Snub Bud and Stub-Hub: go to a Minor league game

Q: Who is the President of baseball? A: Pat O’Conner

OK, it was a trick question; the infamous Bud Selig is the Commissioner of MLB™ the money-making monolith that has priced out fans in the 99-percenter sector of the economy.

Pat O’Conner is the President of Minor League Baseball™, where the other 99% of baseball fans can still afford to attend a game; Bud is the CEO of a corporation labeled “MLB™,” for the other 1%, who can still afford to attend a game at Fenway Park.

Corporations and The Rich have not only bought everything of value in America and virtually every worthless politician and with it the power to control the former free democracy known as the United States of America, they have also bought “Major League” baseball.

“The point here is that behind the balls and strikes there’s a whole lot of Big Ag, Dark Money, Wall Street, and Corporate Welfare.”

[Tim Murphy, “Is Your Team’s Owner a Major League Asshole?” http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/04/matrix-major-league-baseball-owners-asshole]

Happily, the “game of baseball,” which began in this country in the 1800’s as a sport that was played in small towns attended by crowds of locals is alive and well and fans in the 99% income cohort are taking the wife and kids and grandkids to games “from the mountains, to the prairies, to the oceans” and “from California to [Coney] island; from the red wood forest to the Gulf Stream waters.”

Yes, fellow 99-percenter, ‘Minor leagues were made for you and me and we are attending games in 160 baseball parks in America, this erstwhile optimistic experiment in freedom, justice and democracy.

FACT: Minor League Baseball™ experienced staggering increases in revenue among its 160 teams. Minor League Baseball ™also set new attendance records for five consecutive years from 2004-08, including topping 43-million in 2008 for the first time since the organization was founded in 1901.

The 41,279,382 regular season total represents an increase over 2011 and marks the eighth year in a row that the industry has topped 41 million fans.

[http://www.milb.com/milb/info/bios.jsp?mc=_poconner]

While CEO Bud and his Richie Rich masters have been adding luxury boxes for their corporate co-conspirators, small towns have been sprucing up their Minor league parks to accommodate the surge of fans that left “MLB™” after the strikes of ’98 and the tainting of hallowed records by PEDs and cheating players.

"Should Alan “What Me Worry?” Selig be concerned?"

April 11, 2013, BOSTON — The Boston Red Sox customarily announce that game’s attendance in the press box, usually in the seventh inning or beyond. For 820 consecutive games, the announced attendance was followed by the words “sellout.”

Wednesday night, anticipating the inevitable, the Red Sox issued a news release announcing their record streak of sellouts — 820 (794 regular-season games and an additional 26 in the postseason) — was ending. [http://espn.go.com/boston/mlb/story/_/id/9158007/boston-red-sox-820-game-sellout-streak-ends]

[ED. NOTE: The Red Sox call it a sellout even if somebody bought a ticket but doesn’t show up. And the team counts tickets it donates to charity, even if they go unused. Many fans say the streak is dubious.]

On June 5, 2013, the Yankees were down 2,576 fans per game, the Red Sox 4,554, the Cubs 5,116, the Phillies 6,656.

Need more proof? Well, this Bud’s… for you!

Attendance changes [June, 2012-2013]

Team (Gms.)

More fans per game:

Avg. diff.

Orioles (28)

5,412

Nationals (27)

5,143

Dodgers (31)

4,381

Blue Jays (30)

3,886

Reds (29) 1,990

Athletics (28)

1,185

Athletics (28)

1,185

White Sox (24)

1,078

Angels (32)

1,028

Braves (27)

713

Padres (30)

532

Braves (27)

713

Padres (30)

532

Giants (31)

190

Rockies (30)

Mets -29)

Less fans per game:

Tigers (27)

-168

Indians (30)

-252

D-backs (28)

-633

Mariners (27)

-1,055

Pirates (32)

-1,067

Cardinals (29)

-1,160

Royals (25)

-1,228

Rays (27)

