Wezen-Ball provides a valuable service by charting the history of the highest paid player in baseball over the last 30 years. Notice how during the 1989-1990 off season, the record was broken almost every week. That’s when MLB signed the big $1 billion deal with CBS, and the owners were flush with money. Every team had enough money to pay for three superstars a year, and they were all happy to spend it. Even the Royals briefly owned the highest paid player in the game.