[OffTheHook]

"Professional baseball is on the wane," said Albert Spalding, co-founder of the sporting equipment company of his namesake. "Salaries must come down, or the interest of the public must be increased in some way."
That was in 1881, only 12 years after the first pro team was founded, but it could just as easily be heard today on any sports talk radio station across the country.
Though it may seem like baseball salaries are detached from the real world -- this year's minimum salary is $480,000 -- America's pastime is firmly entrenched in American supply and demand.
Baseball's top eight years in attendance have all come in the last eight seasons. With an average ticket price of $27 and enormous cable and TV deals, it's easier to see how this multibillion-dollar industry results in an average player salary of nearly $3.1 million -- including those whopping contracts.
In 1988, the New York Yankees led baseball with a total payroll of just less than $19 million. Barry Zito is making more than that entire team as the San Francisco Giants' fifth starter in 2012, but he doesn't even make the list of the sport's richest players, according to figures compiled from Sports Illustrated and Forbes. Overall earnings this year are rounded and include salary and endorsement income.


http://finance.yahoo.com/news/home-run-1...57213.html