Getting hosed by baseball

I'm amazed at some of these baseball teams as far as how they treat the average fan, like me. I mean the hardcore baseball fan who doesn't make a million dollars and can't afford to buy a luxury suite in a new ballpark. And also to the guy who makes $40,000 a year, whose family has had 4 season tickets in the nosebleeds for 25 years and now has to scrape by to still afford those tickets.

This is the final year of Yankee Stadium before the new one goes up in 2009. In Yankee Stadium, not only will the ticket prices increase by as much as 15 percent in some sections, but when you go back 10 years, prices from 1996 to 2007 have quadrupled. Literally quadrupled. This past month, the New York Yankees sent a letter to their season ticket holders. I'm paraphrasing, but here's what it basically said. But in the letter, it says for the All-Star Game, and all playoff games, the press, and select corporations (within "reasonable" limits) have access to tickets. In other words, if I've had Yankee season tickets for 30 years, I don't have the right to keep my seat for the playoff games or the All-Star Game. If Kevin Kennedy or Chip Caray want to bring their families to the games, they can basically just take my seats. So much for loyalty. I guess that's the phrase "Money talks and we know what walks."

And don't think I'm just taking a shot at the crosstown rivals. I'm going to jump on my team, the New York Mets. First of all, I'm going to repeat how angry I am that when they move to Citfield in 2009, the seating capacity will plummet from 56,000 at Shea Stadium people to 42,500 with room for 2,500 more in standing room. What a travesty. This is not a new stadium that's going up in Pittsburgh or Milwaukee or Kansas City or Sioux City or Cedar City or Dodge City. This is New York, the sports and entertainment mecca of the world. A drop to 50,000 would be fine. But this is now Fenway Park or Wrigley Field-esque seating capacity. And now, for the final year of Shea Stadium, Mets ticket prices have gone up an average of 20 percent in most sections. If they had reeled in Johan Santana, Dan Haren, Erik Bedard, or some other big pitcher, I'd be much more fine with that. Payrolls are higher nowadays, I understand ticket prices will be increased. But I'd like to hear David Howard, Omar Minaya, and Jay Horwitz in the Met front office justfy jacking up the prices 20 percent after acquiring the likes of Brian Schneider, Ryan Church, Matt Wise, and the immortal Steve Register.

One sidenote. The Cubs are likely to be sold by April. And there are rumors Wrigley Field's naming rights could be sold. I will be having a field day if that happens. I can hear the call on WGN Radio right now.

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