"A New York Treasure" --Village Voice

Tickets to Ride

Yankee single-game tickets go on sale today at 10 AM.

Once again, I can’t afford to buy more than a few upper-deck or bleacher seats, and will be relying on the kindness of friends, StubHub, and occasionally press passes to get to games in person this year. There’s not much sense in complaining about the price of tickets, or anything else in New York City, really – it is what it is, which is expensive, and either you can afford it or you can’t; if the market couldn’t bear it, they’d go down, but apparently it can. And Yankees tickets have never been what I’d call reasonably priced in my adult life, so I’m used to it. Still, I always read books and articles where people talk about just walking up to the Stadium and paying a few bucks for a ticket and heading inside, back in the day, and feel a twinge. Leave it to baseball to succeed in making me nostalgic for things I never even lived through.

Mets tickets are, for obvious reasons, much more affordable these days on the whole (plus, they have Shake Shack. I wouldn’t argue that it’s one of the absolute best burgers in the city if only because they only offer American cheese, which is pathetic, but it’s better than anything I’ve gotten at Yankee Stadium, for sure). And truly affordable are Brooklyn Cyclones games, which are actually faster to get to from my Brooklyn apartment, cost $10 for perfectly nice seats, and are lovely and relaxed experiences even though the quality of play is far from major league-ready. I have a great picture of me and Sandy, their seagull mascot, from last season but after careful deliberation I’ve decided it’s too embarrassing to post. Anyway, the point is, I’ll still get my live baseball in one way or another.

Maybe this is the year I finally set foot on Staten Island for a Staten Island Yanks game. Amazingly, though I have spent nearly three decades living in New York or close outside it, and though I have been to Queens and the Bronx hundreds of times, I’ve never made the journey to the city’s 5th borough. Cue up your Staten Island jokes.

Meanwhile, Trenton is a place that I have set foot in, but only by accident, and I vowed never to make that mistake again. But should I make an exception for Manny Banuelos, who recently received the Mo Rivera seal of approval in a major way? Maybe, maybe.

What’s your ticket situation this year?

Categories:  Baseball Musings  Emma Span  Spring Training  Yankees

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8 comments

1 RagingTartabull   ~  Mar 11, 2011 9:09 am

"Affordable" means different things to different people, but I've always felt the amount of under-$30 seats at the stadium was more than enough, especially when you consider the market and the team.

Me and 2 other friends have a 12 game plan in the bleachers, its not 81 games behind home plate but we enjoy it.

And I definitely wanna head out to Brooklyn and Staten Island this year.

2 Alex Belth   ~  Mar 11, 2011 9:46 am

I've never been to those minor league parks. Sounds like fun.

3 monkeypants   ~  Mar 11, 2011 10:01 am

[0] Still, I always read books and articles where people talk about just walking up to the Stadium and paying a few bucks for a ticket and heading inside, back in the day, and feel a twinge.

I was did this more than a couple of times in college back in the early 90s, including a spur of the moment decision to go to opening day one year!

4 williamnyy23   ~  Mar 11, 2011 10:17 am

I picked up tickets for two games that cost me $5 each (the Yankees have a few very nice promotions). Now, they are midweek games against Oakland and Toronto, but if the point is to see a game, what difference does it make. Also, if you browse StubHub during the season, you can regularly find tickets below face value right now.

Going to see the Yankees is not as expensive as many make it out to be.

5 Ben   ~  Mar 11, 2011 10:39 am

how Staten Island got it's name:

Two members of Henry Hudson's crew, Saul and Herb, stand on the tip of Manhattan Island.

Saul says, "I hate dis place. No Knishes. No Kuegle. Feh. Island paradise it's not."

Herb points to the distance at another body of land, "Vanna try dat one Island over dere? Could be better."

Sauls grimaces to see through the haze, "What? S' dat an Island?"

Ba-bumbum.

6 RIYank   ~  Mar 11, 2011 11:03 am

I used to live in Trenton. I liked it. Long way to go for a game, though, if you live in Brooklyn.

7 bags   ~  Mar 11, 2011 11:48 am

i've been to staten island, but never past the ferry terminal. the ferry ride is a great thing to do with out of town guests. a stunning view of lower manhattan and a good view of the statue of liberty. and it is free. i highly recommend it.

8 Raf   ~  Mar 11, 2011 12:19 pm

[2] The Cyclones and SI Yankees play in nice facilities, you should check them out.

[6] I've been to a few Thunder games; not bad, though the area could be better.

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"This ain't football. We do this every day."
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