Texas Teams Aren’t MLB’s Most Valuable
The Rangers and Astros don't crack the Top Ten on the Forbes' list of Major League Baseball's most valuable franchises, but that doesn't seem to bother Texans one bit. In fact, we kinda rebel against the richest teams, don't we?
When the Astros won the World Series last fall, it felt like a Cinderella story, with the underdog team with the most heart suddenly gaining some attention and honor for lots of routine hard work. We love that attitude.
The Astros aren't baseball's richest team, and neither are the Rangers. And Texans seem to like it that way. The front offices in Houston and Dallas may prefer that #1 slot on the list of the most valuable franchises, but fans just want home runs, wins, and heart. And maybe a foot-long corn dog and some nachos for fuel to cheer on our teams.
Forbes released its Business of Baseball list recently and named the franchises that are worth the most money, and guess who was at the top? Yep, those New York Yankees. The Rangers and Astros did make the top fifteen though.
#1 New York Yankees $4 B
#2 Los Angeles Dodgers $3 B
#3 Chicago Cubs $2.9 B
#4 San Francisco Giants $2.85 B
#5 Boston Red Sox $2.8 B
#6 New York Mets $2.1 B
#7 St Louis Cardinals $1.9 B
#8 Los Angeles Angels $1.8 B
#9 Philadelphia Phillies $1.7 B
#10 Washington Nationals $1.675 B
#11 Houston Astros $1.65 B
#12 Atlanta Braves $1.625 B
#13 Texas Rangers $1.6 B
The Rangers and Astros are pretty even in terms of value at $1.6-ish billion. Most CEOs would be pretty happy to run a company that's worth over a billion bucks, especially with World Series appearances and a championship in the past ten years. The Rangers appeared in 2010 and 2011 (sorry to bring that up, Rangers fans), and of course the Astros won the World Series in 2017. Both accomplishments helped boost the franchises in value.
It's okay with us that the Rangers and Astros aren't competing with the Yankees in the $4 billion value range. There's plenty of competition on the field, and the fact that the Texas teams aren't the richest, might make winning even more fun. Especially if there are nachos involved.