Is Zack Greinke being underpaid for his 2009 Cy Young Award?
Kansas City Royals starting pitcher, Zack Greinke, won the 2009 American League Cy Young for his 16-8 record, 2.16 ERA and 242 strikeouts . The Royals luckily signed Greinke to a long-term deal before the 2009 season at 4 years, $38 million through 2012. He’ll make a $100,000 bonus for winning the Cy Young. Let’s take a look at the past few winners of the American League Cy Young and see how their salaries compare.
| Year | Player, Team | Bonus | Salary when winning C.Y. | Salary 1 year later | Salary 2 years later | % of salary increase |
| 2009 | Zack Greinke, Royals | $100,000 | $3.75M | $7.25M | $13.5M | 360% |
| 2008 | Cliff Lee, Indians | $250,000 | $3.75M | $5.75M | $8.0M | 213% |
| 2007 | C.C. Sabathia,Indians | $250,000 | $8.75M | $11.0M | $14.0M | 160% |
| 2006 | Johan Santana, Twins | $100,000 | $9.0M | $12.0M | $13.25M | 147% |
Santana and Sabathia each signed a new contract 1-2 seasons after winning their Cy Young. They earned an approximate 150% salary increase for the first year of their new contract. Lee’s was already in a 4 year, $15 million deal with an $8 million team option for 2010. His salary increase was already negotiated beforehand. You can expect Lee’s agent to ask at least $14 million for the first year in his next long-term contract to be comparable with Sabathia’s deal. Greinke’s contract was already in place and based on these numbers he’s earning what a top MLB pitcher should be making.
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