Major League Baseball announced the allotment of 2017 postseason shares, with the total pool exceeding $84 million. The amount is up from $76 million in 2016 and $69 million in 2015 — both record-highs at the time.
The pool is composed of 50 percent Wild-Card gate receipts, 60 percent of receipts for the first three games of the Division Series, 60 percent of receipts from the first four games of the Championship Series and another 60 percent of gate receipts from the first four games of the World Series.
As World Series runner-ups, the Los Angeles Dodgers earned just over $20 million — good for 24 percent of the record-breaking player pool. The Houston Astros, who captured their first championship in franchise history, netted 36 percent of the pool. Individual shares for both clubs were worth $259,722.14 and $438,901.57, respectively.
The Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees received 12 percent for participating in the National League and American League Championship Series. Meanwhile, the Arizona Diamondbacks, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians and Washington Nationals took home 3.25 percent for appearing in the Division Series.
The Colorado Rockies and Minnesota Twins, who fell short in the Wild Card Games, each brought in 1.5 percent of the players’ pool. The clubs are permitted to vote on the distribution of their shares.
Los Angeles split their money into 65 full shares, 8.285 partial shares and 20 cash awards. Last season, the Dodgers earned $9,195,339.25 for reaching the NLCS. It was a record-high at the time before the club shattered that mark in 2017.