Help with Player salaries

[Roast]

I'm doing this project for school on baseball in the early 1900's vs. baseball today. I need some help with player salaries.

 

Where can I find info on current player contracts, and historical contracts (Babe ruth, Cy young)

 

The link on the front page isnt working, fyi.

 

 

 

Thanks in advance.

[KatJ]

Where can I find info on current player contracts, and historical contracts (Babe ruth, Cy young)

 

Cot's is where I go for current salary figures. Don't know about the historical contracts, though.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

http://www.baseball-reference.com/

 

I don't know how far back they go.

[Omar]

http://www.baseball-reference.com/

 

I don't know how far back they go.

 

They still havent posted Babe Ruth's final transaction with the 1935 Boston Braves. Really ticking off my OCD after I even e-mailed them about it and they said they would change it.

 

Anyhow, they dont have his salary.

[EricG]

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=ruthba01

[Guest]

The Lahman Database (the online version of which is what is behind baseball-reference) has player salaries going back to the 1985 season. Before that, though, you'll be hard-pressed to find comprehensive salary information your best bet is to get it the old fashioned way: from books. One I would reccommend would be The Cultural Encyclopedia of Baseball by Jonathan Fraser Light, though I'm not sure any library near you would stock it. It has a nice section that details salary trends from the start of the major leagues to modern times. (Actually the mid-90s, as that's when the book was published.) This includes some data in specific/improtant players in MLB history. For example, according to the book Babe Ruth signed a five-year contract in 1922 that payed him $52,000 per season.

[LeftCoastCubFan]

You will have problems finding contracts back that far, but USA today has team and player opening day salaries back to 1988. http://asp.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/salaries/default.aspx

[Roast]

Well, thanks to bk i have what i need as far as ruth goes, Does anybody have any idea on what Cy young was paid over/at some point during his career. Thats really all i need, I cant go too in depth for this because the presentation is pretty short.

[Roast]

Also, where can i find the average player salary for 2005/6, and if possible any year between 1900-1930

[EricG]

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=ruthba01

 

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=youngcy01

only lists 1899-1901 as $2400-$2400 and $3000.

Ruth's salary is listed as $52k 1922-1926 and goes up to $80K in 1930.

scroll down to the bottom of each page.

[Roast]

Just so you know, you guys are my heroes.

[Guest]

I can't help you with Cy Young, but I can give you salary figures for some comparable pitchers. Christy Mathewson is listed as making $8,000 per year during his peak years for the the Giants. (Up until 1910 or so.) Walter Johnson made between $10,000-$12,000 in 1914 for the Senators (there seems to be some dispute on the exact figure between the original sources.) Apparently he was offered a salary of $26,000 by the 1915 Chicago Whales if he agreed to jump ship to the new Federal League, but he declined after Senators owner Clark Griffith matched the offer. (The story is that only $16,000 of the salary was paid by Washington, while the other $10,000 was a "bonus" paid by White Sox owner Charles Comiskey who didn't want the upstart Whales to sign a big player and draw away a bunch of his crowds.)