-1,303

Yankees (31)

-2,576

Brewers (31)

-3,842

Rangers (26)

-3,907

Twins (27)

-4,004

Astros (31)

-4,271

Red Sox (30)

-4,554

Cubs (29)

-5,116

Phillies (30)

-6,656

Marlins (30)

-10,262

STATS LLC

Yes, Bud, while you were making a profit of at least $223 Million off the game of baseball, the rest of us have been losing our jobs, or discovering that 70% of manufacturing jobs have left America in the last decade, or now need to work two, or three, part-time jobs at minimum wage to maintain a minimum of food and shelter, not to mention the cost of medical care.

According to the website http://www.teammarketing.com, it would cost a family of four $336.99 to attend a Red Sox game at Fenway. The same group would pay $324.30 to go to Yankee Stadium. That cost is based on the purchase of four tickets, two beers, two sodas, four hot dogs, parking, two programs and two caps.

Today, two tickets to a Red Sox game, where you may still be able to make out the numbers on the players’ uniforms, Grandstand section 26, will run you $114.

[http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-Red-Sox-vs-Mariners-Tickets-07-30-13-Grandstand-26-Electronic-Tix-/200945185147?pt=US_Tickets_all_in_one&hash=item2ec944317b]

Two tickets in a comparable location at a Portland Sea Dogs’ game will cost $20.

[SEE average MLB™ ticket prices for July, 2013 at the end.**]

“Tickets, gas, food, it’s a few hundred dollars… “Other bills are more of a priority.”

[Clarence Eckstein, 51, Reds’ fan, works on semi-trucks in Celina, Ohio.]

The high price of attending games is becoming a major concern for Major League Baseball™; an Associated Press-Knowledge Networks poll of fans released July, 2013 shows.

63 percent said the steep cost was the game’s top trouble — up from 45 percent in a survey right before opening day. [@ 4 months earlier.]

72 percent of baseball fans said MLB is not doing enough to prevent the use of performance-enhancing drugs.

66 percent said, Manny Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds or Sammy Sosa should NOT be allowed into the Hall of Fame, if they are found to have taken steroids or performance-enhancing drugs.

18 percent cited soaring player salaries.

Thus, MLB™ attendance is down more than 6 percent this season. The average ticket price is up 5 percent over last season, according to the Team Marketing Report from AP-KN Poll: “MLB fans feel priced out at ballpark.” [http://www.ticketingjournal.com/industry-news/ap-kn-poll-mlb-fans-feel-priced-out-at-ballpark.html*]

“My business has been severely impacted because of national economics. You go to the ballpark and get a hot dog and a Coke and the tickets and maybe a little souvenir and it’s prohibitively expensive…” she said. “Taking the kids to an old-fashioned ballgame is a major vacation.”[Linda-Lee Sigmon, who runs her own monogramming and embroidery business in Orlando, Fla.]“It’s sad when people can’t afford to come to a game. No doubt. I would love for every kid and every adult to be able to afford to come to a ballpark,” Texas Rangers pitcher Eddie Guardado said. “Somebody’s going to come up with a good idea to fix it.”

Presumably, that “somebody” would be the Commissioner of MLB™, but those fans who do not have the time to wait for Bud to wrap up that territorial dispute between the Giants and the A’s [has it been 10 years already?] have discovered a wonderful solution: Minor League Baseball™.

EX: Mets’ AA team in Binghamton, New York; Adult box seats $8 each, Kids $6. On selected Wednesday and Saturday nights, a four-pack — four tickets, four hotdogs and four sodas for $20. How much would all that run you at a major league park?

Just across town from Shea Stadium, the Brooklyn Cyclones, the Mets’ A team; Box seats $10 each; Bleacher seats $5.

EX: Philadelphia Phillies’ AAA team in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre; lower box $8, Bleacher $5.

[“Enjoy Baseball Games Without Going Broke,” http://www.askmen.com/sports/business_100/110b_sports_business.html]

[SEE Cheapest Season ticket prices below***]

Oh, you still want season tickets for the Red Sox?

