Money can't buy you ...
No estimated payroll for St. Louis. Of the top 10 in payroll, only New York Mets and Toronto did not make the playoffs.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/majors/2026-misc.shtml
| Tm | Attendance | Attend/G | Managers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 4,034,219 | 49,805 | $368,699,449 | Roberts |
| New York Yankees | 3,297,154 | 41,214 | $284,070,833 | Boone |
| Atlanta Braves | 2,800,446 | 34,573 | $278,725,000 | Weiss |
| New York Mets | 2,712,120 | 33,483 | $267,817,634 | Mendoza and Green |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 3,230,526 | 39,883 | $257,217,617 | Thomson and Mattingly |
| Chicago Cubs | 2,969,583 | 36,662 | $246,161,079 | Counsell |
| San Diego Padres | 3,347,081 | 41,322 | $244,246,082 | Stammen |
| Boston Red Sox | 2,827,315 | 34,905 | $237,693,334 | Cora and Tracy |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 3,338,878 | 41,221 | $221,400,344 | Schneider |
| Houston Astros | 2,472,118 | 30,520 | $210,361,666 | Espada |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | 2,288,586 | 28,254 | $205,921,284 | Lovullo |
| Texas Rangers | 2,406,217 | 29,706 | $181,925,000 | Schumaker |
| San Francisco Giants | 2,856,810 | 35,269 | $152,362,856 | Vitello |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 2,788,934 | 34,431 | $146,580,000 | Murphy |
| Detroit Tigers | 2,322,853 | 28,677 | $144,281,859 | Hinch |
| Seattle Mariners | 2,883,798 | 35,602 | $142,791,880 | Wilson |
| Los Angeles Angels | 2,631,919 | 32,493 | $136,988,096 | Suzuki |
| Baltimore Orioles | 1,829,252 | 22,583 | $114,287,000 | Albernaz |
| Kansas City Royals | 1,527,098 | 18,853 | $110,813,822 | Quatraro |
| Cincinnati Reds | 1,991,703 | 24,589 | $109,118,333 | Francona |
| Tm | Attendance | Attend/G | Managers | |
| Minnesota Twins | 1,740,366 | 21,486 | $100,684,523 | Shelton |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 1,704,229 | 21,040 | $95,694,833 | Kelly |
| Colorado Rockies | 2,245,426 | 27,721 | $87,189,286 | Schaeffer |
| Tampa Bay Rays | 1,414,975 | 17,469 | $79,339,545 | Cash |
| Chicago White Sox | 1,986,425 | 24,524 | $78,630,000 | Venable |
| Athletics | 799,240 | 9,867 | $77,570,714 | Kotsay |
| Cleveland Guardians | 2,001,415 | 24,709 | $75,256,711 | Vogt |
| Washington Nationals | 1,839,116 | 22,705 | $63,662,500 | Butera |
| Miami Marlins | 1,231,018 | 15,198 | $50,190,000 | McCullough |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 2,233,902 | 27,579 | Marmol |
Among the 30 MLB teams and excluding St. Louis, 3 of the bottom 6 in payroll made the 2026 playoffs: Tampa, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/
Payroll ranks:
#14 Milwaukee beat #1 Los Angeles 4-0.
#14 Milwaukee beat #7 San Diego 3-1.
____________________________
#24 Tampa beat #27 Cleveland 4-2.
#24 Tampa beat #2 New York Yankees 3-0.
____________________________
Top two in payroll were swept out.
AL payrolls: Yanks 1, Tampa 12 with Tampa about to clinch first place. Yanks outspent Tampa 3.8 per win. Monday, September 21, 2026
*** The End ***
