In this particular lab we examined our topics through the utilization of mapping and social explorer to give us a better idea about how our topic is affected regionally. I noticed that tweets about particular teams are likely regional tweets coming from the area that each respective team is located. This is a trend that I expected to see because fans likely identify with their particular team based on their location. However, outliers that are found are not surprising considering many fans may not identify with the team they are geographically close to. Fans follow particular teams for varying reasons, which is why you can find Pittsburg Pirate fans in Connecticut, for example. This made my social explorer examination somewhat insignificant because fans aren’t necessarily attached to particular teams in their region, and they also have favorite players that they may follow that play for a different team than they ordinarily root for. Still, I examined race and financial data as follows:
2015 Census Data:
Baltimore: 30% white
17% >100K
Boston: 55% white
28% > 100K
NY (Kings County): 44% white
22% > 100K
San Francisco: 49% white
42% > 100K
Los Angles: 53% white
27% >$100k
San Diego: 71% white
31% > 100K
Studying teams across the country and possible impacts of certain types of fans per region based on their backgrounds, led me to examine players production depending on their team’s location in the country taking into account team market and their individual contracts with that team. Players tend perform differently on certain teams based on a wide range of factors, but mainly may falter or succeed depending on their role on the team.
The first way I examined this was through free agency and studying players that have either remained with the same team or decided to sign with a new team. Some players experienced a drop or increase in productivity throughout these changes or lack there of.
| Free Agent Multi-Year Signings from 2010-Present | ||||||
| 2010 | ||||||
| Player | Teams | Stats before | First year after | Overall stats for Contract | oWAR (B4/1YR AFT/AFTER) | |
| Carl Crawford (29) | TBR signed with BOS 7yr 142mil | BA= .296 OPS= .781 | BA= .255 OPS= .694 | BA= .271 OPS= .717 | 3.01/.4/.73 | |
| Jayson Werth (32) | PHI signed with Was 7yr 126mil | BA= .272 OPS= .848 | BA= .232 OPS= .718 | BA= .270 OPS= .800 | 1.74/1.5/2.183 | |
| Cliff Lee (32) | TEX signed with PHI 5yr 120mil | ERA= 3.85 | ERA= 2.40 | ERA= 2.89 | 2.24/8.6/5.3 | |
| Adrian Beltre (32) | BOS signed with TEX 6yr 96mil | BA= .275 OPS= .791 | BA= .296 OPS= .892 | BA= .306 OPS= .862 | 2.77/4.5/4.66 | |
| Adam Dunn (31) | Was signed with CHW 4yr 56mil | BA= .250 OPS= .902 | BA= .159 OPS= .569 | BA= .202 OPS= .728 | 3.28/-2.6/.425 | |
| Derek Jeter (37) | Resigned with NYY 3yr 51mil | BA= .314 OPS= .837 | BA=. .297 OPS= .743 | BA= .302 OPS= .759 | 5.456/2.7/2.23 | ws winner |
| Victor Martinez (32) | BOS signed with DET 4yr 50mil | BA= .300 OPS= .838 | BA= .330 OPS= .850 | BA= .321 OPS= .868 | 3.18/3.3/2.15 | |
| Paul Konerko (35) | Resigned with CHW 3yr 37.5mil | BA= .280 OPS= .854 | BA= .300 OPS= .906 | BA= .283 OPS= .818 | 2.0/3.3/2.5 | ws winner |
| Rafael Soriano (31) | TBR signed with NYY 3yr 35mil | ERA= 2.73 | ERA= 4.12 | ERA= 3.01 | 1.06/.6/1.6 | |
