New York -
The financial value of the Toronto Blue Jays has fallen dramatically from last season, according to Forbes' annual valuations of Major League Baseball's 30 teams.
The Blue Jays and Oakland Athletics both dropped eight per cent in value over the past year, with the Jays ranking 26th among the league's 30 teams. Toronto's value of $326 million US is far below the league average of $491 million.
As expected, the New York Yankees are the most valuable team according to Forbes, with an estimated worth of $1.6 billion. The Boston Red Sox are ranked second with a value of $870 million, while the New York Mets fell to third from last year's second-place ranking, with a value of $858 million.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are ranked fourth ($727 million), while the Chicago Cubs are a close fifth ($726 million).
The least valuable franchise is the Pittsburgh Pirates, with an estimated value of $289 million - nearly one-sixth of the value of the Yankees.
According to Forbes, the league's teams cashed in their best profits last season, despite the economic downturn, with a rise in revenue of 1.4 per cent or $79 million.
The Florida Marlins had the highest operating profit, Forbes said, at $46.1 million, followed by Boston at $40 million. The only teams were operating losses were Detroit at $29.5 million and Arizona at $600,000
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TEAM VALUES
The current value of Major League Baseball teams, in millions of dollars, as listed by Forbes magazine:
1 New York Yankees 1,600
2 Boston Red Sox 870
3 New York Mets 858
4 Los Angeles Dodgers 727
5 Chicago Cubs 726
6 Philadelphia Phillies 537
7 L.A. Angels of Anaheim 521
8 St. Louis Cardinals 488
9 San Francisco Giants 483
10 Chicago White Sox 466
11 Houston Astros 453
12 Texas Rangers 451
13 Atlanta Braves 450
14 Seattle Mariners 439
15 San Diego Padres 408
16 Minnesota Twins 405
17 Cleveland Indians 391
18 Washington Nationals 387
19 Colorado Rockies 384
20 Arizona Diamondbacks 379
21 Baltimore Orioles 376
22 Detroit Tigers 375
23 Milwaukee Brewers 351
24 Kansas City Royals 341
25 Cincinnati Reds 331
26 Toronto Blue Jays 326 27 Florida Marlins 317 28 Tampa Bay Rays 316 29 Oakland Athletics 295
30 Pittsburgh Pirates 289
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