And you thought politics was expensive. Next time you read how much money it took for a political candidate to win a local race, keep in mind: It was only one race. No matter how expensive, the win doesn’t hold a candle to the New York Mets, circa 2026.
The team is not winning too many games these days, but the team is still headed for 65 or 70 wins this season, at its current pathetic pace. (And the Rockies? Even worse, but that’s another story.) Anyway, for each one of its rare wins, the Mets are spending about $5.2 million. To repeat the obvious, that’s just for one single game, based on the team’s superinflated payroll, even by Major League Baseball standards.
We arrive at a season expenditure for the hapless, if super-rich Mets of roughly $353 million. How many local political races cost as much as a penant race (if the Mets were in the penant race, that is)?
Break it down. The Mets are putting out about 577,000 bucks per inning for winning a nine-inning game. They are paying thousands — or tens of thousands — per at bat. The only way for the Mets to improve their ROI would be to win more games. Don’t count on it.
What’s the moral? Big bucks paid to big ego baseball players don’t necessary equate to big wins. And don’t forget the non-sequiturs. The Mets’ head of baseball operations is quoted in the Wall Street Journal:
“I don’t believe our record on the field this year is indicative of some of the advancements that we’ve made in the organization.”
With advancements like these, who needs failures?
© IJN 2026
