Salaries

Well, let's do some queries and find out.

select min(salary) from Salaries where year=2003;
+-------------+
| min(salary) |
+-------------+
|         440 |
+-------------+

The minimum salary for 2003 was 440-man yen. If you're new here (or to Japanese), then it's important to know that 1-man is 10,000. In English new unit names are given every three digits, in Japanese it's every four digits. After a while, it get's easier.

440-man really isn't much, and I certainly couldn't live on that much alone, let alone with my wife and two kids. For comparison, I had to have 200-man for a down payment on my 24 year old used home. And it took me about five years to save up that much money.

However, when you factor in that most players recieving the minimum are also living in ball club dormatories, which often include food, utilities, and transportation, at least three of the most costly items in one's budget is taken care of, leaving plenty left over for entertainment and savings.

But how many players make that much?

select count(*) from Salaries where year=2003 and salary=440;
+----------+
| count(*) |
+----------+
|        5 |
+----------+

Just five. So the minimum salary doesn't really have much meaning to very many players. However,

select count(*) from Salaries where year=2003 and salary<500;
+----------+
| count(*) |
+----------+
|       43 |
+----------+

43 players made under 500-man yen in 2003. That's a bit more significant. Especially considering

select count(*) from Salaries where year=2003 and salary>=10000;
+----------+
| count(*) |
+----------+
|       84 |
+----------+

84 players made 1-oku (10,000-man) yen or more. That's well over a digit more than I make (but very low compared to MLB salaries).

Do some seaching around this site and you'll find more information on salaries and where you can download the 2003 salaries as of the beginning of the season.

Playing with databases is fun.