Forbes: Yankees once again MLB's most valuable franchise
The New York Yankees are again the most valuable team in Major League Baseball.
Forbes Magazine published its franchise valuations Wednesday, estimating the Yankees' value -- which has been atop Forbes' MLB rankings for 21 straight years -- at $4 billion.
Rounding out the top five are teams from big cities, including the Los Angeles Dodgers ($3 billion), Chicago Cubs ($2.9 billion), San Francisco Giants ($2.85 billion) and Boston Red Sox ($2.8 billion).
MLB franchises experienced a bump in value of a little more than 7 percent over the past year, according to Forbes estimates, a nice rise but nothing compared to the NBA, whose team values were up 22 percent in the most recent rankings.
Outside the top 5, the most interesting MLB valuation was the Miami Marlins, who were bought last year for $1.2 billion. Forbes says the team was only worth $1 billion.
The World Series champion Houston Astrossaw a rise in value of $200 million, from $1.45 billion to $1.65 billion. In the process, the team leaped the Texas Rangers and Atlanta Braves to finish the rankings as the 11th-most valuable team this year.
The Yankees join the NFL's Dallas Cowboys as the only teams Forbes has said are worth $4 billion. George Steinbrenner purchased the Yankees from CBS in 1973 for $8.8 million. Since his death in 2010, his family has retained ownership of the team.