| 2011 | ||||||
| Player | Teams | Stats before | First year after | Overall stats for Contract | oWAR (B4/1YR AFT/AFTER) | |
| Albert Pujols (32) | STL signed with LAA 10yr 250mil | BA= .328 OPS= 1.037 | BA= .285 OPS= .859 | BA= .264 OPS= .796 | 6.71/4.0/2.32 | ws winner |
| Prince Fielder (28) | MIL signed with DET 9yr 214mil | BA= .282 OPS= .929 | BA= .313 OPS= .940 | BA= .284 OPS= .827 | 3.5/5.3/1.9 | alcs winner |
| Jose Reyes (29) | NYM signed with MIA 6yr 106mil | BA= .292 OPS= .782 | BA= .287 OPS= .780 | BA= .286 OPS= .744 | 3.1/4.5/3.4 | |
| C.J. Wilson (31) | TEX signed with LAA 5yr 77.5mil | ERA= 3.60 | ERA= 3.83 | ERA= 3.87 | 1.57/.7/1.3 | alcs winner |
| Mark Buehrle (33) | CHW signed with MIA 4 yr 58mil | ERA= 3.83 | ERA= 3.74 | ERA= 3.77 | 4.08/3.5/2.55 | ws winner |
| Jonathan Papelbon (31) | BOS signed with PHI 4yr 50mil | ERA= 2.33 | ERA= 2.44 | ERA= 2.38 | 2.31/1.7/1.85 | ws winner |
| Jimmy Rollins (33) | Resigned with PHI 3yr 38mil | BA= .272 OPS= .761 | BA= .250 OPS= .743 | BA= .249 OPS= .709 | BA (30+) =.247 WS winner | 2.76/3.1/3.0 |
| Aramis Ramirez (34) | CHC signed with MIL 3yr 36mil | BA= .282 OPS= .842 | BA= .300 OPS= .901 | BA= .291 OPS= .834 | 4.9/4.6/3.8 | |
| Michael Cuddyer (33) | MIN signed with COL 3yr 31.5mil | BA= .272 OPS= .794 | BA= .260 OPS= .806 | BA= .307 OPS= .886 | 1.8/1.2/2.3 | |
| 2012 | ||||||
| Player | Teams | Stats before | First year after | Overall stats for Contract | oWAR (B4/1YR AFT/AFTER) | |
| Zack Greinke (29) | MIL signed with LAD 6yrs 147mil | ERA= 3.77 | ERA= 2.63 | ERA= 2.30 (3yr buyout) | 3.46/3.9/5.83 | |
| Josh Hamilton (32) | TEX signed with LAA 5yr 123mil | BA= .302 OPS= .913 | BA= .250 OPS= .739 | BA= .255 OPS= .740 | 4.2/1.9/1.26 | alcs winner |
| Anibal Sanchez (29) | Resigned with DET 5yr 80mil | ERA= 3.75 | ERA= 2.57 | ERA= 4.04 | 2.13/6.3/1.93 | alcs winner |
| Melvin Upton Jr. (28) | TBR signed with ATL 5yr 75.25mil | BA= .255 OPS= .758 | BA= .184 OPS= .557 | BA= .221 OPS= .665 | 2.3/-1.7/.375 | |
| Nick Swisher (32) | NYY signed with CLE 4yr 56mil | BA= .256 OPS= .828 | BA= .246 OPS= .763 | BA= .224 OPS= .689 | 2.5/2.7/.4 | ws winner |
| Edwin Jackson (29) | WAS signed with CHC 4yrs 52mil | ERA= 4.40 | ERA= 4.98 | ERA= 5.21 | 1.3/-1.3/-1.1 | |
| Michael Bourn (30) | ATL signed with CLE 4yr 48mil | BA= .272 OPS= .704 | BA= .263 OPS= .676 | BA= .254 OPS= .653 | 1.72/1.8/.93 | |
| Angel Pagan (31) | Resigned with SFG 4yr 40mil | BA= .281 OPS= .757 | BA= .282 OPS= .749 | BA= .280 OPS= .702 | 1.78/1.9/1.33 | ws winner |
| Shane Victorino (32) | LAD signed with BOS 3yr 39mil | BA= .275 OPS= .770 | BA= .294 OPS= .801 | BA= .275 OPS= .737 | 1.95/3.5/1.3 | ws winner |
| 2013 | ||||||
| Player | Teams | Stats before | First year after | Overall stats for Contract | oWAR (B4/1YR AFT/AFTER) | |
| Robinson Cano (31) | NYY signed with SEA 10yr 240mil | BA= .309 OPS= .860 | BA= .314 OPS= .836 | BA= .303 OPS= .832 | WS winner | |
| Jacoby Ellsbury (30) | BOS signed with NYY 7yr 153mil | BA= .297 OPS= .789 | BA= .271 OPS= .747 | BA= .267 OPS= .715 | WS winner | |
| Shin-Soo Choo (31) | CIN signed with TEX 7yr 130mil | BA= .288 OPS= .854 | BA= .242 OPS= .714 | BA= .261 OPS= .791 | ||
