Article:All Baseball Games Might Be "Premium" Games

by Harold Friend

One never knows what is going to happen in a baseball game. Pennant-winning teams might struggle against cellar-dwellers, or a play that has never been seen could occur. There are no guarantees, which is a major reason that before the first pitch, all baseball games are potentially created equal.

Gaylord Perry Against Bob Gibson

The paid attendance on Sept. 17, 1968 at Candlestick Park was 9,546. The second-place Giants trailed the visiting Cardinals by 10 games as the teams prepared for what promised to be a forgettable game, despite future Hall of Famers Gaylord Perry and Bob Gibson facing each other. Perry pitched a no-hitter.

Ray Washburn's Payback

The next day, the game was less attractive. The Giants' Bobby Bolin was facing Ray Washburn, neither of whom ever threatened Walter Johnson as the game's greatest pitcher. A "crowd" of 4,703 fans paid to see the game. Washburn pitched a no-hitter.

Variable Ticket Pricing

The cost to see those two games, or any of a team's regular season games was the same for all opponents. That is no longer the case. New York's other team has pioneered variable ticket pricing. The Mets charge more to see "competitive teams." like the Cubs and Phillies, whose games are "platinum games," than they charge for games against the Marlins. Does that mean the Marlins provide less competition?. They sure seemed tough for the Mets the last game of the season each of the last two years.

A field box seat at the Mets' new ballpark for a "platinum" game is $175, while the same seat against the Marlins, who are not a premium opponent, is $75.

Phillies and Cubs

The Phillies and, to a lesser extent, the Cubs have star players. Fans must pay more to see Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Cole Hamels, Jimmy Rollins, Alphonso Soriano, and Derrick Lee than to see teams with fewer stars, but little known youngsters sometimes provide more problems to the home team than do the marquee players. Non-platinum teams can be dangerous.

The Nationals Beat New York

The team formerly known as the Expos stuck it to the Yankees this week by beating them in the last two games of a three-game series. Unlike games against the Red Sox or Mets, the Yankees don't consider contests against Washington attractive enough to be categorized as premium games, but games against Washington proved to be almost as difficult to win as game against the Mets. although slightly less challenging than games against Boston, since the Yankees, after seven tries, still don't know what it would be like to beat the 2009 Red Sox. As Washington proved, much to Yankees' manager Joe Girardi's chagrin, it is a fatal mistake to consider any team as less than premium if the primary goal is winning and not entertainment.

Entertainment is Primary

Today's fans want to be entertained. They are pleased when their team wins, but that is usually -- not always, but usually -- secondary to being entertained. The Yankees' new ballpark has many restaurants, a tremendous number of food options, many technology options, a baseball museum, and luxury suites that only a sybarite could love. Yes, there is also a baseball game.

Research Reveals

Research reveals that fans decide which games to attend based upon opponent and date. The latter makes sense because the weather is usually better during the summer months, but the former is ridiculous, as the Marlins proved.

The Great Mets' Upset

The 1969 Mets were the first expansion team to become World Champions, winning 100 games in the regular season and then defeating a highly-favored Orioles team that won 109 games in the World Series, but the Mets couldn't beat Houston. They lost 10 of 12 to the fifth place Astros.

WHO Beat Tom Seaver?

There have been thousands of games in which a team that was considered to have no chance of beating a vastly superior opponent won. Tom Seaver was facing the Expos' Dan McGinn at Shea Stadium on May 11, 1970. The Mets were defending World Champions and Seaver had won his first five decisions. In an entertaining game, but not too entertaining for Mets fans, McGinn shut out the Mets in a 3-0 Expos win. Both pitchers worked complete games, and Seaver struck out 12, but still lost.

The Mets Almost Cost the Cardinals

A few years earlier, on the final weekend of the 1964 season, the Mets, in only their third season, visited St. Louis to play a three game series against the Cardinals, who held a slim 1/2 game over the Reds. In a game that is still remembered (by whom?), Bob Gibson faced Mets' lefty Al Jackson. Gibson was 18-11, while Jackson was 10-16 with a high 4.26 ERA. The Mets eked out a run in the third inning as Jackson pitched a complete game shut out. What seemed to be a "no-contest" game became a Mets' classic.

There are no "Premium" Games

Baseball fans realize that there are no "premium" games. For casual fans or non-fans, a Yankees-Phillies match up might be more attractive than the Yankees hosting Washington, but veteran fans know that often is not the case. The teams proved that recently when the Yankees lost two out of three to the Phillies, which might be expected, but then they did the same in the Washington series.

Decide After the Game

' "Premium" games exist to fill the team's till. A more efficient way of gouging fans would be to force fans to pay by credit card. No charges would be posted until AFTER the game, when the team would decide if the game were a "premium" game. What a great idea.

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Premium Games