Some Sunday Reading

Usually the wait for a 6:07 playoff game on a weekend day would be fairly excruciating, but the Red Sox fire up just after noon (off an extremely unhealthy breakfast) and then we're in for a typical NFL Sunday with the Giants playing the Raiders at 1:00. If you need some reading to fill in the gaps, we've got some of that for you too.

- I didn't want to link to this before I read the entire thing so it's not hot off the press, but here Wright Thompson's feature on the Legends Seats for ESPN.com's E-Ticket. Our buddy Jason's work was used in creating the piece - a quote clearly derivative of this piece appears in the second section - but was sadly not specifically cited. It's an excellent read as it intertwines the culture on Wall Street with the advent Legends Club and gives some perspective how the economy of attending sporting evens has changed in the past 20 or so years.

- In other sports business news, Maury from the Biz of Baseball takes a look at how and how much teams revenue draw from their playoff appearances.

- Another great read that I didn't want to link before I read: A former Major League pitcher explores the neuroscience of trying to hit a baseball.

- Carson Cistulli over at FanGraphs relates the psychological concept of "flow" to Jered Weaver's postseason performance, but I think it makes even more sense when applied to A-Rod.

- Scott Piloti of the Newark Star-Ledger gives some background on Phil Cuzzi which I would highly recommend to those who calling for him to be fired because of one blown call. Umps are a lot more like you and I than they are like the players so let's all take a step back before demanding that someone lose their job over one mistake.

- Oh, NOW people want to talk about instant replay... Joe Posnanski hits some of the same notes I did, albeit a day later. Joe Girardi thinks things are fine the way they are. So does Ron Gardenhire also citing the "human element" - see Posnanski's take on that. Also, the managers know the umpires personally and can't see the replays that we do on TV so they're never going to be the ones spearheading the movement.

- An update on the Babe Ruth video previously discussed by the New York Times.

- Ian O'Connor talks to Tino Martinez about these Yankees and their new swagger.

We've got some more stuff coming throughout the afternoon so feel free to stop by and check it out.

Game 159: Next Time You See Me

It's hard to believe that tonight will be the last regular season home game for the Yankees. It seems like just yesterday when the Stadium was the New Stadium; an overpriced, empty, band box that didn't have the atmosphere or memories or the history of the place across the street and never would.

Some of those things are still true, but the Yanks have certainly come up with more than a typical season's worth of wins (57), late inning magic (15 walk offs) and special moments (Jeter passing Gehrig) there so far.

As linked earlier today, the homers have settled down. The Peter Max gallery is gone. The urinals in the upper deck still don't have dividers, but the prices of the most expensive Legends Seats have been cut in half and holders of the other seats in that area have been compensated with extra games. Those two things have eliminated most of the conspicuously empty seats behind the plate, which mattered far more to 99.99% of Yankees fans than the fact that the tickets were overpriced to begin with.

All of those things seemed like a big deal at the time, but now the New Stadium doesn't feel so new. I think that's what most of the hand-wringing surrounding the opening of the place back in April was really about. It was a house without the familiarity of a home. The place wasn't yet ours. It was never going to be anyone else's, but the team and the fans hadn't yet formed any common bonds by way of the Stadium.

Now we have them. We have Melky's walk-offs, Luis Castillo's drop, A-Rod's solo shot in the 15th inning of a 0-0 game against the fackin' Sawx, the back to back 8th inning homers against Daniel Bard two nights later, the fight against the Blue Jays, and the blown save by Farsnworth last night. We even have the 22-4 game against the Indians, and the one where Mariano some how gave up back to back home runs. The last two a pretty painful, but all those things make the Stadium incrementally more ours.

What Joba Chamberlain does tonight on his small leg of the Yankees' victory lap will be forgotten soon enough. The Bombers have won 71% of their home games so far this year which can be considered a success by any measure. But all the good juju accrued over the 81 regular season contests at the New Stadium will be put on the table October 7th, 9th and possibly 14th. If all goes well then, it will be doubled down. And with any luck, the stakes will be raised again.

So enjoy the relatively inconsequential nature of tonight's game. Because they next time the Yanks take in the vistas of their palace in the Bronx, things most certainly won't be the same.

Next time you see me things, won't be the same,
Next time you see me things, won't be the same,
If it hurts you my darling, you only got yourself to blame.

