Yankees haters are wrong

Now that the Yankees have one their 27th world championship, it is time for the inevitable barrage of half-witted baseball dilettantes to start complaining about how they "bought another championship." For you, I offer the following:

1. If winning a championship were simply a function of payroll, the Yankees would win every year. Obviously, this is not the case.

2. Even with their three major off-season signings (Sabathia, Texiera, Burnett), the Yankees' payroll was 8 million dollars LESS than last season (when they failed to make the playoffs).

3. If success were directly related to payroll, one would expect the most successful teams to be the one with the highest payrolls, yet this is not the case. Of the five teams with the highest payrolls (Yankees, Mets, Cubs, Red Sox, Tigers), only 2 made the playoffs, and only one (Yankees) made it out of the first round. The Phillies are 7th in payroll, while the Angles are 6th. THe Dodgers are 9th, the Rockies 18th, the Twins 24th, the Cardinals 17th.

4. One would expect a team that had "bought" sucess to have all the best players, and consequently the most all-stars. Yet here also we find surprising numbers. The yankees had a mere 3 all stars (Jeter, Texira, Rivera). In the American league, Boston had the most with 6, followed by the Tampa Rays and the Detroit Tigers (neither of which made the playoffs). In the National League, the Phillies had 5, followed by the Mets with 4 and several teams with 3. Clearly the Yankees did not win because they have all the best players.

5. George Steinbrenner purchased the Yankees in 1973. Of the team's 27 championships, 7 (26%) have come during his tenure as owner. If we assume that the teams history begins in 1913 (when the name was changed from Highlanders to Yankees), Steinbrenner's ownership period (36 years) actually accounts for 37% of the team's history. Obviousy, the Steinbrenner period has not seen any statistical upturn in the frequency of championships. If anything, the rate has slowed. By comparison, the current Red Sox ownership group has owned the team for 7 years (4% of the team's history, assuming 1901 as the beginning). However, they have overseen 28% (2/7) of that team's world series victories. I don't hear anybody claiming the Red Sox bought their last two championships...

I believe this demonstrates that people who think the Yankees buy championships are wrong. Good night.