Hall of Fame Major League Baseball (MLB) player Babe Ruth's 1927 salary would be equivalent to $922,000 US Dollars (USD) in 2015. Ruth received a 35% salary increase in 1927 and was paid $70,000 USD for his record-setting season in which he hit 60 home runs. In comparison, the highest paid MLB players in 2014 received $25 million USD salaries. Although Ruth’s salary would likely be considered a bargain in 2015 dollars, he was still the highest paid player in his time for 13 straight seasons. Ruth also set a salary record in 1930, when he was paid $80,000 USD, a figure that was 2.4 times higher than the next highest earner—this is the biggest discrepancy between the top two player salaries in history.
More about MLB player salaries:
- Ross Barnes, one of the first well-known baseball players in the late 1800s, earned roughly as much per season as New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez earned per pitch in 2012.
- In 1930, Babe Ruth earned $80,000 USD—$5,000 more than Herbert Hoover, the President at the time.
- The first $1 million USD baseball salary occurred in 1979 for Nolan Ryan, and is about one-third the average salary for MLB players in 2014.