| Curtis Granderson (33) | NYY signed with NYM 4yr 60mil | BA= .261 OPS= .828 | BA= .227 OPS= .714 | BA= .243 OPS= .775 | ALCS winner | |
| Jhonny Peralta (32) | DET signed with STL 4yr 53mil | BA= .268 OPS= .755 | BA= .263 OPS= .779 | BA= .266 OPS= .756 | ALCS winner | |
| Matt Garza (30) | TEX signed with MIL 4yr 50mil | ERA= 3.84 | ERA= 3.64 | ERA= 4.66 | ||
| Ricky Nolasco (31) | LAD signed with MIN 4yr 49mil | ERA= 4.37 | ERA= 5.38 | ERA= 5.49 | ||
| Ubaldo Jimenez (30) | CLE signed with BAL 4yr 48mil | ERA= 3.92 | ERA= 4.81 | ERA= 5.02 | NLCS winner | |
| Carlos Beltran (37) | STL signed with NYY 3yr 45mil | BA= .283 OPS= .854 | BA= .233 OPS= .703 | BA= .267 OPS= .792 | WS winner | |
| Jason Vargas (31) | LAA signed with KCR 4yr 32mil | ERA= 4.30 | ERA= 3.71 | ERA= 3.76 | ALCS winner | |
| 2014 | ||||||
| Player | Teams | Stats before | First year after | Overall stats for Contract | oWAR (B4/1YR AFT/AFTER) | |
| Max Scherzer (30) | DET signed with WAS 7yr 210mil | ERA= 3.58 | ERA= 2.79 | ERA= 3.03 | WS winner | |
| Jon Lester (31) | OAK signed with CHC 6yr 155mil | ERA= 3.58 | ERA= 3.34 | ERA= 3.22 | WS winner | |
| Pablo Sandoval (28) | SFG signed with BOS 5yr 95mil | BA= .294 OPS= .811 | BA= .245 OPS= .658 | BA= .242 OPS= .651 | WS winner | |
| Hanley Ramirez (31) | LAD signed with BOS 4yr 88mil | BA= .300 OPS= .873 | BA= .249 OPS= .717 | BA= .266 OPS= .755 | ||
| Russell Martin (32) | PIT signed with TOR 5yr 82mil | BA= .259 OPS= .754 | BA= .240 OPS= .787 | BA= .236 OPS= .740 | ||
| James Shields (33) | KCR signed with SDP 4yr 75mil | ERA= 3.72 | ERA= 3.91 | ERA= 4.47 | ALCS winner | |
| Victor Martinez (36) | Resigned with DET 4yr 68mil | BA= .306 OPS= .847 | BA= .245 OPS= .667 | BA= .272 OPS= .754 | ALCS winner | |
| Nelson Cruz (34) | BAL signed with SEA 4yr 57mil | BA= .268 OPS= .829 | BA= .302 OPS= .936 | BA= .294 OPS= .926 | ALCS winner | |
| Ervin Santana (32) | ATL signed with MIN 4yr 55mil | ERA= 4.17 | ERA= 4.00 | ERA= 4.03 | ||
| Chase Headley (31) | Resigned with NYY 4yr 52mil | BA= .265 OPS= .756 | BA= .259 OPS= .693 | BA= .258 OPS= .698 | ||
| David Robertson (30) | NYY signed with CHW 4yr 46mil | ERA= 2.81 | ERA= 3.41 | ERA= 3.34 | WS winner | |
| Nick Markakis (31) | BAL signed with ATL 4yr 44mil | BA= .290 OPS= .793 | BA= .296 OPS= .746 | BA= .282 OPS= .729 | ||
| Francisco Liriano (31) | Resigned with PIT 3yr 39mil | ERA= 4.07 | ERA= 3.38 | ERA= 3.96 | ||
| Andrew Miller (30) | BAL signed with NYY 4yr 36mil | ERA= 4.91 | ERA= 2.04 | ERA= 1.78 | WS winner | |
These statistics follow notable off season free agent signings of premier players and examines their productivity before and after their new contracts. These statistics show that players that signed with new teams typically exhibited poor performances with their new teams. After their first year however, they often returned to their previous normal statistics that teams expected. This is likely the case because they are playing for new teams, surrounded by new players in a new stadium and most often settling into a new role. Jayson Werth was a typical middle of lineup type bat for the Philadelphia Phillies driving in runs for the team. This was a role that he thrived, and upon arrival with the Washington Nationals he did not have as talented supporting teammates and