We all know that our San Francisco Giants are lovely, unique snowflakes, but now they've got one more "first" to add to their resumes: They're each receiving an all-time record amount of money as a result of their World Series triumph.
What, you thought the postseason was played for the love of the game? Oh, honey! While I'm sure every player's competitive nature and adoration of the sport plays a big part in their drive to win every game after the regular season has ended, that's not all that's at stake here: According to MLB.com, players divvy up a pool formed out of gate fees from each post-season game, to the tune of millions of dollars.
The total players' pool this postseason was just over $26 million, a figure formed from 50 percent of the gate receipts from the Wild Card Games, 60 percent of the gate receipts from the first three games of the Division Series, 60 percent of the gate receipts from the first four games of the Championship Series and 60 percent of the gate receipts from the first four games of the World Series.
That pool is then divided up by all ten of the teams playing in the postseason. For our guys, that ended being $388,605.94 each. (I will pettily note that this dwarfs each Dodgers' payout by over ten times, as each Dodger "only" got $31,542.85. In other words, this.)
Here's how it breaks down, from least to most per share:
- Oakland A's $930,396.93 of the players' pool, with each full share worth $15,266.43. The A's issued 53 full shares, a total of 6.42 partial shares and 18 cash awards.
- Pittsburgh Pirates: $930,396.93 of the players' pool, with each full share worth $16,555.58. The Pirates issued 47 full shares, a total of 8.92 partial shares and one cash award.
- Washington Nationals: $2,015,860.01 of the players' pool, with each full share worth $29,418.13. The Nationals issued 58 full shares and a total of 10.52 partial shares.
- LA Dodgers: $2,015,860.01 of the players' pool, with each full share worth $31,542.85. The Dodgers issued 54 full shares, a total of 9.65 partial shares and four cash awards.
- Anaheim Angels: $2,015,860.01 of the players' pool, with each full share worth $29,844.65. The Angels issued 57 full shares, a total of 7.825 partial shares and 29 cash awards.
- Detroit Tigers: 2,015,860.01 of the players' pool, with each full share worth $31,543.93. The Tigers issued 55 full shares, a total of 8.21 partial shares and nine cash awards.
- St. Louis Cardinals: $7,443,175.42 of the players' pool, with each full share worth $115,480.62. The Cardinals issued 54 full shares, a total of 10.32 partial shares and two cash awards.
- Baltimore Orioles: $7.443,175.42 of the players' pool, with each full share worth $125,288.04. The Orioles issued 52 full shares, a total of 6.25 partial shares and 36 cash awards.
- Kansas City Royals: $14,886,350.85 of the players' pool, with each full share worth $230,699.73. The Royals issued 54 full shares, a total of 9.77 partial shares and 25 cash awards.
And, of course...
- The SF Giants: $22,329,526.27 of the players' pool, with each full share worth $388,605.94. The Giants issued 47 full shares, a total of 9.65 partial shares and 17 cash awards.
The Giants' payout is a new high-water mark for the MLB, but the only folks they're unseating are themselves: The league's last high was hit in 2012, when the Giants took home $370,872.53 each after that year's World Series championship.