MLB Managers

• Top MLB head coaches, or managers, earn millions of dollars annually while those on the lower end earn at least six-figure salaries. In 2007, Bizofbaseball.com listed the salaries of each MLB manager. Topping the list were, Joe Torre, Lou Piniella, Bobby Cox and Tony LaRussa. Only LaRussa still manages (St. Louis Cardinals) as of 2011. Each of these individuals earned more than $2 million in 2007. Oakland Athletics' manager Bob Geren, Tampa Bay Devil Rays' manager Joe Maddon and Washington Nationals' manager Manny Acta earned approximately $500,000 annually. In 2009, Joe Torre was hired by the Los Angeles Dodgers at a yearly salary of $4 million. The Yankees, Dodgers and Cardinals are among the teams with the highest revenues in the league while the Devil Rays and Athletics are among those with the lowest revenues.
  
  

Major League Baseball Coaches

• Every team in the big leagues has coaches for hitting, pitching, base running (first and third base) the bench and the bullpen. These coaches all earn six-figure salaries with the highest paid pitching and hitting coaches earning roughly $800,000 annually. This is more than the minimum player's salary of $400,000 annually.
  
  

Minor League Managers and Coaches

• The minor leagues is where professional baseball players are sent by MLB teams to develop and improve skills or to test their skills after a debilitating injury. Typically, MLB baseball teams have minor league teams in the same city or affiliated teams in another city or state. Salaries in the minor leagues for both players and coaches is relatively low compared to their counterparts in MLB. In a September 2004 article for ESPN.com, former MLB pitcher Rick Sutcliffe wrote of his $15,000 annual salary while working as a pitching coach for the San Diego Padres minor league team. Coaches and managers in minor league baseball usually earn less than $35,000 annually.
  
  

Independent League Coaches and Managers

• While the minor leagues serve as the development league for MLB players, independent professional baseball leagues are the home of those hoping to play in the minor leagues and dreaming of a career in MLB. In some cases former MLB players play and coach for these teams as did Mitch Williams and Cecil Fielder for the now defunct Atlantic City Surf of the Can Am League. No definitive numbers exist for coaches salaries in independent professional baseball but players earn between $500 and $2,500 and team salary caps are below $100,000.