The Rays Made The Playoffs Spending $155 Million Less Than The Yankees

The Yankees spent nearly $200 million on player salaries this season. The result is their 16th playoff appearance in 17 years. At the other end of the spectrum, the Tampa Bay Rays clinched their third playoff berth in four years last night with a payroll of $41.9 million. And the Rays actually slashed their payroll entering the season, as it was down more than 40 percent from a year ago. The Rays aren't the only low payroll team still alive. Both the Rays (29th) and Arizona Diamondbacks (25th) are in the bottom ten of payroll. And three teams (Rays, D-Backs, Brewers) are in the bottom half of player spending. Here is a list of how much each of the playoff teams spent on player salaries this season...