MLB: Does a Big Payroll Mean More Wins and Fans in the Stands?

For MLB franchises, does a big payroll mean more wins for the big league teams and more fans in the stands?  With 30 MLB teams and an average MLB franchise value of US$744m, early on through April,18, payrolls don't necessarily mean more wins, but the fans are still filling the stands.

Based on the published Forbes Franchise Values, MLB Attendance data from ESPN http://espn.go.com/mlb/attendance  to measure the fans in the stands, and MLB information on team payroll, here's how things look....

Lets look at the American League first.  Here's how the data is formatted:

Current MLB standings - 2013 (W/L) Record - Forbes Franchise Value (US$) (MLB rank) - Avg.Home Attendance (MLB rank) - Team Payroll (US$) (MLB rank)

AL East

1. Red Sox  - (11-4) - $1.3B (3) - 33,543 (9) -  $140m (5)

2. Yankees - (8-6) - $2.3B (1) - 38,731 (6) - $203m (2)

3. Orioles -  (8-7) - $618m (17) - 30,009 (16) - $91m (15)

4. Blue Jays - (7-9) - $568m (21) - 30,317 (15) - $117m (9)

5. Rays - (5-10) - $451m (30) - 22,838 (22) - $58m (28)

AL Central

1. Tigers - (9-6) -  $643m (13) - 35,787 (8) - $148m (4)

2. Royals - (8-6) - $457m (29) - 20,984 (24) - $ 79m (20)

3. Twins - (6-7) - $578m (20) - 26,487 (21) - $76m (21)

4. White Sox - (7-9) - $692m (11) - 20,790 (26) - $120m (8)

5. Indians - (5-9) - $559m (23) - 15,517 (30) - $74m (23)

AL West

1. A's - (12-4) - $468m (28) - 19,309 (28) - $60m (27)

2. Rangers - (9-6) - $764m (8) - 37,246 (7) - $113m (11)

3. Mariners - (7-10) - $644m (12) - 18,841 (29) - $73m (24)

4. Angels - (4-10) - $718m (9) - 40,146 (4) - $128m (7)

5. Astros - (4-11) - $626m (16) - 22,267 (23) - $21m (30)

And now, here's the National League:

Current MLB standings - 2013 (W/L) Record - Forbes Franchise Value (US$) (MLB rank) - Avg.Home Attendance (MLB rank) - Team Payroll (US$) (MLB rank)

NL East

1. Braves - (13-2) - $629m (15) - 32,649 (10) - $90m (16)

2. Nationals - (9-6) - $631m (14) - 31,662 (12) - $114m (10)

3. Mets - (7-7) - $811m (6) - 28,000 (18) - $74m (22)

4. Phillies - (6-10) - $893m (5) - 39,441 (5) - $171m (3)

5. Marlins - (3-13) - $520m (26) - 19,586 (27) - $36m (29)

NL Central

1. Cardinals - (9-6) - $716m (10) - 41,637 (3) - $103m (14)

2. Reds - (9-7) - $546m (24) - 27,439 (19) - $109m (12)

3. Pirates - (7-8) - $479m (27) - 20,901 (25) - $80m (19)

4. Brewers - (6-8) - $562m (22) - 30,901 (13) - $89m (18)

5. Cubs - (5-9) - $1B (4) - 32,007 (11) - $107m (13)

NL West

1. Rockies - (11-4) - $537m (25) - 30,603 (14) - $71m (25)

2. Diamondbacks - (9-6) - $584m (19) - 29,044 (21) - $90m (17)

3. Giants - (9-7) - $786m (7) - 41,638 (2) - $136m (6)

4. Dodgers - (7-8) - $1.6B (2) - 47,112 (1) - $220m (1)

5. Padres - (5-10) - $600m (18) - 27,427 (20) - $66m (26)

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Opening Day Shows Baseball is in Great Shape

The reviews and results of Opening Day shows baseball is in great shape.  Attendance was solid and the young stars of the league continued to emerge.  There are still the aging veterans earning large salaries, but the tidal wave of young talent behind them is huge.

League attendance in 2012 was 74.8m, up 2% from 2011 and the 5th best single-season in league history.  2013 has started off on a good note.  Opening weekend attendance ranged from just over 36k in Oakland, for the Athletics vs Mariners, to over 53k in Los Angeles for the Dodgers vs Giants.  The 2013 average opening day crowd -1 game Sunday night and 12 on Monday - was almost 44k.  Here's a link to ESPN's attendance data: http://espn.go.com/mlb/attendance

Like any business, the league needs young superstars to build upon.  Like, 20 year old, 2012 NL Rookie of the Year, Bryce Harper in Washington.  He started yesterday where he left off in 2012, by hitting 2 home-runs in his first 2 at-bats.  Pitching is once again dominate early in the season.  Harper's teammate, 24 yr old Stephen Strasburg pitched 7 shutout innings and gave up only 3 hits.  The White Sox 24 yr old Chris Sale and 25 yr old LA Dodger Clayton Kershaw also threw impressive shut-outs in their 2013 debuts.  2012 AL Rookie of the Year, 21 yr old Mike Trout of LA Angels, went 1-6 in a game where even someone like his teammate Albert Pujols went 0-4, yet the Angels still won the game.  There are very high expectations for this duo in LA.

MLB had revenues of close to $7.5B in 2012 and, with the new TV contracts and growing international audience, this expected to grow to $9B by 2014. If "Opening Day" is any indication, baseball will have no trouble getting there.

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