Boston Red Sox owner John Henry says that, while there is not a perfect correlation between a bigger payroll and winning, "spending more money helps."

Henry's Red Sox had the highest payroll in the sport in 2018 and won their fourth World Series title since he became principal owner of the franchise in 2002.

On Monday, commissioner Rob Manfred said, "I reject the notion that payroll is a good measure for how much a team is trying or how successful that team is going to be."

Asked about that comment and whether there is a correlation between spending and winning, Henry replied, "I think the Baltimore payroll was double what the Tampa payroll was last year. Close to double. There is a correlation, I'm sure there is a correlation, but it's not as perfect. It's very difficult to predict things in baseball, to predict player performance. Spending more money helps."