[Bluenoser]

Originally Posted by Le Grande Orange

Might as well post some real numbers to put things into perspective. Here is the breakdown of what the Texas Rangers spent in 2008 on player development:

Minor League Administration   $ 1,529,922
Roving Instructors              1,160,131  ($726,432 of which was salaries for 7 instructors) 
Rehab Camp                        100,844
Oklahoma City (AAA)             2,974,145
Frisco (AA)                       922,758
Bakersfield (High A)              627,018
Clinton (Low A)                   668,890
Spokane (Short A)                 519,812
Arizona Rookie                    915,111
Instructional League              289,957
Fall League                        60,654
Minor League Spring Training    1,044,692
-----------------------------------------
Total Player Development      $10,813,934

The costs of running the minor league affiliates were the majority of player development expenses, 61.3% to be exact. (Note that the costs were inflated somewhat due to a high salary player accepting an outright assignment to the AAA affiliate.) The administrative costs of player development (most of which were worker compensation premiums, player health insurance, and worker compensation claims) comprised 14.1% of the expenses. Those aspects which can be considered helping players improve their performance (spring training, roving instructors, and rehab camp) accounted for 21.3% of the Rangers' player development expenses.


I've said for awhile that the costs of the minor league system should be reflected in OOTP, and the newly added player development expense offers that opportunity. The more affiliates an OOTP club has, the more it should be paying since each affiliate comes with its own costs.

These numbers are good to see, but unfortunately we don't have all those things in OOTP, like instructional leagues, fall leagues, roving instructors. A lot to add, but if/when it gets into OOTP then I can see the development budget being a much more important part of the game.