was forced to bat earlier in the lineup and be a “table setter” getting on base so other guys can score him, instead of being the guy to drive in the runs. This change of scenery and new role caused his drastic drop-off in production. It wasn’t until the following season, 162 games later he settled in and returned to form once he fully accepted and immersed himself into his new role. Players remaining with the same team saw consistent seasons for the duration of their new contract because it is as if nothing changed. Players like Derek Jeter and Paul Konerko, some of the oldest players on this list, continued their consistent style of play because they held the same roles with their respective teams. One interesting statistic I found was that players that did sign with new teams and experienced success immediately were players that had either won or appeared in a World Series at some point in their career. These are players with playoff experience that have faced different pressures than players not appearing in the playoffs have experienced. This is likely because the playoffs is an all hands on deck type atmosphere where players are forced to embrace new roles on the fly to ensure their teams success. Shane Victorino was an everyday starter that adapted to batting in different roles as well as coming off the bench during the Phillies World Series championship in 2008. This allowed him to embrace a new role with the Red Sox easily and contribute positively to their World Series run in 2013.
This next study examines players signing with new and former teams taking into the account the market size of each respective team. This allows us to study whether going from small market to large market teams affects players production values. We can expect to see some drop in production whether I player is accustomed to playing in high leverage games where the fans will scold players for their production to now playing in front of significantly less fans, or if players were better playing in that situation and find high pressure games more difficult to live up to.
| 2015-2016 MLB Free Agent Performance Following New Contract (All Star Break 2016) | |||||||
| Player Signed at 5mil or greater (Same Team) | Contract | Team | Statistics | Player Signed at 5mil or Greater (New Team) | Contract | Team | Statistics |
| Jose Bautista: (all star) | 1 yr 14mil | Blue Jays | 2015: BA= .250 OPS= .913 2016: BA=.230 OPS= .815 | John Axford: | 2yrs 10mil | Rockies to Athletics (Both Small Market) | 2015: ERA= 4.20 2016: ERA= 5.24 |
| Jonathan Broxton: (all star) | 2 yrs 7.5mil | Cardinals | 2015: ERA= 4.62 WHIP= 1.376 2016: ERA= 3.93 WHIP= 1.223 | Antonio Bastardo: | 2yrs 12mil | Pirates to Mets (Small to NY) | 2015: ERA= 2.98 HR/9= 0.6 2016: ERA= 4.84 HR/9= 1.5 |
| Yoenis Cespedes: (all star) | 3yrs 75mil | Mets | 2015: BA= .291 OPS= .870 2016: BA= .302 OPS= .955 | Joaquin Benoit: | 1yr 7.5 | Resigned with Padres traded to Mariners prior to 2016 (Both Large Market) | 2015: ERA= 2.34 WHIP= .903 2016: ERA=4.71 WHIP= 1.429 |
| Bartolo Colon: (all star) | 1yr 7.25mil | Mets | 2015: ERA= 4.16 2015: ERA =3.28 | Asdrubal Cabrera: (all star) | 2yrs 18.5mil | Rays to Mets (Small to NY) | 2015: BA= .265 OPS= .744 2016: BA= .265 OPS= .758 |
