Red Sox shamelessly increasing ticket prices despite missing postseason

The Boston Red Sox announced that they are raising ticket prices for next season despite falling short of expectations and missing the playoffs in 2019.

The Boston Red Sox plan on increasing ticket prices to games at Fenway Park next season by an average of 1.7 percent, reports MassLive’s Christopher Smith.

The Red Sox vastly underachieved this year to fall out of the postseason picture for the first time since 2015. Their win total plummeted from the franchise-record 108 they piled up a year ago to 86 this season.

Ownership has publically stated a desire to trim the payroll in order to duck under the $208 million luxury tax threshold. Rumors are swirling that some of the team’s biggest stars could be traded to dump salary and we can rule out any high profile free agents being brought in to upgrade the roster.

So, let me get this straight. Red Sox ownership wants to save money even if it comes at the expense of fielding an inferior product but they want us to pay more for it?

The most expensive tickets, Field Box sections 17-70, Rows A-E, will rise from an average of $161.14 to $163.91 next season. Keep in mind these are averages for the season so premium games and weekends will cost quite a bit more. Standing Room Only tickets will see an increase from an average of $21.14 to $25.86. While this remains the cheapest admission to Fenway, the $4.72 differential is the largest increase for next season.

The Red Sox raised ticket prices for the 2019 season by 2.5 percent. This was coming off the best season in franchise history capped by a World Series championship. Ownership naturally raised prices to profit off the increased demand for a product with a limited supply. That’s basic economics, we understand that.

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They raised prices by the same amount the previous year. Fine, the Red Sox didn’t win a title in 2017 but they were coming off winning their second consecutive division title. A hike in ticket prices wasn’t unexpected.

They can’t use that same logic this time. Ownership didn’t raise prices in 2015, 2013, or 2012 after the Red Sox failed to make the playoffs the previous season. The cost didn’t go up in 2009 when they settled for a Wild Card spot the previous year. So, why are they doing it now?

Trimming the budget for next year is a logical move. The luxury tax penalties increase in severity for repeat offenders with the harshest reserved for those who exceed the threshold for three consecutive years. Boston has paid the tax in each of the last two years with MLB’s highest payroll. It’s simply a wise business decision to avoid being a three-peat offender. If ducking the tax for one year helps the Red Sox afford a new contract for Mookie Betts, I’m all for it.

Just don’t make us pay more if you plan to spend less. The few extra million that John Henry will pocket from these increased ticket prices won’t dictate what the Red Sox can afford in the future.  He has the money. Raising prices while reducing costs is about greed. It’s a slap in the face to their loyal fan base.

Fenway remains one of the league’s smallest ballparks so even with tickets becoming more expensive, there’s plenty of demand the fill every seat for each home game. The Red Sox will still sell out their games, it’ll just be harder for the average family to afford those tickets. Ownership won’t see a difference in the bottom line when viewing this move as a business decision but if they can’t see the drawbacks from a fan’s perspective, maybe that’s part of the problem.