FILE – This July 10, 2012 file photo shows National League’s Melky Cabrera, of the San Francisco Giants, showing off his MVP trophy after the MLB All-Star baseball game against the American League, in Kansas City, Mo. A person familiar with the discussions tells The Associated Press that Cabrera has been disqualified from the National League batting title at his own request. The person says Cabrera asked the players’ association to convey his desire to the commissioner’s office and that an agreement to make him ineligible was reached Friday, Sept. 21, 2012. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because no announcement had been made. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel) ORG XMIT: NY161(Photo: Charlie Riedel AP)
Story Highlights
- A full share for the San Francisco Giants was worth $377,000
- A rule ensures suspended Melky Cabrera will receive a full share
- A full share for the AL champion Detroit Tigers was worth $284,000
5:12PM EST November 26. 2012 – So now we know how much money Melky Cabrera made while sitting out 50 games for testing positive for elevated levels of testosterone: $377,022.64.
That’s the value of a full share of the postseason money awarded to the World Series champion San Francisco Giants, Major League Baseball announced today. The total sets a record for the winners’ take, representing nearly a $15,000 increase on the $362,173.07 earned by the 2006 St. Louis Cardinals.
The Detroit Tigers, swept in four games by the Giants, got $284,274.50 each, the second-highest total for a World Series runner-up behind the 2006 Tigers.
The juicy check Cabrera will receive for watching the postseason on TV doesn’t quite make up for the $1.85 million in salary he forfeited, not to mention missing out on the experience of winning the World Series (he won it in 2009 with the New York Yankees).
It’s not clear whether the Giants’ players voted a full share for Cabrera, the All-Star Game MVP who left the club without addressing his teammates after his suspension was announced on Aug. 15. But in this instance their decision wouldn’t have made any difference.
A rule in the collective bargaining agreement stipulates that a suspended player must get a full share if his team plays at least 10 games after he’s eligible to be reinstated.
The Giants added Cabrera to the 40-man roster when his suspension expired at the end of the Division Series, and they played another 11 games on the way to the title after that, but they never reactivated him.
Last week, the free agent outfielder joined the Toronto Blue Jays on a two-year, $16 million contract.
This year’s postseason players’ pool of $65,363,469.22 was distributed among the 10 playoff teams, as opposed to previous years, when the eight postseason participants and four second-place finishers who didn’t win the wild card got in on the action.
The money comes from 50% of the gate receipts collected in the wild-card games, plus 60 percent each from the first three games of the division series and from the first four games of the league championship series and the World Series.
The value of each full share for the other postseason teams:
- Cardinals, $122,558.29
- New York Yankees, $115,065.28
- Cincinnati Reds, $37,865.12
- Washington Nationals, $37,045.32
- Baltimore Orioles, $34,825.61
- Oakland Athletics, $34,325.16
- Atlanta Braves, $19,609.04
- Texas Rangers, $16,999.09
