Most Wins/$ (Million) 2006-10

1. Marlins - 2.640
   
2. Rays - 1.688
   
3. Pirates - 1.448
   
4. Padres - 1.430
   
5. Athletics - 1.289
   
6. Rockies - 1.282
   
7. Twins - 1.252
   
8. Rangers - 1.219
   
9. Nationals - 1.174
   
10. Diamondbacks - 1.172
    
11. Indians - 1.145
    
12. Reds - 1.117
    
13. Brewers - 1.066
    
14. Royals -1.062
    
15. Blue Jays - 1.012
    
16. Cardinals - .919
    
17. Giants - .916
    
18. Orioles - .900
    
19. Braves - .895
    
20. Phillies - .865
    
21. Astros - .841
    
22. Dodgers - .813
    
23. Angels - .812
    
24. Tigers - .751
    
25. Mariners - .743
    
26. Cubs - .686
    
27. Red Sox - .683
    
28. White Sox - .672
    
29. Mets - .671
    
30. Yankees - .474
    

    Over the past five years the Marlins and Rays led the Major Leagues in cost-efficiency rating, combining for 4.328 wins per million dollars spent. At the opposite end of the spectrum, the two New York franchises finished in last with a combined rating of 1.145, the equivalent of the 11th place Cleveland Indians. What we determined from this list was that it is not an accurate way to measure the success of a franchise's spending. The Yankees may have finished last, but they also led the MLB in wins and won a World Series in this five year span. The bottom five teams on this list were also the same five teams on the top of the payroll list. This rating is largely due to market size as all top five teams exist in small markets. We were impressed, however, by the ability of the Twins to place 7th on this list. Most of the top ten teams on the list were in the bottom half of the Majors when it came to winning, yet the Twins were the 5th best team.

Highest Payroll 2006-10

1. Yankees - $1,008.1 M
   
2. Red Sox - $675.3 M
   
3. Mets - $630.0 M
   
4. White Sox - $621.9 M
   
5. Cubs - $591.6 M
   
6. Angels - $566.8 M
   
7. Tigers - $564.6 M
   
8. Dodgers - $528.0 M
   
9. Phillies - $527.2 M
   
10. Mariners - $502.2 M
    
11. Astros - $464.9 M
    
12. Cardinals - $461.5 M
    
13. Braves - $460.5 M
    
14. Giants - $435.8 M
    
15. Blue Jays - $411.0 M
    
16. Brewers - $380.1 M
    
17. Orioles - $374.3 M
    
18. Twins - $354.7 M
    
19. Reds - $353.7 M
    
20. Indians - $339.8 M
    
21. Rangers - $337.2 M
    
22. Diamondbacks - $326.9 M
    
23. Rockies - $323.8 M
    
24. Royals - $318.2 M
    
25. Athletics - $310.2 M
    
26. Padres - $283.2 M
    
27. Nationals - $282.0 M
    
28. Rays - $239.3 M
    
29. Pirates - $221.7 M
    
30. Marlins - $151.5 M
    

    
     

        As expected, the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox place one-two on the highest payroll list for 2006-10. The average payroll a team gave out during this time was $434.9 M. The largest payroll ($1,008.1 M - NYY) was 232% of the average given out during this time and the smallest amount ( $151.5 M - FLA) was 35% of the average payroll. Opposed to the amount of wins in this time span where both the largest and smallest amounts were separated by about 40% of the average, the 297% gap in payroll is incredible. Obviously there is no salary cap in baseball but, when the Yankees paid out more than 6.5 times the amount the Marlins did over five years, it comes to question if one should be put in place.

Most Regular Season Wins 2006-2010

1. Yankees (478)
   
2. Red Sox (461)
   
3. Angels (460)
   
4. Phillies (456)
   
5. Twins (444)
   
6. Dodgers (429)
   
7. Tigers (424)
   
8. Cardinals (424)
   
9. Mets (423)
   
10. White Sox (418)
    
11. Blue Jays (416)
    
12. Rockies (415)
    
13. Braves (412)
    
14. Rangers (411)
    
15. Cubs (406)
    
16. Brewers (405)
    
17. Padres (405)
    
18. Rays (404)
    
19. Marlins (400)
    
20. Athletics (400)
    
21. Giants (399)
    
22. Reds (395)
    
23. Astros (391)
    
24. Indians (389)
    
25. Diamondbacks (383)
    
26. Mariners (373)
    
27. Royals (338)
    
28. Orioles (337)
    
29. Nationals (331)
    
30. Pirates (321)
    

    As expected, the New York Yankees won the most games over this five year span averaging 95.6 wins per season. The average amount of wins for a team was 405, as well as the median amount. In half a decade the Yankees won 49% more games than the MLB worst Pittsburgh Pirates, a whopping 157 game difference. It is worth noting that of the five World Series Champs in this time span, four of them were in the top ten on this list with the San Francisco Giants being the only non-top ten team to win a World Series at #21.

2006-2010 Rankings Full Spread Sheet (click)