04/25/24
July 19, 2010
Minor Leagues Thrive in Tough Economy: The economy seems to have sent baseball fans to the cheaper tickets of the minor leagues. Minor League Baseball reports ticket sales for the first three months of 2010 are up 935,000 from last year. It costs a family of four $57.70 to see a minor league game, compared to $194.90 for the bigs, according to a study by the lower league.
Minor league games are great. We see the Bowie BaySox and the Potomac Nationals. It's affordable and kid-friendly. Kids are happy, parents get to watch baseball, and we can afford to do it regularly.
posted by bperk at 10:18 AM on July 19, 2010
My hometown Cedar Rapids Kernels are always a fun way to spend an afternoon or evening without being to hard on the money. Class A ball is not too awful of a watch, either.
posted by boredom_08 at 10:55 AM on July 19, 2010
YYM, you can get seats for right behind home plate for $13, most expensive seats in the house.
posted by apoch at 12:52 PM on July 19, 2010
I've gone to a few Jacksonville Suns games at the Baseball Grounds and a Daytona Cubs game at Jackie Robinson Ballpark. They're both great places to see a game, but I'm a diehard Major League fan so it's harder to get into their winning and losing.
posted by rcade at 01:27 PM on July 19, 2010
I've been attending Texas League games a half dozen times a year for longer than I care to mention. The price is right, the grass is green, the beer is cold, and it's baseball. I try to make it to Arlington for a series or two of the Rangers games each year, but it is an ordeal and kinda pricey. Minor league ball is a good excuse to get out of the house and just take in the smells, tastes, and sounds of the ballpark, and watch some of the youngsters who might make it to the show.
posted by mjkredliner at 04:59 PM on July 19, 2010
Minor league games are great.
One thing I noticed at the A-ball game I attended was that everything is sponsored, every gap between innings has some commercial interlude, and the public address system is really bloody annoying. I've not been to a game in the majors or higher up the minor-league ladder, but I'm told that it's a bit less overtly commercial because the sponsors have bigger bucks and a larger implicit presence.
The game itself was fine, though I don't quite know how you can sit through a double-header without getting bored silly, even with friends in tow and beer on tap. Perhaps I'm just used to six-hour days at the cricket where you can drift into continuous partial attention without being jerked back every five minutes to hear about the great deals on offer at Randy's Rib Shack on Highway 47.
posted by etagloh at 06:36 PM on July 19, 2010
I love minor league games. I've seen Votto play in Louisville, Dunn and Kearns play in Dayton etc.
Less than two weeks ago I took the family to a Dragons game for my birthday. I kicked down for the good seats. $15 each. We were 11 rows up, right behind home plate. The equivalent of $200 each Diamond seats at a Reds game.
The minor league games are very convenient and can be a bargain. (ie. $7 lawn seats, cheaper food, parking and beer) It's also pretty cool to watch the young guys trying to make it.
On the other hand I purchased a \"4 game hat pack\" for the Reds this year. $138.00 total, for four bleacher seats, four free hats and four free combo meals from McDonalds, for each game! These were also weekend games against the Cards, Braves, Indians and Cubs. Not bad at all.
I went to a preseason(football term, I know) game a while back in Ft. Myers. It was the Red Sox and a team I don't remember. It was so crowded my son and I left, (we had to purchase standing room only), anyways, the younger guys were playing on two fields outside the stadium. Great fun to watch. Just like watching a game at your local park. Could of watched them all day for whatever we paid for parking. A great deal.
Actually, my girls have more fun at the Dragons games than they do the Reds. You know what? Since I'm not stressing over whose going to win, I might just have more fun, as well.
posted by tselson at 11:10 PM on July 19, 2010
Normally those \\\\\\\\\ disappear.
posted by tselson at 11:11 PM on July 19, 2010
I love the St. Paul Saints, the Frisco Rough Riders, and the Ft. Worth Cats. Various levels of minor league play, and varying level of ballpark quality, but all three put out a great product for far less than what a major league team charges.
At the Majors, if you want reduced parking (is $15.00 really reduced parking??) you have to walk 6 blocks or more. If you're willing to walk six blocks to a minor league park, the parking is probably going to be free.
Yeah, etagloh, lots of wacky sponsors at some minor league games, majors aren't that much different, and it's what keeps the cost down.
posted by dviking at 11:33 PM on July 19, 2010
One thing I noticed at the A-ball game I attended was that everything is sponsored, every gap between innings has some commercial interlude, and the public address system is really bloody annoying. I've not been to a game in the majors or higher up the minor-league ladder, but I'm told that it's a bit less overtly commercial because the sponsors have bigger bucks and a larger implicit presence.
I have worked for minor league teams both as a hourly employee (two years with the Pittsfield Mets) and an intern (Lowell Spinners) and I agree that the marketing can be a bit over the top, but it is the only way in which the teams can make the games affordable. The gate provides the teams with their largest income source, but the sponsorship deals are a close second. The profit margins on the food products a very low but the teams still need to pay for the high school kids that are serving you. While the MLB affiliate provides that players and pays their salaries, it is the responsibility of the minor league team to pay for the travel expenses of the teams to their road games so the overhead costs on the teams is relatively high.
posted by Demophon at 08:56 AM on July 20, 2010
I've been attending Texas League games a half dozen times a year for longer than I care to mention
Doesn't it get boring just watching guys hit the ball over the infielders' heads?
posted by yerfatma at 09:04 AM on July 20, 2010
*laughs*
Yeah, but string a few together and you'll have a good inning before you know it.
posted by mjkredliner at 09:18 AM on July 20, 2010
Normally those \\\\ disappear.
Did you edit your comment after posting it?
posted by rcade at 10:09 AM on July 20, 2010
Yeah, but string a few together and you'll have a good inning before you know it.
We're going to Baltimore for a game in September. I'm really hoping someone hits one off the plate.
posted by yerfatma at 10:35 AM on July 20, 2010
Did you edit your comment after posting it?
Yes. Like 3 times! The number of slashes seemed to change after each edit. Hope that helps.
One other thing I've noticed was that if I highlight say a sentence or paragraph and I hit backspace to delete it, I actually go back to the previous web page and lose my whole post. Is that me just being stupid?
Thanks, rcade.
posted by tselson at 01:46 PM on July 20, 2010
I agree that the marketing can be a bit over the top, but it is the only way in which the teams can make the games affordable.
Completely understandable, and I'm sure that I'd subconsciously tune it out if I became a regular. As someone who got interested in baseball through AFN radio -- which has some local station promos, but mainly switches out for informational spots -- it felt strangely jarring, which probably means I've over-romanticised the idea of baseball as a pleasant afternoon or evening out in which sport occasionally breaks through.
posted by etagloh at 06:20 PM on July 20, 2010
We're going to Baltimore for a game in September. I'm really hoping someone hits one off the plate.
I always heard the crab cakes were better than the chops ;)
posted by mjkredliner at 08:24 PM on July 20, 2010
I went to a minor league game for the first time this past week (West Michigan Whitecaps) and it was a great experience. Great seats for very cheap, the same price at Comerica nets upper deck seats. There were a lot of people there too but that may have been the ten cent hot dogs.