| Chris Davis: (all star) Major stats still around career average | 7yrs 161mil | Orioles | 2015: OBP= .361 2016: OBP= .344 | Wei-Yin Chen: | 5yrs 80mil | Orioles to Marlins (Large to Small Market) | 2015: ERA 3.34 WHIP: 1.218 2016: ERA 4.83 WHIP: 1.267 |
| RA Dickey: (all star) Major stats stil around career average | 1yr 12 mil | Blue Jays | 2015: ERA= 3.91 2016: ERA= 4.10 | Steve Cishek: | 2yrs 10mil | Cardinals to Mariners (Both Large Market) | 2015: ERA= 3.58 K/9= 7.7 2016: ERA= 3.00 K/9= 11.3 |
| Edwin Encarnacion: (all star) Statistics above career average | 1yr 10 mil | Blue Jays | 2015: BA= .277 2016: BA= .267 | Tyler Clippard: (all star) | 2yrs 12.25mil | Mets to Diamondbacks (NY to Small Market) | 2015: ERA= 2.92 2016: ERA= 3.06 |
| Alcides Escobar: (all star) | 1yr 5.25mil | Royals | 2015 BA= .257 OPS= .614 2016: BA=.260 OPS=.608 | Johnny Cueto: (all star) | 6yrs 130mil | Royals to Giants (Medium to Large Market) | 2015: ERA= 3.44 WHIP= 1.132 2016: ERA= 2.47 WHIP= 0.997 |
| Marco Estrada: (all star) | 2yrs 32mil | Blue Jays | 2015: ERA= 3.13 K/9= 6.5 2016: ERA= 2.93 K/9= 8.5 | Rajai Davis: | 1yr 5.25mil | Tigers to Indians (Large to Small Market) | 2015: BA= .258 OPS= .746 2016: BA= .271 OPS= .772 |
| Dexter Fowler: (all star) | 1yr 13mil | Cubs | 2015: BA= .250 OPS= .757 2016: BA= .290 OPS= .881 | Alejandro De Aza: (Played for 3 teams in ’15) | 1yr 5.75mil | Giants to Mets (Large to NY) | 2015: BA= .262 2015: BA= .167 |
| Jaime Garcia: | 1yr 11mil | Cardinals | 2015: ERA= 2.43 2016: ERA= 4.01 | Ian Desmond: (all star) | 1yr 8mil | Nationals to Rangers (Both Large Market) | 2015: BA= .233 OPS= .674 2016: BA= .318 OPS= .891 |
| Alex Gordon: (Injured Wrist in 2016) | 4yrs 72mil | Royals | 2015: BA= .271 2016: BA= .201 | Doug Fister: | 1yr 7mil | Nationals to Astros (Large to Small Market) | 2015: ERA= 4.19 WHIP: 1.398 2016: ERA= 3.55 WHIP= 1.241 |
| JP Howell: | 1yr 6.25 mil | Dodgers | 2015: ERA= 1.43 2016: ERA= 3.81 | David Freese: (all star) | 1yr 3mil | Angels to Pirates (Large to Small) | 2015: BA= .257 OPS= .743 2016: BA= .300 OPS= .864 |
| Hisashi Iwakuma: | 1yr 12mil | Mariners | 2015: ERA= 3.54 2016: ERA= 4.25 | Zack Greinke: (all star) Stats near career average | 6yrs 206.5mil | Dodgers to Diamondbacks (Large to Small Market) | 2015: ERA= 1.66 2016: ERA= 3.62 |
| Howie Kendrick: (all star) Different positions | 2yr 20mil | Dodgers | 2015: BA= .2935 2016: BA= .246 | J.A. Happ: | 3yrs 36mil | Mariners+Pirates to Blue Jays (Large to Small Market) | 2015: (Mariners): ERA= 4.64 2015: (Pirates): ERA= 1.85 2016: ERA= 3.36 |
| Colby Lewis: | 1yr 6mil | Rangers | 2015: ERA= 4.66 2016: ERA= 3.21 | Jason Heyward: (all star) | 8 yrs 184mil | Cardinals to Cubs (Both Large Market) | 2015 BA= .293 OPS= .797 2016= .241 OPS= .667 |
| Adam Lind: | 1yr 8 mil | Brewers traded to Mariners before season (Small to Large Market) | 2015: BA= .277 OPS= .820 2016: BA= .232 OPS= .691 | John Jaso: (more games played already in 2016) above career average | 2yr 8mil | Rays to Pirates (Both Small Market) | 2015: BA= .286 2016: BA= .273 |
| Darren O’Day: | 4yr 31mil | Orioles | 2015: ERA= 1.52 2016: ERA= 3.15 | Scott Kazmir: | 3yr 48mil | Athletics to Astros to Dodgers (Small to Large Market) | 2015: ERA= 3.10 2016: ERA= 4.52 |
