeness are there for fans to enjoy. Tune is also working…
Sprint Purchases 33% Stake In Jay-Z’s Tidal
Power moves on power moves on top of power moves. Hov just struck a big deal for Tidal and the artists who have stake in the company as well, through Sprint.
(Video) Travis Scott Previews New Heat On Snapchat
Looks like Travis Scott is cooking something up…Astroworld this year?
Azealia Banks Has Been Banned From Facebook
AzealiaBanksVEVO Well, that took longer than expected.
(Video + Photo) Ariana Grande Got Her Own Character In “Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius” Game
Soon you’ll be able to play as Ariana in Final Fantasy and she broke the news to her fans yesterday.
SoundCloud Makes A Major Update That MANY People Will Be Happy About!
When SoundCloud first came out, it quickly became a hub for DJs, uploading their mixes and gaining a decent following because of it. However, as labels became more hip to the new site, they began issuing copyright infringements left to right, and DJs began leaving the streaming website in droves – especially because their accounts…
MARISA EXPLAINS IT ALL
Marisa Mendez x Jamal x Tunisia – Marisa Explains It All [Episode 16: “Holiday Hangover”]
We’ve made it to episode 16 of my podcast, Marisa Explains It All, and I finally decided to share it with you guys here. LOL! On this episode, we pre-gamed before the Ebro In The Morning holiday party…and uh, yeah. Drunk talk and feelings were at an all time high. Our music picks are as…
Behind The Lyrics: Lil Wayne Admits To Botched Suicide Attempt As A Child On “London Roads”
Lil Wayne has long recounted a story of “accidentally” shooting himself when he was 12, playing with a 9 mm handgun. Thankfully, an off-duty cop was around to help young Tune, and he survived to become the rap star he is today. Apparently, that wasn’t the whole story, though! On “London Roads”, a song from…
(Video) Machine Gun Kelly Finally Opens Up About Amber Rose
Machine Gun Kelly is one of my favorite artists and has been a good friend of mine for years now, so it was double the blessing to make my Hot 97 interview debut with him on Ebro In The Morning today! The Bad Boy rapper stopped by to discuss his new single and its powerful…
Behind The Lyrics: Wiz Khalifa Comes For Amber’s Neck On “For Everybody”
Last night, Juicy J dropped his Wiz Khalifa-assisted single “For Everybody,” and boy did Wiz have some choice words for his ex Amber Rose on the track! And to drive the point home, they included a photo of themselves at his wedding to Amber as the song’s artwork.
(Video) Honey Cocaine Plays A Hilarious Game Of Taboo
Toronto-bred raptress Honey Cocaine made her rounds at Hot 97 a few weeks back, promoting her latest mixtape Like A Drug, and its 2 singles, “Gwola” featuring Kid Ink and Maino, and “None Of My Business” with Kirko Bangz and Constantine. Following her dope interview with Jen From BK for Jen’s “Ladies First” segment, I…
Interview: Machine Gun Kelly On Debut Film: “I hope that it kind of strikes a social issue…” [PLUS Details On Sophomore Album!]
This Friday, Colson ‘MGK‘ Baker will make his big-screen debut, starring as Kid Culprit in the romantic drama, Beyond The Lights. Since his 2012 Bad Boy/Interscope debut Lace Up and his breakout single “Wild Boy,” Kells has toured the world and shot not only Beyond The Lights, but two more as-of-yet unreleased films as well.…
Elijah Blake Gives 7 Tips How NOT To Act Around A Celeb, Plus Talks New EP, His First Big Check & More!
Singer/songwriter Elijah Blake has worked with a majority of the biggest names in the music business from Rihanna, Justin Bieber, Usher, Mary J and more, either having written for them or being featured on their songs. Now with his recently released Drift EP (available on iTunes here,) the talented Def Jam signee sat down to…
IFWT Exclusive: Maino Gives Us The REAL Story Of What Happened With The Porn Star!
Maino is currently being sought out by the NYPD for questioning, after an adult film star accused him of assaulting her inside of his truck after they partied at Griffin on Monday night with Drake, Ashanti, JR Smith and more. According to the police report filed by the porn star, Mellanie Monroe, “he started punching…
Mila J Reveals The Real Deal Between Her & A Rumored Beau, Plus Talks New EP, Diet/Workout, Her Mains & More!
Gorgeous singer/songwriter/dancer Mila J finally released her debut EP M.I.L.A. (Made In L.A.) yesterday, after years of trying out girl groups, various solo ventures, random day jobs and the like. She’s finally found her niche now though, and has seen success with her latest singles, “Smoke, Drink, Break-Up” and the Ty Dolla $ign-assisted, “My Main.”…