With the Pirates in 1st place this late in the season for the first time since since July 17, 1997, fans in Pittsburgh are clearly excited about their Bucs. As you can see above, ticket prices are starting to reflect the Pirates play on the field. If the Pirates can continue to surprise everyone and those feelings of the Summer of ‘79 start rushing back to the Pirate faithful, we expect to see those prices to continue to rise.

For tickets to an upcoming Pirates game, click here.

If you believe the ESPN verdict, last night’s Home Run Derby was unequivocally ‘The Best Ever.’ While there are likely good arguments to the contrary (Josh Hamilton), based on pure competitive drama–Yankees/RedSox, Walk-off, come-from-behind, win– the 2011 version may have been good as any.

As for new additions for 2011 format, the AL vs. NL format did not add much–the AL won 76-19. The addition of the live tweeting, however, did provide an interesting and novel connection to the event. We liked MLB’s latest effort in social media enough that we decided to put together the first-ever recap of the Social HR Derby.

In addition to the data at the bottom of the post, we aggregated and curated (as we like to do) tweet highlights from the evening that we thought worthy of an honorific.  As for the data, the graph below shows that the NL was about 20% more active during the derby, tapping out 62 tweets to the AL’s 48. For the NL, Hunter Pence and Brandon Phillips (neither of whom participated) led the way with 16 each. For the AL, Big Papi and C.J. Wilson tweeted the most, with 11 and 13, respectively. Notably absent was the NL Captain Prince Fielder.

There were several notable items from the 26th(?) annual HRD. Most notable was Cano Sr. having the biggest moment under the lights of a Major League Ballpark: Career Numbers: 1-1, 5.09 ERA in 23IP for the for 1989 Astros. The fan that caught a HR while diving into the pool, and managed NOT TO spill his beer, may have been the most impressive achievement of the night, aside from Cano’s 470-ft bomb. It is certainly one that won’t repeated anytime soon, if ever, in a Home Run Derby.

Since it’s inception, baseball purists and progressives have debated the merits of interleague play. Despite a strong and vocal group of naysayers, the consensus is that interleague has successfully built the sports’ visibility and driven gate receipts.

A closer look at pricing data from the 14th campaign, however, suggests that interest in interleague is lacking. Of the 14 series starting Friday, only three are driving a price premium—which means they’re selling above the home teams season average. Those series are the Cardinals @ Royals (+13%), the Mets @ Yankees (+12%) and the As @ Giants (+8). Every other series is selling for less than the home teams’ regular season average, including the Rangers @ Phillies (-19%), the Indians @ Reds (-30%) as well as the WhiteSox @ Dodgers (-40%). In a season where overall MLB attendance is down almost 2%, it’s no great shock that you can get into any Astros-Blue Jays games for less than you’ll pay for a beer and a dog.

Notwithstanding the above, it would be natural to think that the Cubs @ RedSox would be a different story. The Cubs have not played at Fenway since the 1918 World Series. Since then a lot has happened, from Goats to the Babe to Buckner and Bartman. Despite the rich historical context, Sox fans are paying 5% less than the season average of $149. Certainly, if Red Sox Nation were still living under the curse of the Bambino, the price picture would be a very different. Rather than a shrug of indifference, Bostonian would be clamoring for one the 37,456 chances to witness an exorcism 93 years in the making. As it is, though, the Red Sox have two World Series comfortably tucked away, the Cubs are 17-23, and we’re still in May.

As for MLB, Interleague play is here to stay. Nonetheless, the first round of this years games demonstrates that for a generation of fans who are too young to remember anything but interleague, it takes more than novelty to drive real demand for seats.

For tickets to all Interleague matchups, click here.

Since its introduction in 1997, fans league-wide have debated the pros and cons of annual interleague play. While the average baseball fan might revel in the previously unseen matchup between classic franchises, the purists might dismiss the whole thing as a gimmicky money-making ploy set up by the owners and baseball. Either way, interleague play enters its 15th season and this weekend’s matchups bring some interesting data into the conversation.

The top 4 matchups, based on the series premium over the home team’s regular season price, are Cards vs Royals, Mets vs Yankees, A’s Giants, & Cubs vs. Red Sox (in that order). At a 38% premium, the I-70 rematch of the ‘85 Royals/Cards World Series takes the top spot for the weekend followed by the Subway Series in New York with a 22% premium, and the Bay Area series comes in at a close 3rd with a 21% premium. However, the lone non-regional series in the graphic, with the Cubs coming into Fenway for a matchup between two of the MLB most storied franchises is up just 9% in the midst of a Sox torrid hot streak. So, even after 15 years, the jury on interleague play is still out and the debate is sure to continue.