Well, it's true, true saying, all that shines is not gold.
Well, it's true, true saying, all that shines is not gold.
Like the good book says, you gotta reap just what you sow.

Yanks (Officially) Reduce Ticket Prices For 2010

A quick bit of news before we get to last night's rumble.

Odds are, you won't be seeing too many pictures like this when next season rolls around. Darren Rovell of CNBC got his hands on the pricing list the Yankees are about to distribute to season ticket holders in a couple of days and here's the main takeaway:

CNBC has exclusively obtained the 2010 ticket price list that the Yankees will send out to its season ticket holders in the coming days and prices for more than 80 percent of the stadium will remain the same.

Some of the highest price seats will see reductions of up to 40 percent, including those in the Legends area and the Delta Sky 360 Suite.

The 80% of the Stadium that will remain the same are obviously the affordable areas like the bleachers, upper deck and second level. Which is understandable, because demand exceeded supply for those seats already. But hey, at least they aren't increasing them.

Rovell later adds that the Yankees, despite all the backlash and bad press surrounding the New Stadium, still lead the Majors in attendance.

Regardless, it was pretty obvious the Yankees had to do something about the prices for the suites, but the outstanding question was what they were going to do with the contracts that people had purchased extending into 2010 and beyond. Those who have made long term commitments for the newly-reduced suites will only be on the hook for the lower prices the Yankees announce in a couple of days. The most expensive Legends tickets are $1500 instead of $2500, which is a huge drop percentage-wise, but still pretty outrageous.

For the vast majority of fans the most relevant effect of the reduction in prices is that the seats is that there will be fewer of the empty seats that we saw early last season. Whether dropping the price to $1500 will fill out all the vacant spots is up for debate, but I'm guessing it won't.

Yanks Slash Prices On Most Expensive Seats For Playoffs

On Monday the Yankees send out a press release announcing their ticket prices for the postseason. It garnered a good amount of positive press based on the fact that the prices are going to be lower than they were in 2007, which is fairly remarkable considering that took place across the street at the Old Stadium.

Without getting into specifics, almost all of the prices for the ALDS are equivalent to the regular season norms, and it escalates from there as it gets deeper into October.

Well it's nice that the Yankees have made their ticket prices for the playoffs more affordable, although you could probably argue that since they haven't registered a sellout since Opening Day, it might be more of a necessity than a courtesy. But when the playoffs roll around guess who gets the real break... the people with the most expensive seats. From the press release (emphasis and numbering mine):

Regular season ticket prices for full-season ticket licensees (non-Suites) will be replicated for the 2009 American League Division Series (i.e., a Main Level ticket that costs a full season ticket licensee $60 in the 2009 regular season will cost the same licensee $60 for the ALDS), (1) however, full-season ticket licensees (non-Suites) of $325 Field Level seats may purchase their seats for the ALDS at the lower price of $275 each.

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(2) Full-season Suite licensees in the Legends Suite, Delta Sky360 Suite and Jim Beam Suite, have all already paid their Suite license fees. Accordingly, they will only be required to purchase their Suite tickets, which will range from $65-$275 per Suite ticket for the ALDS, $115-$350 per Suite ticket for the ALCS, and $150-$425 per Suite ticket for the World Series.

What that boils down to is that (1) the very best non-Legends seats are going to be less expensive for the people with the seat licenses and (2) the (mainly corporate) Suite ticket holders don't have to pay their license fee at all.

Now, considering the fact that the first bunch paid $325 for their seats all year, it doesn't make a ton of sense to suddenly drop the price for by far the most desirable games of the season. I guess that's the Yankees' way of throwing them a bone after ripping them off all this time.

As for the Legends and other Suites, their license fees make up a giant portion of the ticket price. For instance, the seats I sat in back in June had a $250 seat license and just a $150 face value, meaning that they would only cost the latter amount for the ALDS. (The ~$100 food and beverage fee would still apply, but that's optional).

We've discussed the concept and execution of the Legends Seats multiple times here and an underlying theme throughout those posts was a distaste for the way that the Yankees have bent over backwards to cater to the their richest customers, while taking for granted their core fans.

This would seem to be another example of that, but the upshot is that it's highly unlikely the seats that so often sat unoccupied early in the year will be similarly vacant when October rolls around. Furthermore, if the Yanks sell out all their seats, it might trigger the release of the supposed standing room only seats which would make playoff tickets easier to come by for non-season ticket holders. In that scenario, everyone wins.

