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MLB · 13 POSITIONS

MLB career earnings by position

$39,465,583,255 across 2,696 careers, the Starting Pitcher the biggest single position at $11,043,657,852.

Every career in the league filed by the job it was paid to do. A man counts once, at the position he is listed at now, so the totals answer which seat on the roster the money goes to rather than how any one career moved between them.

TOTAL $39.47bn
BIGGEST $11.04bn
POSITIONS 13
CAREERS 2,696
TOP THREE HOLD 50.2%

The richest positions

Career money earned by the players on them

Top three hold 50.2%

Starting Pitcher $11.04bn Relief Pitcher $4.71bn Shortstop $4.06bn 3rd Base $3.46bn Right Field $2.87bn 1st Base $2.77bn Center Field $2.40bn Left Field $1.92bn Catcher $1.87bn Designated Hitter $1.73bn 2nd Base $1.63bn Outfielders $646m Pitchers $369m

Every position ranked

Total career money, and what it comes to per career

13 positions

# Position Careers Per career Top earner Span Career money
01 Starting Pitcher 373 $29.6m Justin Verlander 2000 to 2039 $11,043,657,852$11.04bn
02 Relief Pitcher 609 $7.7m Aroldis Chapman 1996 to 2042 $4,708,046,951$4.71bn
03 Shortstop 258 $15.7m Mookie Betts 2003 to 2044 $4,062,492,481$4.06bn
04 3rd Base 124 $27.9m Manny Machado 2006 to 2043 $3,459,281,548$3.46bn
05 Right Field 71 $40.4m Bryce Harper 2005 to 2034 $2,868,206,207$2.87bn
06 1st Base 90 $30.8m Freddie Freeman 2002 to 2040 $2,772,766,374$2.77bn
07 Center Field 102 $23.5m Mike Trout 2004 to 2034 $2,401,068,205$2.40bn
08 Left Field 68 $28.2m Christian Yelich 2005 to 2042 $1,915,593,931$1.92bn
09 Catcher 203 $9.2m Yadier Molina 2000 to 2032 $1,865,970,993$1.87bn
10 Designated Hitter 17 $101.5m Miguel Cabrera 1998 to 2026 $1,725,153,887$1.73bn
11 2nd Base 131 $12.4m Marcus Semien 2005 to 2030 $1,627,903,406$1.63bn
12 Outfielders 193 $3.3m Matt Holliday 1998 to 2029 $646,314,263$646.3m
13 Pitchers 457 $808k Jackson Jobe 2011 to 2023 $369,127,157$369.1m

Per career is the total divided by the number of careers in it, and it reorders the table: Designated Hitter pays $101,479,640 a career, against a ranking by total that is led by Starting Pitcher.

Frequently asked questions

Which MLB position earns the most?

Starting Pitcher, $11,043,657,852 across 373 careers, an average of $29,607,662 each.

How is a position total worked out?

Every career filed at that position, added together. A man counts once, at the position he is listed at now, so a career that moved between two jobs sits entirely under the second one.

Which position pays the best per career?

Designated Hitter, $101,479,640 per career across 17 of them.

Which position is bottom?

Pitchers, $369,127,157 across 457 careers.

Why are some positions missing?

A position needs 10 careers before it gets a page, because below that a ranking is a list with a rank printed beside it. 261 of the 2,957 careers on record sit outside the 13 positions here.

Where to next

The seasons, the clubs and the rest of the league

Every season

Every club

Every position

The money lists