| Colby Rasmus: | 1yr 15.8mil | Astros | 2015: BA= .238 OPS= .789 2016: BA= .245 OPS= .726 | John Lackey: (all star) | 2yr 32 mil | Cardinals to Cubs (Both Large Market) | 2015: ERA= 2.77 2016: ERA= 3.50 |
| Chase Utley: | 1yr 7mil | Dodgers | 2015: BA= .212 2016: BA= .267 | Ian Kennedy: | 5yr 70mil | Padres to Royals (Both Medium Market) | 2015: ERA= 4.28 2016: ERA= 3.97 |
| Matt Wieters: | 1yr 15.8mil | Orioles | 2015: BA= .267 OPS= .742 2016: BA= .264 OPS= .744 | Mike Leake: | 5yr 80mil | Reds to Giants to Cardinals (Small to Large Market) | 2015: ERA= 3.70 2016: ERA= 4.33 |
| Ryan Madson: | 3yr 22mil | Royals to Athletics (Medium to Small Market) | 2015: ERA= 2.13 2016: ERA= 3.47 | ||||
| Daniel Murphy: (all star) | 3yr 37mil | Mets to Nationals (NY to large Market) | 2015: BA= .281 OPS= .770 2016: BA= .345 OPS= .962 | ||||
| Mike Napoli: (all star) still around career average | 1yr 7mil | Rangers to Indians (Large to Small Market) | 2015: BA= .295 2016: BA= .241 | ||||
| Gerardo Parra: (.231 BA in Baltimore) | 3yr 27.5mil | Brewers to Orioles to Rockies (Medium Large to Small Market) | 2015: BA= .291 2016: BA= .263 | ||||
| David Price: | 7yr 217mil | Tigers to Blue Jays to Red Sox (All Large Markets) | 2015: ERA= 2.45 WHIP= 1.076 2016: ERA= 4.64 WHIP= 1.229 | ||||
| Jeff Samardzija: | 5yr 90mil | White Sox to Giants (Medium to large Market) | 2015: ERA= 4.96 2016: ERA= 3.91 | ||||
| Joakim Soria: | 3yr 25mil | Tigers to Pirates to Royals (Large to Small to Medium Market) | 2015: ERA= 2.53 2016: ERA= 3.29 | ||||
| Justin Upton: (all star) | 6yr 132.75mil | Padres to Tiger (Medium to Large Market) | 2015: BA= .251 OPS= .790 2016: BA= .231 OPS= .665 | ||||
| Chris Young: | 2yr 13mil | Yankees to Red Sox (Both Large Markets) | 2015: BA= .252 2016: BA= .277 | ||||
| Jordan Zimmerman: (all star) | 5yr 110mil | Nationals to Tigers (Both Large Markets) | 2015: ERA= 3.66 2016: ERA= 3.95 | ||||
| Ben Zobrist: (all star) | 4yr 56mil | Athletics to Royals to Cubs (Small to Large Market) | 2015: BA= .276 2016: BA= .286 | ||||
These statistics reinforce the idea that changing market size of a team can affect players. They settle into particular cities and grow comfortable playing in those environments and that begins to affect their ability to adapt to new atmospheres. However, former all stars seemed to be able to adapt to these changes, this could be because these are typically the players that consistently play at a high level throughout the duration of a season and varying ballparks and cities. Again, players remaining with their team experienced similar type seasons that they have in the past. Another piece of evidence that appeared was that players moving from the American League to the National League tended to play as well if not better than they had previously. But, players moving from the NL to the AL found it more difficult to adapt the different league and style of play. It is unfair to say that these trends are the end all be all, but these do support the idea that certain players find comfort in certain roles and certain markets, while others simply thrive and are the ones that experience greater success by making their respective all star team and contributing towards a World Series push.
