The Phillies finally found a way to beat a team from Ohio last night, bringing the team to within just 3.5 games of the first place Atlanta Braves. You would think the bar would be set a little higher for this team, especially given the payroll set up for this year's roster. Critics of the Phillies are quick to point out the massive contracts to aging players, and that is fair. It is also documented by Sports Illustrated.
Sports Illustrated released their 2013 Fortunate 50, a listing of the top 50 professional athletes according to value – consisting of salary, winnings, bonuses and endorsements. This year's list includes four members of your Philadelphia Phillies: Cliff Lee (No. 17), Ryan Howard (No. 25), Roy Halladay (No. 39) and Cole Hamels (No. 44).
Boxer Floyd Mayweather topped this year's list, removing golfer Tiger Woods from the pedestal for the first time since the list was initially put together in 2004. Woods is still in the top five though, and if he is truly back then it should not take long for him to move back up the ranking in 2014.
In all, a total of 25 baseball players are included on the list, with Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees appearing first at No. 9 and Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke rounding out the top ten. New York Mets pitcher Johan Santana appears at No. 13 overall. The Phillies are second to only the Yankees for most players appearing on the list (Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira, Vernon Wells.
No other athlete representing a Philadelphia sports team made the list.
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