Much is being written about the disaster that is the NY Mets. It feels like vultures congregating around the corpse. Everyone is there to feast on the carcass.
Maybe there is another way to look at the 2023 Mets chaos. It lies in the fact that for quite a long while, teams have been very competitive with extraordinary payrolls. However, last year with a payroll of $56,000,000 the Cleveland Guardians had a great year including a trip to the playoffs.
The Tampa Rays are constantly one of the best teams with a low payroll. Other teams with low payrolls that have competed well would include the Oakland A’s (until this year). This year Tampa and Baltimore have the best records in the AL East. Cleveland just moved into first place in the Central. Miami has the second best record in the NL East. Cincinnati and Arizona are in first place.
Now the season is only half played but the big spenders are looking poor right now. Besides the Mets, look at the Padres, Yankees, Phillies, Dodgers, Angels, and Blue Jays. These are the top 7 payrolls in baseball. What is not on that list? A first place team.