For tickets to these, or any other MLB games, click here.

Tonight, the Phillies begin a huge early-season road trip starting with three games against the 2nd place Marlins and then three more against the 3rd place Braves. It’s still early, but with holding just a 2 game lead on Florida and 3.5 lead on Atlanta, it’s a pretty big week for all teams involved.

The trip is filled with excellent pitching matchups, but the highlight is sure to be Tuesday night’s showdown between reigning Cy Young award winner, Roy Halladay, and Marlins ace, Josh Johnson. Both pitchers have started the year off in All-Star fashion; Johnson is 2nd in the NL with a sparkling 1.68 ERA, and Halladay is tied for the league lead with 5 wins and is 5th in the league with a 2.19 ERA.

At an average of $71 each, ticket prices, as you might expect, are higher for this game than any of the other five listed in the chart – 39% higher than the other two games in Florida and 6% higher than the three games in Atlanta.

For tickets to any of these games, click here.

The Texas Rangers and San Francisco Giants open up baseball’s 106th World Series tonight. While odds makers have the series in a dead heat, at the box office, the Giants have already clinched.
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While the average price at both venues constitutes a down payment, San Franciscans are paying 14% more than Rangers fans.  As as you can see in the chart below, this is trend carried over from the Divisional Series and LCS, where Giants fans paid 28% and 18% more than the fans in Arlington. The Giants were the most active adopter of dynamic pricing in 2010, and perhaps the high prices are the result of a fan base that is better conditioned to pay more for big games.
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If the Giants can bring the Golden City its first baseball crown, the $1,500 average price will feel like money well spent.  If the Rangers prevail, Baseball Torture in Frisco will move beyond the psychic to the economic.
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To see prices for any WS games, or to buy tickets, click on the links below.
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Game 1 (SF) — Game 2 (SF) — Game 3 (TEX) — Game 4 (TEX) — Game 5 (TEX) — Game 6 (SF) — Game 7 (SF)

After Roy Halladay’s no-hitter on Wednesday–only the second ever in baseball’s 118 years of post season history–a used ticket from that historic game sold on eBay for $73, only 44% below the actual price of tickets to the game itself. As of today, there are over 200 listings available for sale on eBay, evidence that the ticket after-after market is alive and well.

While we’re not sure it has officially been named, tracked or analyzed, we’re using this post to do all of those for the ticket after-after market. By way of introduction, the after-after market is the market for tickets to events that have already happened. This is in contrast to the regular old after-market, which has been driving ticket sales for over ten years, on the backs of Stubhub, eBay and others.
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Compared to the $7B ticket after-market, the after-after market is significantly smaller in size. With maybe $1M annual revenue in a good year, it is nonetheless an active eBay niche, and this year a growing one.
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Thanks in large part to Mr. Halladay, 2010 has been a banner year. With four no-hitters and one perfect game, a lot of new inventory has come online. 2010 was also the first time (we believe) that a team jumped into the after-after market. Earlier in the summer, after Halladay threw the 20th perfect game in baseball history, the Marlins capitalized on their anemic attendance by offering all 13,000 unsold tickets for face price days after the game. The Marlins managed to sell 3,500 tickets in the first few hours, and have since sold all of the tickets.
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For rabid Phillies fans who couldn’t get to game one of the ALDS, $73 may have felt like a good deal. Based on some comps, it actually may be. Stubs from Don Larsen’s perfect game are hard to find, but we found one that went for $1,201 back in 1996. 54 years from now, Halladay’s No-No may be worth a lot more than $73, and in the interim could make for nice wall decoration.

Aside from Halladay’s game, if you have any questions about the health of the after-after market, the below links illustrate that it is alive and well. In addition to a piece of history, the after-after market also sells pieces of something even more interesting–history that actually never happened. For $24.95, you, too, could be the proud owner of a 2003 Cubs World Series ticket that almost was.
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Some other Tickets currently available in the after-after market:
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- Halladay Perfect Game, 5.29.10 (Full Ticket, Mint): $511
- Matt Garza No Hitter, 7.26.10 (Stub): $1.04
- Nolan Ryan’s 6th No Hitter, 6.11.90 (Full Ticket, Mint): $49.99
- Mike Scott No-Hitter, Pennant Clincher, 9.25.86 (Stub): $99.95
- Cubs 2003 Phantom World Series (Full ticket, headphones not included): $24.951
- Cubs 1945 World Series, aka BillyGoat Curse Game (full ticket): $2,500
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