“I signed up for the red sox season ticket waitlist in 2003 which was the first year for the waitlist. After declining the 10 man package for a few years they told me it was required and I’d need to submit for an upgrade later. I got 10 man tickets in 2007. This year I have been awarded full 81 game tickets and had the option of getting them in the bleachers, right field box, and the pavilion club (for a whopping $28,000).”

The 21,500 season tickets for Fenway Park have been sold out for many years; to get the opportunity to buy Red Sox season tickets is by joining the Boston Red Sox Season Ticket Waiting List.

Q: How long is that waiting list?

A: According to Boston Red Sox Ticket Services, there are currently just over 7,000 fans on the Red Sox Season Ticket Waiting List.

Q: What is the website to start the process?

A: The only way to join the Boston Red Sox Season Ticket Waiting List is to call the Red Sox Ticket Office at 877.REDSOX9 and speak to a ticket specialist.

Q: How long is the wait to get on the lowest rung of the ticket ladder?

A: Sox fan Jeff Werner says, after seven years on the waiting list, he’s finally been offered a ticket package. -WikiAnswers

Here is a recent example of what you can expect to pay for a pair of Red Sox tickets on eBay:

Newly listed2 Red Sox vs Mariners Tickets 07/30/13 – Grandstand 26 Electronic Tix

Section: GS 26

Row: 13

Number of Tickets: 2

One-day shipping available

Time left:

$114.00

0 bids

Free shipping

INFIELD GRANDSTANDS Sections 24-31 extend down the third-base line and look out more towards right-field but still allow fans for a great view of the game.

Oh, you wanted a pair of Bleacher tickets?

on eBay:

Your Cart

Tampa Bay Rays at Boston Red Sox

Date & Time:

Thursday 7/25/2013

07:10 PM

Venue:

Fenway Park

Section:

BL39

Seating Chart

Row:

Price:

$28.00 per Ticket

To help you imagine the location of Section 39, recall the famous red seat in the right field bleachers (Section 42, Row 37, Seat 21), which marks the spot where the longest measurable home run ever hit inside Fenway Park’s 1934 configuration landed.

Ted Williams hit the home run on June 9, 1946 off Fred Hutchinson of the Detroit Tigers. Williams’ bomb was officially measured at 502 feet (153 m)—well beyond “Williamsburg”. According to Hit Tracker Online, the ball, if unobstructed, would have flown 520 to 535 feet[2].

The ball landed on one Joseph A. Boucher, who was supposedly taking a nap at the time, penetrating his large straw hat and hitting him in the head. A confounded Boucher was later quoted as saying,

“How far away must one sit to be safe in this park? I didn’t even get the ball. They say it bounced a dozen rows higher, but after it hit my head, I was no longer interested. I couldn’t see the ball. Nobody could. The sun was right in our eyes. All we could do was duck. I’m glad I didn’t stand up. ”

http://www.american-architecture.info/USA/USA-Boston/BO-004.htm

If the trend continues, fans who would previously ATTEND a MLB™ game , will prefer the hassle-free experience of watching games at home on large-screen, high-definition televisions on cable for about $70-100 per season.

Fans who want to see a professional baseball game live can attend a local Minor League™ game for a reasonable price [compared to the movies], or check out the local college, or high school games.

In the near future, imagine fans watching MLB™ games from home on their wall-to-wall screens; the seats at the stadium will be covered with “green screen” tarps, so they can project holograms of fans onto them; the only live fans in the MLB™ stadiums will be in their corporate boxes, sipping martinis, telling each other how they move their money around and watching the game in their private luxury suites on TV.

“Oh, yes, it’s much better now; we don’t have to put up with all that noise from those rowdy fans who could still afford to attend the games years ago…”

For the rest of us, you can find your Minor League™ team here:

http://www.milb.com/milb/info/geographical.jsp