ST. LOUIS -- The Cardinals distributed 59 full playoff shares, Major League Baseball announced Monday, valued at $34,223.65 per share for their postseason appearance in 2015.
Each of the four clubs to lose in the Division Series was awarded a players' pool of $2,271,169.85. From that, players determined how many full and partial shares to award. In addition to the full shares, the team issued 7.143 partial shares and two cash awards.
The only playoff team to distribute more full shares than the Cardinals was the team that eliminated them from October play. The Cubs handed out 60 full shares at a value of $122,327.59 each. A full postseason share for the World Series champion Royals was worth $370,069.03, while the National League champion Mets distributed full shares valued at $300,757.78, a record high for a World Series runner-up.
The players' pool is formed from 50 percent of the gate receipts from the Wild Card Games, presented by Budweiser; 60 percent of the gate receipts from the first three games of the DS; 60 percent of the gate receipts from the first four games of the League Championship Series; and 60 percent of the gate receipts from the first four games of the World Series. That total is then divided among the 10 playoff participants, with a greater percentage going to the clubs that advanced the furthest.
The 2015 players' pool was a record total of $69,882,149.26, topping the previous high of $65,363,469.22 from 2012.
Jenifer Langosch is a reporter for MLB.com. Read her blog, By Gosh, It's Langosch, follow her on Twitter @LangoschMLB, like her Facebook page Jenifer Langosch for Cardinals.com and listen to her podcast. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.