The Rise in Major League Baseball Salaries: How Salary Arbitration, Free Agency and Personal Performance Statistics Factor into the Rise in Player Salaries

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the factors supporting the rise in Major League Baseball Player Salaries over the years. In this paper, four “Former Great” players’ personal statistics and salaries were compared to “Modern Era” players that achieved similar records, in an attempt to calculate approximately how much each former player would earn if they played today. Personal statistics used to compare position players were, players’ batting averages (Avg.), slugging percentages (SLG%), and the number of homeruns calculated (HR’s). Pitcher’s figures associated were, strikeouts per innings pitched (K:IP), strikeout to walk ratio (K: BB), and walks and hits per innings pitched (WHIP). It was found that salary arbitration and free agency were directly related to the increase in MLB player salaries