Which Three Home Run Derby Contestants Make Less Than $1 Million?
Policy + Politics

Which Three Home Run Derby Contestants Make Less Than $1 Million?

Kim Klement/USA TODAY

Major League Baseball’s Home Run Derby tonight should be a showcase of some of the game’s top sluggers bashing balls for miles. But if home run title is still up for grabs, the financial champion among this year’s contestants is already a lock.

Sluggers Troy Tulowitzki, Jose Bautista and Adam Jones will make more than $13 million each this year – a fitting salary figure for power bats with name recognition. Three other plays competing in tonight’s Home Run Derby at Target Field in Minnesota — Josh Donaldson, Brian Dozier and Todd Frazier – will make less than $1 million.

Data from Deadspin and the Associated Press shows that annual salary isn’t indicative of production, though. For example, Donaldson and Tulowitzki have 20 and 21 home runs, respectively, this year. Donaldson will make $500,000 while Tulowitzki is making $16 million. Baseball’s leading slugger heading into the All-Star break, rookie Jose Abreu of the Chicago White Sox, is making $8.7 million.

Abreu, who leads the league with 29 homers, isn’t participating in the Home Run Derby. Neither are Nelson Cruz of the Baltimore Orioles (28 home runs) or Toronto’s Edwin Encarnacion, who is injured (26 home runs), or rising superstar Mike Trout of the Angels (22 home runs).

Here’s who will be taking hacks at the home run contest, and how much they’re making this year:

American League

  • Jose Bautista: Toronto Blue Jays, 17 home runs, $14 million
  • Adam Jones: Baltimore Orioles, 16 home runs, $13.1 million
  • Yoenis Cespedes: Oakland Athletics, 14 home runs, $10.5 million
  • Brian Dozier: Minnesota Twins, 16 home runs, $540,000
  • Josh Donaldson: Oakland Athletics, 20 home runs, $500,000

Related: 10 Cities with Booming Job Growth

National League

  • Troy Tulowitzki: Colorado Rockies, 20 home runs, $16 million
  • Giancarlo Stanton: Miami Marlins, 21 home runs, $6.5 million
  • Justin Morneau:  Colorado Rockies, 13 home runs, $5 million
  • Yasiel Puig: Los Angeles Dodgers, 12 home runs, $3.7 million
  • Todd Frazier: Cincinnati Reds, 17 home runs, $600,000

Regardless of who wins the contest, one player can claim victory over the digital space. That would be Jose Bautista and his 527,000 Twitter followers. The derby contestant with the second highest number of followers is Puig with 144,000.

Top Reads from The Fiscal Times: