The Los Angeles Dodgers have signed unicorn superstar Shohei Ohtani to an eye- popping $700 million 10- year contract. Paul Campos puts this in historical perspective:
"The first year in MLB baseball history for which there’s comprehensive salary data featured an average salary of $19,000. Converted to 2023 dollars, this $175,000. This means that a single year of Ohtani’s contract is worth approximately 70%, in real inflation-adjusted dollars, of the entire major league payroll in 1967.
"1967 was also the first season in which major league players had a certified union."
Someone owes a hearty arigato to the late, great union organizer Marvin Miller.
(Photo illustration: Axios Visuals/ Photos: Ronald Martinez, Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