Another intersting offshoot (for me at least) is whether or not the Yanks will lower the prices for the Legends seats next year. It would be tough to do because some of the companies signed multi-year contracts at the original prices. Something to keep an eye on this offseason...

(Full disclosure: This post in the NYT Bats Blog noticed the same policy in the press release and came to some of the same conclusions, but I had this post written before that one was published. I didn't really feel the need to go back and retroactively insert it into my post.)

I Am Legend

Well, I was for a few hours yesterday afternoon, anyway. 

For the second half of my whirlwind birthday tour, a good friend who works for a major financial institution, invited me to accompany her to yesterday's Yankees game and sit in her company's Legends seats. I don't care where my tickets are when I go to a game, since I always end up standing in the same spot. There is no chance I would actually purchase one of these seats for myself, but since this outing was on Global Financial Conglomerate, Inc., I was more than willing to see what the "Legends Experience (R) (C) (TM)" was all about. 

Matt already did a fine job summing up what happened on the field, so I'm just going to try to paint a picture of the lavishness and excess that I partook in yesterday. 

The Legends Suites have their own (somewhat understated) entrance to the Stadium just past Gate 4, if you are walking from Babe Ruth Plaza. I was late, but not to worry because the Legends entrance has a little Will Call podium right there, and all I had to do was show my ID to get my ticket. There were probably 10 Yankee employees in this entry way, at least four of whom were just standing there smiling, ready to wait on ticket holders hand and foot. I tried to think of some ridiculous request I could make to test the limits of what they were willing to do, but couldn't come up with anything. I instead walked over and was affixed with a green Yankees wristband, or as it should be called, a gluttony bracelet.

I walked though a foyer framed by blue glass with little interlocking NYs, which is probably the defining design feature of the Legends club. It opened up into one of the two restaurants, this one with 10 serving stations in the middle, and tables all around the outside. Lauren recommended that we get to-go plates so we could take our food to our seats. I worked my way around, hitting up the most carnivorous options, so as to ensure I got my money's worth (or rather, her company's money's worth). She went with the grilled prawns and lobster ravioli and our two other friends sampled even more deliciousness. I caught Johnny Damon's first inning homer on one of the many giant flat screens as I was waiting for my suckling pig to be carved. 

Plates fairly heaped with fine food, we worked our way to our seats, which were in Section 27b. You have to first go through the 

downstairs restaurant, which has a ridiculous amount of free stuff for the taking. It's kind of disgusting, actually. There was a little station with the mini-helmets that you could fill up with candy. Have fun trying to control your kids here!

Next to that, they had free coffee, and one of those huge rolling hot dog grills. Just walk up and take how ever many you want. Around the corner, just before you stepped outside, they had a table, loaded with Twizzlers, Cracker Jacks, M&Ms, peanuts... just help yourself (fat ass). A guy walked up to this station while we were standing there and goes "I don't know what to say about this...". I offered "Only in America?"

Our seats were past the photographers up the third base line, a few rows from the field. As we sat down, attendants brought over trays that locked into your cup holders and had indentations specifically made for the to-go plates along with spots for two drinks. 

I couldn't help but dread that a foul ball would come rocketing down the line when I was cutting into my lamb chop or taking a bite of my BBQ chicken sandwich and be left completely defenseless. Luckily, Gary Sheffield plays across town now. 

The seats were awesome, don't get my wrong, but the really unbelievable thing about the whole Legends package is that there is a menu and you can just keep ordering from it constantly. The only thing that costs money is the alcohol. You should be able to click on the image and make it large enough to read. They had simple stuff that you would expect at a baseball game, but it also went well above and beyond that.

We just kept ordering, without worrying if it would be eaten. Lobster rolls, zucchini and potato chips with Gorgonzola cheese, crab and shrimp salad, truffle fries, nachos, ice cream sandwiches, cheesecake on a stick. Yeah, cheesecake on a fucking stick. It was like a Ben & Jerry's Peace Pop, except impossibly, even less healthy. We ordered a few $9 Coronas but I was mostly just drunk off of the food. 

Oh yeah, so I don't know if I mentioned it, but there was actually a baseball game occurring during all of this face-stuffing.

A-Rod was the closest player to us and the two ladies in our group quickly noticed that, as Del Griffith from Planes, Trains and Automobiles might say, "Larry Bird doesn't do as much ball-handling in one night as [A-Rod does] in [a half inning]!"

