Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Bargain in Aisle Game 6

Pulitzer-Prize-winning humor columnist Dave Barry wrote that women want "to be loved, to be listened to, to be desired, to be respected, to be needed, to be trusted, and sometimes, just to be held" while men want "tickets for the world series.”

The pride of Pleasantville High School (who was the inspiration for the titular character in the sitcom Dave's World starring Harry Anderson) would not be surprised that the going rate for a single upper tank ticket to Game 1 of the Fall Classic at Yankee Stadium is upwards of $300, several times above face value. Tickets to the World Series are a hot commodity, even if some Yankees fans are selling them to try to recoup their expenses after paying exorbitant rates to attend games during the regular season. The combination of Yankees fans being more inclined to sell their own tickets, weeknight games early in the Series and bad weather in New York, though, has created cheaper prices in the Big Apple than in Philly, where tickets for Friday night's Game 3 begin around $425. Tickets for Game 4 on Saturday night begin at $500 and those for Game 5 on Monday start at $475.

If you're in the market for tickets then go check out Fansnap.com. It's a ticket broker search engine that organizes all the secondary market tickets listed around the Internets. And when you are perusing the thousands of tickets available you might want to ask after Game 6. Because there are currently about 9,000 to be had and the cheapest are running less than $150. There are two reasons for the drop off in price. The first is the fact that Yankees fans and New York ticket touts have flooded the market during a rainy week. And the second is that this game will only be played if necessary. It's not a lock like Games 1-4. And it's not a near lock like Game 5. There hasn't been a World Series that has gone six games since 2003 when the Marlins upended the Yankees in the Bronx.

But if you're a Yankees fan or a Phillies fan then go buy these (relatively) cheap tickets if you can. It's a risk because you're not guaranteed anything and most of these sellers aren't offering refunds but c'mon, other than Jimmy Rollins very few people see this Series ending in five games or fewer. There is a very good chance that we'll see a Game 6 back in New York next week. And when you see a Game 6, you potentially see something epic. Sportswriters have been falling all over themselves to tell you that this is the best World Series matchup in a long time. And if this Series is a true fall classic then Game 6 will be one to remember. Someone will be have a chance to clinch and the other team will be playing to stay alive. It's a recipe for awesomeness.

Notable Game 6 Moments:
-The 1986 Mets' miracle comeback made possible by the most famous E3 in history.
-Carlton Fisk's arm-flapping home run against the The Big Red Machine at Fenway in 1975.
-Kirby Puckett's stellar catch and walk-off homer against the Braves in 1991.
- Joe Carter's Series-clinching walk-off HR versus the Twins at Skydome.
-Josh Beckett's dominant performance against the Yankees in 2003 to give the Marlins an unlikely title.
-The 2002 Angels' comeback against Barry Bonds and the Giants to force Game 7.
-the Series-altering botched call at first base late in Game 6 of the 1985 World Series between the Royals and the Cardinals.