Astros owner calls Forbes report ‘not accurate’

Crane said that the numbers in the Forbes article, which claims that the Astros are on pace to net $99 million in operating income this year, is “not even close to being accurate” and that the report failed to take several important factors -- like a still-pending TV deal -- into consideration.

If the Forbes report is accurate -- despite Crane’s claims to the contrary -- it would mean the Astros are pocketing an income greater than the combined income of the six previous World Series winners.

The Astros owner wouldn’t go so far as to disclose the “correct” numbers -- stating that MLB policy is to not divulge profit-loss margins -- adding only that the Forbes reporter was working off of bad information:

“We notified them the story is way off,” Crane said. “I don’t think they did their homework and made some assumptions that were totally wrong...

“They’re trying to sensationalize the situation, and it’s totally inaccurate and we’re sticking with our plan, and our plan is to develop the players... Once we have a nucleus of players we’re starting to see develop, we’ll step in with the right resources to make it happen.”

The Astros have far and away the lowest MLB payroll, coming in at around $13 million. That number was higher when the year began, but has dwindled over course of the season with several of the club’s highest paid players moving in mid-season trades.

The team’s highest-paid player is Wandy Rodriguez -- who the Astros are paying $5 million to pitch for the Pirates -- and only player actually on the team still making more than $1 million is left-hander Erik Bedard.

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