It was a pretty sweet game, with the 5 run fifth inning and all. Teixeria's three run double rolled right in front of us. Amazingly, again with me in attendance, Melky Cabrera was the hero of the game. Just to refresh, after Melky's first walk off of the year, I wrote this post. Since then, I have been in the house for his other two walk offs and yesterday's home run. I'm not sure what that means, karmically speaking, but I'm enjoying it. 

It was an incredible experience, certainly different than any other sporting event I've ever been to. The odd part is that the more you take advantage of what the seats have to offer, the less you pay attention to the game. We were constantly talking to the servers, ordering, accepting, eating, paying for the beers, and trying to find a place for all the empty containers that kept piling up...

It first and foremost is a luxury experience and secondarily a sporting experience. It's so above and beyond what someone would actually need or probably even want from a baseball game, it's ridiculous. It would make sense if it was a more scaled down offering, only available to the $2500 $1250 ticket holders. That would have helped them sell the more expensive tickets and created a greater air of exclusivity around them. However, they have already crossed the Rubicon on this one. The facilities are huge and designed to cater to the entire Legends section. 

If I could offer one piece of advice to someone lucky enough to stumble into tickets like I did (thanks, Lauren!), it would be... Bring your appetite! (and a bag to hoard all of the free stuff you can grab).

Here's The Difference

I'm a little late to the party on this one, but it's never the wrong time to rip Lonn Trost. Very quickly... Yesterday as the Yankees were revealing their absurd - I mean, completely reasonable, free market - Old Stadium memorabilia prices, Lonn Trost was asked about the New Stadium's policy, which does not allow fans from other sections to come down to the Field Level to watch batting practice up close. He had this to say:

Well, if you purchase a suite, do you want somebody in your suite? If you purchase a home, do you want somebody in your home?

Here's the difference, Lonn. Seats at a stadium aren't a home. People can't go there when the Stadium is closed. Purchasing those seats allow for people to sit in them for before, during and after home games. It's a "suite" only because you call it that. Nowhere else is in the world are padded plastic seats without a roof considered a "suite". Actual suites are in hotels and on cruise ships and chalets in the Swiss Alps. The New Stadium is an outdoor sporting event venue, not a vacation destination. 

And as PeteAbe has brought up, those seats are almost always empty in the hours leading up to games. If fans from other sections were watching BP from down there and a ticket holder politely informed them that they were in their spot, I'm sure they would move out of the way. Apparently the obscene ticket prices at the New Stadium have spared the wealthy the indignity of interacting with us commoners for even the briefest of moments. Which would be fine, but again, those tickets still aren't totally sold. The Yankees are still screwing their real fans in the name of their make-believe dream customers. 

A Simple "Yes" Would Have Done

From Wallace Matthews of Newsday: 

When I asked Yankees vice president Randy Levine if this meant the team had misjudged the market, he [said] "For a very small number of seats, in this economy [...] I guess it was a mistake.''

Reason #446,785 why I hate you, Randy Levine. You are that guy. The one who will never admit when he's wrong. 

It's not even entriely your fault. The economy went south between the time you set the prices and the when the time came to sell the tickets. Not too many people saw that coming. 

"A very small number of seats?" Okay, maybe in relation to the capacity of the Stadium, but they represent a huge chunk of the revenue. For one $2650 Legends ticket (there are 122 total), you could buy 189 bleacher seats or 120 in the Grandstand. There are 1200 seats priced over $325 and the prices of about 600 of them have been effectively cut in half. Those seats were what the entire "Robin Hood" pricing model of the New Stadium was built around. That's not a "very small" loss in revenue. 

A fun little aside... Here's a nice fabrication that I turned up in the ESPN article linked above, dated March 21st, 2008:

The New York Yankees will charge $500 to $2,500 for seats near home plate in the first five-to-eight rows of their new ballpark. They already have commitments from ticket-buyers for all 122 of the front-row seats.

Oh, did they? Then we must have varying definitions of the word "commitment", because those are the seats that they are now halving prices on and giving away to those who already purchased at full price.

Randy, you fucked up. We all see the empty seats. It's not up for debate. Are you 7 years old? Stop acting like you didn't break the window, we saw you and Lon Trost throwing the ball as hard as you possibly could on the front lawn. Would it kill you to just admit that things didn't go according to plan?