The Kansas City Royals have electrified an otherwise tiresome American League Central this year. The boys in blue have the best record in the league and are on track to defend their first pennant in 30 years.
They're also the most evenly paid team in the majors.
A Big Crunch analysis shows the Royals' payroll is the most equally distributed among its players, based on the average yearly pay for their current contracts. And that could have something to do with the team's impressive performance.
The Dodgers have the overall biggest payroll this year at over $300 million and the highest average pay of $6.1 million, according to data from Spotrac. But the $30.7 million average paid to Clayton Kershaw over his seven-year contract draws that average up quite a bit.
Alex Rios and Edinson Volquez, on the other hand, are the only Royals who make an average of $10 million a year for their contracts. Six other players make more than $750,000. That payroll distribution gives the Royals a Gini coefficient of 0.49, a statistical measure of inequality, and the lowest in baseball.