Salaries Dip for First Time Since 1995

NEW YORK —  Just a few days into the season, baseball already has produced a startling statistic: The average salary dropped for the first time in nearly a decade.

Not that major leaguers will be sweating to make their mortgage payments. Despite the 3% drop from the start of last season, players on opening-day rosters averaged $2.49 million, according to a study by Associated Press.

“Maybe that’s going to be the trend. Maybe it’s going to start going down,” said Seattle designated hitter Edgar Martinez, whose base pay was cut by 25% to $3 million.

The New York Yankees bucked the trend, pushing their payroll to a record $183 million, led by Alex Rodriguez, whose $21.7-million salary topped the majors for the fourth consecutive year.

Boston, forever chasing New York in the standings and at the box office, was second at $125 million.

And then came everyone else.

The Angels were third at $101 million, ahead of the New York Mets. Philadelphia, fifth at $93 million, has a payroll about half that of the Yankees. Milwaukee, the team controlled by the family of Commissioner Bud Selig, has the lowest payroll at $27.5 million.

The average salary, which was $2.56 million at the start of last season, hadn’t dropped since 1995, immediately after the 7 1/2-month strike that wiped out the World Series for the first time in 90 years.

Since the start of the free-agent era after the 1976 season, the only other year salaries dropped was 1987, when owners were found by an arbitrator to have conspired against free agents.

“There are a number of factors involved. Certainly, the economy is a big one,” Selig said.

Baseball’s new labor contract, agreed to late in the 2002 season, had new debt regulations and also imposed a luxury tax. Last year, the Yankees were the only team that had to pay the tax.

“I think if you go back in history, the year following any type of a new labor agreement being put in place, there’s always a market correction,” said Yankee first baseman Tony Clark, a member of the union’s negotiating committee.

NBA players have the highest average salary, $4.9 million this season, according to the preliminary estimate by their union. NHL players averaged $1.79 million in 2002-03, the latest season in which their union had figures available. NFL players averaged $1.26 million last year, according to their union. The NBA and NFL operate under salary caps.

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Payrolls

Payrolls and average salaries for the opening-day rosters of the 30 major league teams. Figures were obtained by Associated Press from management and player sources and include salaries and prorated shares of signing bonuses:

*--* Team Payroll Average 1. New York Yankees $182,835,513 $6,304,673 2. Boston 125,208,542 4,173,618 3. ANGELS 101,084,667 3,743,877 4. New York Mets 100,629,303 3,870,358 5. Philadelphia 93,219,167 3,452,562 6. Chicago Cubs 91,101,667 3,141,437 7. DODGERS 89,694,342 3,449,782 8. Atlanta 88,507,788 3,160,992 9. San Francisco 82,019,167 2,645,780 10. Seattle 81,543,833 2,912,280 11. St. Louis 75,633,517 3,025,341 12. Houston 74,666,303 2,986,652 13. Arizona 70,204,984 2,420,862 14. Chicago White Sox 65,212,500 2,508,173 15. Colorado 64,590,403 2,306,800 16. Oakland 59,825,167 2,215,747 17. Texas 54,825,973 1,890,551 18. San Diego 54,639,503 2,185,580 19. Minnesota 53,585,000 2,060,962 20. Baltimore 51,212,653 1,829,023 21. Toronto 50,017,000 1,923,731 22. Kansas City 47,609,000 1,586,967 23. Detroit 46,353,554 1,655,484 24. Montreal 43,197,500 1,439,917 25. Cincinnati 43,067,858 1,538,138 26. Florida 42,118,042 1,559,927 27. Cleveland 34,569,300 1,152,310 28. Pittsburgh 32,227,929 1,193,627 29. Tampa Bay 29,506,667 1,092,840 30. Milwaukee 27,518,500 1,100,740

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Here Comes the Money

The top 2004 baseball salaries. Figures were obtained by Associated Press from management and player sources and include salaries and pro-rated shares of signing bonuses and other guaranteed income:

*--* Player, team Salary 1. Alex Rodriguez, Yankees $21,726,881 2. Manny Ramirez, Red Sox $20,409,542 3. Carlos Delgado, Blue Jays $19,700,000 4. Derek Jeter, Yankees $18,600,000 5. Barry Bonds, Giants $18,000,000 6. Pedro Martinez, Red Sox $17,500,000 7. Mo Vaughn, Mets $17,166,667 8. Sammy Sosa, Cubs $16,875,000 9. Shawn Green, Dodgers $16,666,667 10. Randy Johnson, Diamondbacks $16,500,000

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* OTHER NOTABLES: 11. Mike Piazza, N.Y. Mets, $16,071,429; 12. Jeff Bagwell, Houston, $16,000,000; (tie) Mike Mussina, N.Y. Yankees, $16,000,000; 14. Kevin Brown, N.Y. Yankees, $15,714,286; 15. Chipper Jones, Atlanta, $15,333,333; 17. Chan Ho Park, Texas, $13,879,164; 23. Jason Giambi, N.Y. Yankees, $12,428,571; 31. Nomar Garciaparra, Red Sox, $11,500,000; 32. Darren Dreifort, Dodgers, $11,400,000; 33. Bartolo Colon, Angels, $11,000,000; (tie) Vladimir Guerrero, Angels, $11,000,000; 41. Troy Glaus, Angels, $10,450,000; 43. Tim Salmon, Angels, $9,900,000; 48. Ken Griffey Jr., Reds, $9,142,608

Note: For some players, parts of salaries deferred without interest are discounted to reflect present-day values.