Team Values

Forbes has out their list of team values. Obviously the Yanks were number one, ranked at a total value of $1.5 billion dollars. In case you didn't know, George Steinbrenner III originally bought the Yankees for the grand price of $10 million dollars, so you got to love that profit. The Mets came in second ($912mm) and Boston third (S833mm). Others in the AL East came in 17th(Baltimore-$400mm), 23rd (Toronto-$353mm), and 26th(Tampa-$320mm). For all you who say only big market teams can make the playoffs I just wanted to say that the 2007 World Series had the Rockies (ranked 20th) in it, and the 08 World Series had the Rays(Ranked 26th). Not to mention that the #1 and #2 ranked teams didn't make the playoffs last year.

The 6 teams that had the biggest percent increase in value from last year were the Yanks, Mets, Rays, Cubs, Twins, and Marlins. Other than the Cubs, all the other teams have either built new stadiums, or announced plans for new stadiums.

Also, though you all might want to know that the Marlins had the number 1 operating income last year($43.7mm), the wait for it.....the Washington Nationals came in number two, the league worst Washington Nationals, made $42.6mm. Cubs were third with a net income of $29.7mm, followed by the Rays, Orioles, Twins, and A's. That all goes to show that for those who say their teams can't afford to pay stars so they can win, your teams actually can. you just have greedy owners who are more concerned with making money than with putting a winning team on the field. On the other end of the spectrum, the Yanks lost $3.7mm. The Steinbrenners aren't worried about making a profit, they're just trying to win. We didn't lose as much as Detroit though, who lost a net total of yikes...$26.3mm. Detroit is going to have a tough time with the auto-industries trouble, their overpaid team, and their underwhelming pitching staff. They'll be in firsesale mode by June.

So there's a little financial update for you all. Be sure to check out Forbes' full list.