Brian Kenny writes a chapter titled, “When Bad Contracts Happen to Good People” to discuss how it is always a bad idea to sign a big name free agent for hundreds of millions of dollars, because in the end it will almost never be worth the money. If a team does offer a player such a contract there are many factors that must be taken into account including age, position, and type of player. Similar to the contracts above, teams need to deeply examine players before offering them contracts that they will be stuck with for multiple years.
| Team | Wins (2015) | Average Salary (2016) | Longest Contracts/ age | ||
| National League | |||||
| St. Louis Cardinals | 100 | 4,455,628 | Molina (34) 10yrs | Holliday (36) 7yrs | |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 98 | 2,862,861 | McCutchen (31) 6yrs | Marte (30) 6yrs | |
| Chicago Cubs | 97 | 4,166,233 | Zobrist (39) 4yrs | ||
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 92 | 7,445,080 | Gonzales (36) 7yrs | Ethier (35) 6 yrs | Crawford Release 21mil |
| New York Mets | 90 | 3,558,088 | Wright (37) 14yrs | ||
| San Francisco Giants | 84 | 5,946,284 | Cain (33) 8 yrs | Posey (34) 9yrs | Cueto (36) 6yrs |
| Washington Nationals | 83 | 5,724,516 | Scherzer (36) 7yrs | Strasburg (34) 7yrs | Zimmerman (34) 11yrs |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | 79 | 2,358,761 | Greinke (38) 6yrs | Tomas (29) 6yrs | Goldschmidt (30) 5yrs |
| San Diego Padres | 74 | 4,357,573 | Kemp (34) 8yrs | ||
| Miami Marlins | 71 | 3,134,722 | Stanton (37) 13yrs | ||
| Colorado Rockies | 68 | 3,388,316 | Gonzales (31) 7yrs | ||
| Milwaukee Brewers | 68 | 3,795,501 | Braun (36) 5yrs | ||
| Atlanta Braves | 67 | 2,920,755 | Freeman (31) 7yrs | Olivera (35) 6yrs | |
| Cincinnati Reds | 64 | 4,323,418 | Votto (39) 10yrs | Phillips (37) 10yr | |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 63 | 4,434,933 | Howard (36) 5yrs | ||
This chart from the National League displays good and bad contracts in relation to team wins in 2015. These contracts show the length and the player age at completion of the contract. It isn’t necessarily the teams that spent the most that saw the most success, but the teams that spent their money well displayed successful numbers. This was achieved by signing long term contracts to young players with promising futures or by signing short-term deals with established veterans. Teams that signed long-term deals with aging players were left with a high pay roll and low production levels, leaving their team with a large average player salary and a low win total. Player contracts should be thought over and examined very closely to ensure that the team is making the right decision. The free agent market can be a team’s best friend or its worst nightmare. Location and demographic of teams can affect players’ performances and it requires a lot of research and data to determine a proper match between a player and a franchise.
KENNY, BRIAN. AHEAD OF THE CURVE: inside the baseball revolution. Place of publication not identified: SIMON & SCHUSTER, 2017. Print.