One of the great things for a player making it deep into the baseball postseason is that there is a pot of gold waiting at the end of that rainbow. In this instance the rainbow is the baseball playoffs and at the end of it is the postseason share that each World Series champion takes home. All of the active players on the St. Louis Cardinals are taking home a nice $323,170 bonus from winning the World Series, a remarkable amount of money that is the second highest that baseball has ever given out.

The postseason money comes from 60 percent of the ticket money from the first three games of each division series, and the first four games of each league championship series and the World Series. That money is then put into a pool where the eight teams that made the playoffs each get a share of it. The winner of the World Series gets the biggest share, the loser of the World Series gets the second biggest share and then the losers of each championship series get a slightly smaller share. Simply making it to the postseason also guarantees a share, but that one is substantially smaller than the others.

To put it in perspective, each player from the Cardinals gets $323,170, each player from the Texas Rangers gets $251,516 and each player from the Philadelphia Phillies earns $26,675. It shows the value for each player when it comes to advancing in the playoffs, and just another reason players like to take the field for contenders every year. When it comes to the Cardinals, 51 people got awarded full shares this year, 11.962 partial shares went out along with eight cash rewards. It is often up to the players (through a vote) which players get the shares in a scenario like this.

For some players like Matt Holliday(notes), who made $17 million this year, the money won’t seem like a lot. But for every Holliday or Albert Pujols(notes), there are players like David Freese(notes), Mitchell Boggs(notes) or Jaime Garcia(notes) who were making the league minimum this past season. For Freese that was $416,000 for the full season, meaning his postseason bonus almost doubled his yearly salary. That is certainly a nice windfall for a player that is still getting his feet wet at the Major League level.

It’s amazing that the teams were able to generate so much money this year, despite the claims from some analysts that because a big city wasn’t involved in the World Series that people would lose interest. The fans in Texas and St. Louis sure turned out in droves to support their teams this postseason, and that is never clearer than in how much money the league made through those ticket sales.

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*Ryan is a lifelong Seattle Mariners fan who never misses an opportunity to attend a game at Safeco Field. He has been attending games since 1985, and has fond memories of The Kingdome, Edgar Martinez, and the historic 1995 team. Sodo Mojo!

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Read More: Jake Westbrook (P – STL), Octavio Dotel (P – STL), Kyle Lohse (P – STL), Edwin Jackson (P – STL), Rafael Furcal (SS – STL), Albert Pujols (1B – STL), Adam Wainwright (P – STL), Arthur Rhodes (P – STL), Jaime Garcia (P – STL), St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals have offered salary arbitration to franchise cornerstone Albert Pujols (Type A) and starting pitcher Edwin Jackson (Type B), but have declined to make offers to Rafael Furcal (Type B) and relief pitcher Arthur Rhodes (Type B), per a Twitter report from Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The only remaining player subject to arbitration is relief pitcher Octavio Dotel, but the team is not required to offer salary arbitration to Dotel because his compensation status was adjusted downward from Type A to Type B by the league on Tuesday.

The decision to approve or decline salary arbitration does not act as a proxy for the team’s interest in keeping each player in a Cardinals uniform, as MLB.com explains:

Of the four, the Cardinals retain some interest in return engagements with Dotel and Furcal, and possibly Rhodes, but Jackson isn’t expected to return. The Cardinals have five starting pitchers under contract for 2012 — Adam Wainwright, Chris Carpenter, Jaime Garcia, Kyle Lohse and Jake Westbrook — and traded for Jackson with the expectation that he would depart via free agency.    

As noted by Dan Moore of SB Nation St. Louis earlier in the week, Albert Pujols is not expected to accept salary arbitration, and the site will have timely updates on any decisions made the other players and all other off-season moves as well.

For more updates and analysis on the St. Louis Cardinals, check out Viva El Birdos. Stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis for more breaking news on all matters St. Louis sports. For MLB Off-Season news make sure to visit MLB Daily Dish.

Albert Pujols was recently offered salary arbitration by the St. Louis Cardinals, and while it’s possible that the most desirable free agent in Major League Baseball decides to accept a one-year deal at a price arbitrarily set by a salary arbitr—wait a minute—I think it’s important that we prepare for the outside chance that Pujols decides, instead, to continue negotiating for one of the largest contracts in the history of baseball. 

In that case, should the Cardinals fail to be the ones offering that large contract, they will receive two draft picks—even after the new collective bargaining agreement, which effectively banned the practice of offering Type-A relief pitchers salary arbitration and then laughing at them, very loudly, while they tried to find a team willing to sign them—and the sympathy of every other Major League Baseball team. 

Look, I know Albert Pujols will probably agree to play for one more year at a salary determined primarily by the worst season of his Major League career to date, just because the Cardinals offered it to him and he’s a very polite young man. But if it doesn’t happen, it’s important to know what happens next, is all. 

(Reuters) – List of National League Most Valuable Player award winners after Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers was named as the 2011 winner on Tuesday.

