Of the top 13 payrolls, only the Mets (fifth, $101M) have more than one postseason win; the Yankees (first, $199M) have one. The Tigers were 14th at $82M, Oakland 21st at $62M, the Cardinals 13th at $87M, which means that four of the top 17 payrolls made it to the postseason, three of the top 10, and only one of those, the Mets, are in the final four.
When Bud Selig led the coup against Fay Vincent on Labor Day, 1992, the primary rationale was that Vincent was too closely aligned with the big-market clubs that opposed widespread revenue-sharing. Now the World Series will be played with either the 14th-ranked Tigers or 21st-ranked Athletics.
Without a salary cap, baseball still has parity (strong, in fact) among teams with significant payroll differences. However, credit should NOT be given to Mr. Selig, who blindly thinks (thought, maybe but probably still thinks) that the success of a team is solely based on its salary. It is evident to conclude the commissioner's position on the matter from the last labor agreement, specifically in luxury tax & revenues sharing issues. It's great that teams not with the top-quartile payroll are in the playoff. It gives their fans hope and results that they deserve. Detroit Tigers proves it that it can be done with smart personnel moves & management. They did it with their young guys from trades and waiver pick-up's plus valuable veteran free agent signings (e.g. Rodríguez, Rogers, & Ordóñez)
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