World Series Ticket Price Recap and 2012 Preview
by Ryan on November 11th, 2011 No Comments
This year’s World Series provided an exciting Game 7 conclusion to a postseason that started just as strangely. Both leagues saw huge swings in the last month – the preseason favorite Boston Red Sox gave away an eight game lead in September while the eventual World Champion St. Louis Cardinals overcame a nine game wild card deficit before even taking their first playoff swings – and the dramatic back and forth nature of the Cardinals and Texas Rangers Fall Classic felt appropriate given the unpredictable nature of this season.
Both teams had demonstrated a balanced attack in October – the ability to have a pitcher shutdown the opposition on a given night and/or a top-to-bottom lineup that could both out-run and out-mash the other team depending on the circumstance – and the 2011 World Series had moments, innings, and games highlighting all aspects of the sport. While TV ratings were lower, as expected, than a series between giant markets would’ve been, World Series ticket prices continued to rise as the tension built and some fans paid more than $4,000/seat to be in the lower infield sections of Busch Stadium for the decisive Game 7.
World Series 2012 Tickets
While fans in St. Louis are still picking confetti out of their clothes from that final game in Busch Stadium and the Rangers faithful ache over a second straight World Series defeat, baseball fans in all parts of the country are casting an eye toward impending free agency. Is the 2012 World Series in reach? What moves will their teams make on the rosters? How will historic clubs with devoted fan bases adjust to new management (the Red Sox, Cardinals, and Cubs headline that list), and how will the market settle after marquis free agents like Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder, and CJ Wilson make up their minds on a (possibly new) long-term home?
As more contracts are signed (with few reaching the heights at which New York Yankees ace CC Sabathia sits given his extension) and trades are made (the AL Central has already seen two new pitchers arrive in the form of veteran Derek Lowe in Cleveland and young enigma Jonathon Sanchez in Kansas City), the phrase “pitchers and catchers report” will become a realization in just a few short months. The standings will be reset and fans everywhere will settle in for Spring Training, another long 162-game marathon toward the playoffs and 2012 World Series. Along the way, a certain Midsummer Classic will pique interest because of its affect on the World Series.
The All-Star Game and the World Series
This year was the first time since Major League Baseball made the All Star Game noteworthy, if not notorious, by having it dictate home field advantage in the World Series (“This One Counts”). So, while the Texas Rangers earned a better record in the regular season, the St. Louis Cardinals held the Game 7 home field trump card in the 2011 World Series because, essentially, then-Cardinals rival Prince Fielder hit a homerun off then-Texas start Wilson in Arizona in July. It’s probably the foulest round-tripper any Rangers fan can remember, but it is what it is. 2012 All Star Game Tickets will land you a seat (or standing room, if you please) to Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. Will a ball landing in the Royals’ famous waterfalls dictate a late-season swing in momentum, too?
Since the last of the Yankees’ three straight titles at the end of the 2000 season, five of 11 Fall Classics have gone to at least six games, with three of those going to a Game 7; this year was the first such game, though, since the 2002 season. Game 7 is the ultimate finale when, quite literally, there is no tomorrow for either of those particular rosters. Fans know they will see something, and the building demand means they’ll have to pay quite a bit more to do so. And that demand can grow by the hour during the week of those eligible Championship Games (4-7) as people jump in last-minute to get tickets they didn’t want to take a gamble on buying to soon.
World Series Tickets & Prices
Thing is, it’s not really the gamble everyone thinks it is to lay down money for the mysterious “Game # X (If Necessary).” If those games don’t happen, folks, you get your money back. And that goes for every playoff round. If your team makes the playoffs, reserving tickets early will give you a tangible link to the hope that your team can go all the way as well as a better price from beating the late rise in demand.
2011 World Series Ticket Prices
| Event | Venue | City | State | Date | Avg. Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| World Series: St Louis Cardinals at Texas Rangers – World Series Game 3 | Rangers Ballpark in Arlington | Arlington | TX | 2011-10-22 | $848 |
| World Series: St Louis Cardinals at Texas Rangers – World Series Game 4 | Rangers Ballpark in Arlington | Arlington | TX | 2011-10-23 | $782.31 |
| World Series: St Louis Cardinals at Texas Rangers – World Series Game 5 (If Necessary) | Rangers Ballpark in Arlington | Arlington | TX | 2011-10-24 | $735.24 |
| World Series: Texas Rangers at St Louis Cardinals – World Series Game 7 (If Necessary) | Busch Stadium | Saint Louis | MO | 2011-10-28 | $572.25 |
| World Series: Texas Rangers at St Louis Cardinals – World Series Game 1 | Busch Stadium | Saint Louis | MO | 2011-10-19 | $508.83 |
| World Series: Texas Rangers at St Louis Cardinals – World Series Game 6 | Busch Stadium | Saint Louis | MO | 2011-10-26 | $500.06 |
| World Series: Texas Rangers at St Louis Cardinals – World Series Game 2 | Busch Stadium | Saint Louis | MO | 2011-10-20 | $488.32 |
Keep an eye on SeatGeek for the first time those tickets are listed to get yourself the Best Deal on a ticket to ride the postseason roller coaster, and hold on tight to the chance that your team will be popping bottles in the locker room in October. If you have questions about 2012 World Series Tickets, look us up on Twitter @SeatGeek or write chad@seatgeek.com.