2011 – Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers

2010 – Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds

2009 – Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals

2008 – Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals

2007 – Jimmy Rollins, Philadelphia Phillies

2006 – Ryan Howard, Philadelphia Phillies

2005 – Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals

2004 – Barry Bonds, San Francisco Giants

2003 – Barry Bonds, San Francisco Giants

2002 – Barry Bonds, San Francisco Giants

2001 – Barry Bonds, San Francisco Giants

2000 – Jeff Kent, San Francisco Giants

1999 – Chipper Jones, Atlanta Braves

1998 – Sammy Sosa, Chicago Cubs

1997 – Larry Walker, Colorado Rockies

1996 – Ken Caminiti, San Diego Padres

1995 – Barry Larkin, Cincinnati Reds

1994 – Jeff Bagwell, Houston Astros

1993 – Barry Bonds, San Francisco Giants

1992 – Barry Bonds, Pittsburgh Pirates

1991 – Terry Pendleton, Atlanta Braves

1990 – Barry Bonds, Pittsburgh Pirates

1989 – Kevin Mitchell, San Francisco Giants

1988 – Kirk Gibson, Los Angeles Dodgers

1987 – Andre Dawson, Chicago Cubs

1986 – Mike Schmidt, Philadelphia Phillies

1985 – Willie McGee, St. Louis Cardinals

1984 – Ryne Sandberg, Chicago Cubs

1983 – Dale Murphy, Atlanta Braves

1982 – Dale Murphy, Atlanta Braves

1981 – Mike Schmidt, Philadelphia Phillies

1980 – Mike Schmidt, Philadelphia Phillies

1979 – Keith Hernandez St. Louis Cardinals; Willie Stargell, Pittsburgh Pirates

1978 – Dave Parker, Pittsburgh Pirates

1977 – George Foster, Cincinnati Reds

1976 – Joe Morgan, Cincinnati Reds

1975 – Joe Morgan, Cincinnati Reds

1974 – Steve Garvey, Los Angeles Dodgers

1973 – Pete Rose, Cincinnati Reds

1972 – Johnny Bench, Cincinnati Reds

1971 – Joe Torre, St. Louis Cardinals

1970 – Johnny Bench, Cincinnati Reds

1969 – Willie McCovey, San Francisco Giants

1968 – Bob Gibson, St. Louis Cardinals

1967 – Orlando Cepeda, St. Louis Cardinals

1966 – Roberto Clemente, Pittsburgh Pirates

1965 – Willie Mays, San Francisco Giants

1964 – Ken Boyer, St. Louis Cardinals

1963 – Sandy Koufax, Los Angeles Dodgers

1962 – Maury Wills, Los Angeles Dodgers

1961 – Frank Robinson, Cincinnati Reds

1960 – Dick Groat, Pittsburgh Pirates

1959 – Ernie Banks, Chicago Cubs

1958 – Ernie Banks, Chicago Cubs

1957 – Hank Aaron, Milwaukee Braves

1956 – Don Newcombe, Brooklyn Dodgers

1955 – Roy Campanella, Brooklyn Dodgers

1954 – Willie Mays, New York Giants

1953 – Roy Campanella, Brooklyn Dodgers

1952 – Hank Sauer, Chicago Cubs

1951 – Roy Campanella, Brooklyn Dodgers

1950 – Jim Konstanty, Philadelphia Phillies

1949 – Jackie Robinson, Brooklyn Dodgers

1948 – Stan Musial, St. Louis Cardinals

1947 – Bob Elliott, Boston Braves

1946 – Stan Musial, St. Louis Cardinals

1945 – Phil Cavarretta, Chicago Cubs

1944 – Marty Marion, St. Louis Cardinals

1943 – Stan Musial, St. Louis Cardinals

1942 – Mort Cooper, St. Louis Cardinals

1941 – Dolph Camilli, Brooklyn Dodgers

1940 – Frank McCormick, Cincinnati Reds

1939 – Bucky Walters, Cincinnati Reds

1938 – Ernie Lombardi, Cincinnati Reds

1937 – Joe Medwick, St. Louis Cardinals

1936 – Carl Hubbell, New York Giants

1935 – Gabby Hartnett, Chicago Cubs

1934 – Dizzy Dean, St. Louis Cardinals

1933 – Carl Hubbell, New York Giants

1932 – Chuck Klein, Philadelphia Phillies

1931 – Frankie Frisch, St. Louis Cardinals

(Compiled by Frank Pingue; Editing by Julian Linden)

ST. LOUIS — Former Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona has interviewed with the St. Louis Cardinals for their manager opening, a person familiar with the negotiations told the Associated Press on Tuesday.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because no announcement was made.

Francona managed the Red Sox for eight seasons and left after they wasted a nine-game September lead in the A.L. wildcard race.

St. Louis is seeking a replacement for Tony La Russa, who retired two days after winning his second World Series in 16 seasons with the Cardinals.

More interviews are planned for Wednesday, believed to be with third-base coach Jose Oquendo and Hall of Fame second baseman Ryan Sandberg, who managed the Phillies’ Triple-A team last season.

St. Louis previously interviewed Mike Matheny, Joe McEwing and Chris Maloney. Matheny and Maloney have organizational ties and McEwing played for St. Louis.

Oquendo, 48, has been the third base coach the last dozen years. He played his final 10 major league seasons with the Cardinals from 1986-95 when he was nicknamed the “Secret Weapon” as a nod to his versatility.

St. Louis has received permission from the Phillies to talk with Sandberg, ruled out earlier for the managing job with the Cubs, the team he starred for from 1982-97.

After he left the Red Sox, there were reports players drank beer and ate fast-food fried chicken in the clubhouse during games rather than root on their teammates. The Boston Globe reported the club was concerned he was “distracted,” living in a hotel while separated from his wife and taking painkillers to deal with knee operations. Francona has said his personal life did not affect his performance.