The Angels players voted Nick Adenhart a full playoff share. The late pitcher's family will receive $138,038.51 according to the LA Times Blog. The Angels voted for 43 Full Shares, although it was not immediately disclosed who received what or if partial shares were part of the take as well.
Playoff shares are almost as old as professional baseball itself and substitute for player payroll in the offseason. 2nd place teams in non-wild-card divisions also get a share, although it is miniscule in comparison to playoff teams. The further a team advances into the playoffs, the more money they receive as a share of the gate revenues at each playoff game. In days gone by there was a chance for postseason shares for a 3rd place finish in the old division and league alignments and the hunger for these player pay-days kept late-season competition fierce among hungry clubs with no hope of a title in sight.
Traditionally, the players on the postseason roster hold a meeting at the outset of the playoffs and go down the list of players who have spent some time on the club that season. Historically this has served as a way to keep the clubhouse peace among minor league call-ups. Players know that being seen as a "team guy" can make their short stay pay off at the end of the season if their veteran teammates saw them in a good light.
Half and quarter shares have been known to be seen as slights of players who dogged injuries or otherwise failed to contribute to the team's effort, but they are often justifiable for players who may have been traded early in the season. Most rookies who had a cup of coffee on the bench late in the season overflow with gratitude for a quarter share.
The players are free to add people to the list - clubhouse attendants and other team personnel have been known to pull in significant cash bonuses form their club's player's pool through the generosity of a player or two who speak up on their behalf at the end-of-the-season meeting.
The World Series winner has always gotten the largest percentage of the postseason pool and the Yankees' Full Shares were just over $365,000 each for their 2009 title, while the Phillies players got about $262,000 for every Full Share.
By defeating the Red Sox, the Angels cost each player in a Boston uniform dearly as their Full Shares were $102,620 according to our SBN affiliate Yahoo! Sports, who confirmed that the 2nd place Texas Rangers made $9,276 each from postseason monies.