How much does that team make?

Every year, "Forbes" compiles a list of the most valuable franchises in Major League Baseball.  It's based on revenue earned from ticket sales and TV deals, player salaries, operating costs, and a bunch of other factors. 

The five most valuable baseball franchises are: 

#1.)  New York Yankees - $1.6 BILLION

#2.)  Boston Red Sox - $870 MILLION

#3.)  New York Mets - $858 MILLION

 #4.)  Los Angeles Dodgers - $727 MILLION

 #5.)  Chicago Cubs - $726 MILLION

 And the five least valuable baseball franchises are:

 #1.)  Pittsburgh Pirates - $289 MILLION

 #2.)  Oakland Athletics - $295 MILLION

 #3.)  Tampa Bay Rays - $316 MILLION

 #4.)  Florida Marlins - $317 MILLION

 #5.)  Toronto Blue Jays - $326 MILLION

 In other words, the Yankees are worth nearly twice as much as the next most valuable team, the Red Sox.  And they're worth five and a half times more than the Pirates.  Or look at it this way theoretically, if the Pirates can offer a player a contract worth $20 MILLION, the Yankees can just as easily offer one worth $110 MILLION.  And you wonder why the Pirates haven't won the World Series since 1979.   

(--For the record, the Yankees picked up their 27th World Series win back in November.)

 Here are a few other interesting stats:

 The average baseball franchise turned a profit of $17.4 MILLION last year.  Only two franchises lost money on the year . . . the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Detroit Tigers.

Despite being one of the least valuable teams, the Florida Marlins managed to turn the highest profit last year . . . $46.1 MILLION.

Overall, the average Major League Baseball team is worth $491 MILLION.  That's up 2% from last year.

Check out the full list of stats here:

http://www.forbes.com/lists/2010/33/baseball-valuations-10_The-Business-Of-Baseball_Rank.html