Forbes is out with the 2021 version of its Major League Baseball Team Valuations list. No prize given for guessing which team comes in at number one: The New York Yankees, of course, valued at $5.25 Billion. The Dodgers, Cubs, Red Sox, and Giants – all worth north of $3 billion each – round out the top five. No surprises here, to be honest.
At the other end of the table, the Athletics, Reds, Royals, and Rays are numbers 26 through 29, each with a value just over $1 Billion per team. At the bottom of the list: the Miami Marlins, parent club of our Jumbo Shrimp, with a value of $990 Million.
Despite sitting on assets worth billions, most owners plead poverty at every opportunity despite record amounts of revenue coming into the league (yes, 2020 was way down, but revenue will recover quickly) and record tv/cable deals signed over the last decade. We don’t know the actual profit/loss numbers because 29 of the 30 owners refuse to open their books for us all to see. Only the Braves, since they are an arm of a corporation that must issue an Annual Report, allow us the slightest glimpse of actual team economics. What continues to be readily apparent from this list is that the assets the MLB owners possess have grown steadily in value and will continue to do so.
The Catch 
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