Chalk Up an Error for Overpriced Tickets

Winter is officially over and there is definitely the feel of baseball in the air, well in Arizona and Florida anyway, where the major leagues spring training is currently taking place.

Yes, we are quickly approaching the start of the 2016 season and getting a look at some of the star players that will be on display during the summer.

As the Major League Baseball teams step up to plate for spring training, more fans will be waiting till regular season to take in a game as some tickets are selling for over $150 US this pre-season.

Like all other pre-season games, no one really takes them too seriously or puts that much weight on them. After all they are simply for players to scrap off the rust and for management to get a better feel for who and what they are dealing with, who the contenders for full-time spots on the team are and so on.

As for the fans, well it’s still baseball, but it may be becoming more difficult to take in a game in person. Ticket prices for spring training games are skyrocketing, with some tickets going for over $150 US, as seen with the game between the San Francisco Giants and Chicago Cubs. Yes, we get to see young players competing for spots on the team and occasionally the stars take the field, but these games mean absolutely nothing. Winning a bunch of games in March does not mean you start with a better record when opening day comes.

There could be the argument that tickets are worth whatever someone is willing to pay for them, but when tuning in for the odd game that is broadcasted there are a lot of empty seats. Maybe that means that asking for over $100 is a little too steep, especially when you are not offering even half the drama that regular season games provide or seeing players selling out to make plays. We’re looking at you Justin Verlander and Yoenis Cespedes.

Due to the Detroit Tigers opening their season in Miami against the Miami Marlins, they will be without their designated hitter or DH. So Verlander, the Tigers’ pitcher, was tuning-up with some at-bats. Verlander laid down a bunt, but couldn’t be bothered to run it out, which gained the ire of the crowd.

As for Cespedes it gets even worse. The New York Met felt like it was too much effort to bend over and retrieve the ball after it rolled under the wall and as a result gave up an inside-the-park home run to A.J Reed. Now to say that Cespedes thought that picking up the ball was too much like trying may be a little bit exaggerated, as he claimed that the ball was lodged under the wall and he couldn’t. But when the umpire meandered over he easily flicked it from under the wall with his finger, you might just need to look up the video to do this justice.

Anyway the point is, this is the type of baseball on display. This is not taking a shot at the players or the league, you guys get ready for the season however you want. This is just to say, over $100 for a ticket to a spring training game is a little out of the park!