Money isn't everything, just ask Tampa Bay

For all you NBL fans who accuse the Tigers of cap cheating, for all you football fans who criticize the EPL for its “big four” culture, for all you capitalists: take heart, there's a story out there for you – the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays.

Prior to this year, the team then-known as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays finished last place in Major League Baseball nine out of the ten years of their existence. Last year, their entire team’s payroll was worth less than that of one Yankees player, Alex Rodriguez.

When you add to that the low attendance figures, it is easy to know why the Rays were once considered the joke of baseball.

This year things changed. The payroll is still mild – although you could now hypothetically buy two Yankee outfielders – and the crowds are still underwhelming. But for the first time in franchise history, the Rays are in the playoffs.

“It’s something I’ve never experienced, to be looking down on the American League, instead of looking up,” said the Rays’ Jonny Gomes.

The further you look into the Tampa Bay situation the more you understand why this is such a rare experience. Not only is the American League generally considered the tougher conference, they have to share their division with the likes of the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox.

And you know big market teams like that are going to throw money around.

The Rays’ circumstances were clearly not conducive to such a remarkable turnaround.

After all, the Red Sox spend over $133 million on their players. The Yankees spend more than anyone in baseball, dropping a cool $207 million on salaries.

The Rays? They come in second-last in the payroll stakes, just scraping over the $43 million mark.

And now they’re in the playoffs. Ahead of the Red Sox (who limped in with a wildcard) and ahead of the Yankees (who missed out altogether.)

It clearly defies any logic that salary capped competitions will tell you. Occasionally you might see a team like Geelong or Hawthorn, where players might take a pay cut to play for a premiership team, but Tampa Bay couldn’t be further from that.

Who wants to take a pay cut to play for the perennial cellar dwellers in front of a half empty stadium?

It beggars belief how this team of underdogs would carry the “best record in baseball” mantle several times throughout the season, top their division (and what a division!) and now line-up for their first playoff series in the franchise’s history.

Yet early tomorrow morning, that is exactly what will happen. It begins with a five-game series against the Chicago White Sox.

Then if they can go on to claim the American League championship, it’ll be the World Series. A far cry from their previous ten years of existence.

The Rays – along with the Chicago Cubs, who will attempt to break their 100-year championship drought – are a fairytale waiting to happen this October.

Even without a salary cap, baseball remains competitive. It is nice to know there is room for a Tampa Bay Rays in the playoffs.

Oh, and for all those playing at home, the three biggest spenders in baseball all happened to miss the playoffs. Some advantage money is.

Salary caps, like the Yankees, may be overrated.