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Yearly League Leaders & Records for Salary
+ - Indicates Hall of Famer. Bold indicates active player.
Statistic Description: These values may not include every bonus the player received in a season. They are also often missing values for mid-season callups or players acquired in-season. Post-1984 seasons are mostly complete, pre-1985 is mostly incomplete.
| Year | National League | Salary | American League | Salary | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 (NL AL) | ||||||||
| 2011 (NL AL) | Johan Santana (NYM) | 21,644,707 | Alex Rodriguez (NYY) | 32,000,000 | ||||
| 2010 (NL AL) | Johan Santana (NYM) | 20,144,707 | Alex Rodriguez (NYY) | 33,000,000 | ||||
| 2009 (NL AL) | Manny Ramirez (LAD) | 23,854,494 | Alex Rodriguez (NYY) | 33,000,000 | ||||
| 2008 (NL AL) | Carlos Beltran (NYM) | 18,622,809 | Alex Rodriguez (NYY) | 28,000,000 | ||||
| 2007 (NL AL) | Todd Helton (COL) | 16,600,000 | Jason Giambi (NYY) | 23,428,571 | ||||
| 2006 (NL AL) | Jeff Bagwell (HOU) | 19,369,019 | Alex Rodriguez (NYY) | 21,680,727 | ||||
| 2005 (NL AL) | Barry Bonds (SFG) | 22,000,000 | Alex Rodriguez (NYY) | 26,000,000 | ||||
| 2004 (NL AL) | Barry Bonds (SFG) | 18,000,000 | Manny Ramirez (BOS) | 22,500,000 | ||||
| 2003 (NL AL) | Mo Vaughn (NYM) | 17,166,667 | Alex Rodriguez (TEX) | 22,000,000 | ||||
| 2002 (NL AL) | Kevin Brown (LAD) | 15,714,286 | Alex Rodriguez (TEX) | 22,000,000 | ||||
| 2001 (NL AL) | Kevin Brown (LAD) | 15,714,286 | Alex Rodriguez (TEX) | 22,000,000 | ||||
| 2000 (NL AL) | Kevin Brown (LAD) | 15,714,286 | Albert Belle (BAL) | 12,868,670 | ||||
| 1999 (NL AL) | Kevin Brown (LAD) | 10,714,286 | Albert Belle (BAL) | 11,949,794 | ||||
| 1998 (NL AL) | Gary Sheffield (FLA) | 14,936,667 | Albert Belle (CHW) | 10,000,000 | ||||
| 1997 (NL AL) | Barry Bonds (SFG) | 8,666,667 | Albert Belle (CHW) | 10,000,000 | ||||
| 1996 (NL AL) | Barry Bonds (SFG) | 8,416,667 | Cecil Fielder (DET) | 9,237,500 | ||||
| 1995 (NL AL) | Barry Bonds (SFG) | 8,166,666 | Cecil Fielder (DET) | 9,237,500 | ||||
| 1994 (NL AL) | Bobby Bonilla (NYM) | 6,300,000 | Joe Carter (TOR) | 5,550,000 | ||||
| 1993 (NL AL) | Bobby Bonilla (NYM) | 6,200,000 | Joe Carter (TOR) | 5,550,000 | ||||
| 1992 (NL AL) | Bobby Bonilla (NYM) | 6,100,000 | Danny Tartabull (NYY) | 5,300,000 | ||||
| 1991 (NL AL) | Darryl Strawberry (LAD) | 3,800,000 | Joe Carter (TOR) | 3,791,667 | ||||
| 1990 (NL AL) | Eddie Murray+ (LAD) | 2,513,703 | Robin Yount+ (MIL) | 3,200,000 | ||||
| 1989 (NL AL) | Orel Hershiser (LAD) | 2,766,667 | Frank Viola (MIN) | 2,766,666 | ||||
| 1988 (NL AL) | Ozzie Smith+ (STL) | 2,340,000 | George Brett+ (KCR) | 2,305,000 | ||||
| 1987 (NL AL) | Mike Schmidt+ (PHI) | 2,127,333 | Jim Rice+ (BOS) | 2,110,000 | ||||
| 1986 (NL AL) | George Foster (NYM) | 2,800,000 | Jim Rice+ (BOS) | 1,984,423 | ||||
| 1985 (NL AL) | Mike Schmidt+ (PHI) | 2,130,300 | Dave Winfield+ (NYY) | 1,795,704 |
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