Cheap cheats defeat purpose
Alabama got it right in “there’s nothing like the view from the cheap seats.”
The country song describes the experiences that dedicated baseball fans endure during a summer filled with hardball.
It talks about eating a summertime hotdog and cheering for a nameless pitcher while watching home runs and doing the wave.
All from an affordable price that lands the fanatics over 300 feet from the action. Ask any regular cheap-seat ticket holder why he comes and chances are the answer will be because he simply likes baseball.
Well, and it’s hard to beat the price.
That is, until the cheap seats are no longer cheap due to profit maximization from the all-seeing, suit-toting gurus.
It is hard to get fired up about baseball matters at the end of January, but a recent trip to TwinsFest cranked up the heat.
Obviously, funds are low for the Minnesota Twins, and every way to raise profits should be considered.
However, some things should just be left alone.
Part of the beauty of the Metrodome in the summer was that one could park, walk to a baseball game and then watch from a distance and not have to donate an entire paycheck to Minneapolis.
As part of their unofficial help-me-pay-for-our-new-outfield-addition act, the Twins have raised cheap-seat prices for the prominent series of the year, including the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs.
The increase from $6 to $9 completely defeats the purpose of having cheap seats.
The allure of increasing ticket prices for the choice series of the year makes sense, until it dawns in on who is being screwed over for the second season in a row.
It isn’t season ticket holders or luxury box owners who both do their part in funding the financial needs.
It’s the everyday Joe who spikes or sinks the attendance. The first place to look at in the Metrodome to guestimate the crowd size is over the left-field wall.
Those fans ought to turn their shoulder on the gutless front-office antics. They should abandon the game and instead watch it on cable or at a sports bar to send the message that the cheap seat should remain cheap.
Going to a Major League Baseball game in Minnesota for under $10 was a unique opportunity that is slowly slipping out of reach for its followers.
The Yankees sell cheap seats for $12 a pop and they have bills to pay much larger than any contract the Twins have.
The Twins can easily afford to keep the cheap seats cheap and allow even more people to come out and enjoy the game of baseball.
Alabama ends their song about how their team outgrew its fan-based glamor and how the old memories will not be forgotten.
For a small-market Midwest team, repeatedly stepping on the little guy is a questionable move.