The Yankees see $$$$ coming July 1 when NYC Mayor de Blasio says it’s time to open all Yankee Stadium gates. Alas, it’s not all about you.
The Yankees and all of baseball have been waiting for more than a year for the moment when various government officials will lift the veil over the Corona Virus, declaring it safe enough to resume a “normal” way of life.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo was not asked to weigh in, though given his own political struggles these days, it’s not likely he’ll wish to rock the boat of Yankees fans and baseball fans in general in an election year.
Yankees: There’s Always A Caveat
But before you stand up and cheer, rushing to buy tickets for any of the Yankees games after July 1, understand this because it’s typical of what we have come to expect from the Yankee’s conglomerate.
If you wish to attend tomorrow’s game against the Detroit Tigers with a seat in MVP Section 25 (prime third-base location), it’ll cost you $105 per seat.
Not exactly within a working man’s wages but still within reach of a one-time trip with the family to see a Yankees game.
Now, fast forward to July 1, when we see that tickets in that section are already sold out, but there are remaining in an adjacent section.
Voila, these seats are now available for sale at five times the cost, at $505 each or $2,000 for a family of four, plus the cost of parking, concessions, and God knows what else from the Yankees store.
This is StubHub, the Yankees legal partner in crime as they and what MLB obligingly refers to as an “authorized reseller” of tickets to a major league game.
Alas, there is no crying in baseball, and there is little to do but say, “No Mas,” and when if ever will the Yankees see fit to give their loyal fans, other than those who are forced to sit in the nosebleed sections of cavernous Yankee Stadium – a break?
It’s not as though the seats referenced above are actually sold because we can witness the dearth of empty blue on YES telecasts, so what is it other than pure Yankees’ greed to take in as much as they can today, without ever reaching their fans of tomorrow.
Yankees: Does It Have To Be This Way
I mentioned as an example yesterday a ticket plan the Pittsburgh Pirates have this year. It’s typical in a sense; it’s a package of ten games – with one unique exception the Yankees could offer – if they wish.
Pirates fans purchasing this plan can choose which games they attend, and they can walk up to a ticket window to redeem their tickets on the same day they opt to attend.
A small concession, no doubt, to a family of four who realizes the night before a game they are committed to attending that their son and daughter both have re-scheduled soccer games that day, leaving them no option but to eat the ticket cost.
Instead, though, we always return to at least the feeling the Yankees don’t give a hoot about their (real) fans and whether or not it’s even worth fighting “City Hall” to change their ways.
Yankees: Aside From Bleacher Bums, What’s Left?
But rest assured, this is not “the price” of living in baseball’s largest market, because a few days following July 1, you can purchase a seat in a similar location to the game at Citi Field for a game between the Mets and Milwaukee Brewers for $105, instead of $500 for a Yankee game.
And if either of us had the time, I assure you we can find similar tickets to a game on July 1 or thereafter in ballparks when other cities relax COVID restrictions for as little as $100, as when the Yankees visit Seattle on July 6.
But there I go again, batting my head against a corporate wall that consumes the Yankees, even to the point of their unwillingness to challenge the Luxury Tax limit during a season that leaves the world of baseball wondering – who are they these guys – and how much does the brass really want that Number 28?
I’m not ready to abandon ship, and hopefully, neither are you.
But when you add up Hal Steinbrenner and Brian Cashman – minus the players who seem to be trying – I don’t see much – and sooner or later, I hope it catches up to them…
Yankees Hold On to beat the Tigers today by a score of 6-4.
Here’s What Readers Are Saying…
Remember though, the face value of tickets will not change. Where we see the inflation is in the re-sale market, of which the Yankees receive a portion of the profits. Without objection, I’ve added your comment to the article.
Baseball, it is said, is only a game. True. And the Grand Canyon is only a hole in Arizona. Not all holes, or games, are created equal.
