This week we focused primarily on MLB stories, though we have a lot of great NFL and NBA content coming soon. As a quick recap, I wanted to share with you all some quick notes you may have missed from our stories this week over at SeatGeek.com/blog.

SeatGeek in PC Mag’s Top 100 Sites w/ Kayak, Twitter, Flickr, etc.

We had an amazing start to the week when we were pleasantly surpised with an inclusion in PCMag’s Top 100 Websites of 2010 list. Specifically we were featured in the category of ‘Undiscoverd: Shopping’ sites. As you can tell by the title of our blog post, their were many amazing companies on this list and we are very happy to be listed alongside the best web products that we all use everyday.

Weekly MLB Ticket Price Rankings: Twins On Top, Red Sox Rise

In our weekly ranking of MLB teams by average ticket prices, the Twins once again rose to the top. The Red Sox also re-entered the top 5, however, on the grander scheme of things, their prices have been on an aggressive decline since early-July.

Market Efficiency?

Also, in a poetic (but rare?) moment of market efficiency, the 10/2/2010 Yankees vs. Red Sox game has an average ticket price of $176. Yes, this is interesting stand-alone for how high it is, but what makes it more intriguing is that $176 was the exact average ticket price for when the Yankees played at Fenway on 05/08/2010 (see our Red Sox Ticket Prices page for details). Ok ok, so the other games shake out at different prices, but I still found it interesting.

Extra Extra! Yankees’ ticket prices continue to drop!

This week we also focused in on the teams in the city where SeatGeek was founded, New York! Starting with a look at Yankees ticket prices, we highlighted the drastic decline in prices over the last couple of weeks, where average prices have hit an all time 2010 low.

Mets Tickets Slide with Performance

Lastly, we shifted Boroughs to look at Mets tickets during their tough post-ASG stretch. Although, prices have certainly been on the decline, we have seem much sharper declines in fan demand historically from teams in similar positions.

That is all for now, have a great weekend! Feel free to reach out to us on Twitter at @SeatGeek.

The Cincinnati Reds have been one of the biggest surprise contenders of this baseball season, having last made the playoffs 15 years ago, in 1995. Before this season, the Reds had finished below .500 9 straight seasons, never finishing better than 3rd in the NL Central since the year 2000. This year’s success therefore, much like the success of the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays, has come as quite a shock to many baseball fans. Winning with a combination of solid hitting, led by MVP candidate and triple crown threat Joey Votto, and with an incredible array of good young starting pitchers, including rookie sensation Mike Leak, the Reds have begun to get their fans excited for the first time in years. And the fans aren’t the only ones in Cincinnati feeling the heat of an upcoming pennant race, the players are as well. Brandon Phillips, the Reds’ 2nd baseman said leading into this week’s series against the St. Louis Cardinals:

“I’d play against these guys with one leg. We have to beat these guys. I hate the Cardinals. All they do is b**** and moan about everything, all of them, they’re little b******, all of ‘em. I really hate the Cardinals. Compared to the Cardinals, I love the Chicago Cubs. Let me make this clear: I hate the Cardinals.”

This verbal provocation, combined with a tap on the shinguard of Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina, was all that was needed to begin a bench clearing brawl in the first inning last night in Cincinnati. Although the scrum was the bigger headline after the game, the Cardinals victory was far more important. With that win the Cards pulled into a tie for first place with the Reds, and are poised to take sole possession of first with a win over the Reds today. With all this drama, are fans in Cincy paying a premium for tickets to see their Reds? The answer is yes, and no. Certain indicators point towards higher prices, while others show less of an upward trend.

Over the past week, the Reds are ranked 14th in average ticket price on SeatGeek’s new ticket price leaderboard. This hardly constitutes a premium considering the Reds have the 9th best record in the majors, and are tied for the 4th best record in the NL. When we take a closer look at the season long data for the Reds, it becomes more clear that any change in price is minimal. The two graphs below outline the average price of Reds tickets over time, both by date of transaction, and by date of the event for which the transaction took place.

As previously stated, prices have not trended upwards in any sustained fashion. However, in terms of the top individual Reds games, as the season has progressed, certain matchups have become more intriguing to fans, and therefore more expensive.

As you can see, six of the top ten, and four of the top 5 Reds home games this season take place on August 9th or later! The only game in the top 5 that does not occur within a month and a half of the end of the season was the Reds season opener against the Cardinals on April 5th.

For example, tickets to the Reds-Cubs series on August 27th-29th are selling at prices 37% above the Reds season average.This data clearly indicates that while not every Reds game is selling out, or drawing the highest prices on the secondary market, Reds fans are willing to pay up to see their team play certain opponents like the Cubs and Cardinals down the stretch.

For tickets to the Reds top games down the stretch, look no further than SeatGeek’s Cincinnati Reds Ticket Prices Page.

For more information, or if you have any questions, feel free to email me at jonathan@seatgeek.com, and remember to like us on Facebook, and follow us on twitter @SeatGeek and @SeatGeekMLB

Seat Geek?

We are happy about all the press we have been getting lately here at SeatGeek, but continually notice that people insist upon adding a space to our name (Seat Geek). Of course this isn’t that big of a deal for us, but in case you are curious, it is in fact written with no space (SeatGeek).

Link Round-up

In case you missed some of our recent stories:

• News of Brett Favre’s “Retirement” Drops Vikings Price Rank to Last Place in NFL
• A-Rod Finally Hit His 600th HR, Fans Should Send Him the Bill
• AFC North Preview – SeatGeek Edition
• ‘CowBoom Blog » Website of the Week: Seat Geek’

The New York Yankees play the Toronto Blue Jays tonight at Yankee Stadium, and Alex Rodriguez is still going for his 600th career home run. Since he hit 599 on July 22 against the Kansas City Royals, A-Rod has gone homerless in eleven games, going 9 for 41 with 8 RBIs.

A-Rod as already gone the longest amount of time between 599 and 600, so we are all hoping he hits 600 sooner rather than later. Looking at our updated chart, there is actually a 22 percent chance he hits it tonight, and an 80 percent chance he hits it during a game on this home stand.

Yankees fans are definitely hoping to witness history in NY, and potentially even catch (and cash in on) the 600th home run ball, which is valued at more than $100,000. To have the best chance catching the ball, SeatGeek and Hit Tracker predicted the best section is Section 136, while the most likely seat – “The Money Seat” – is Section 135, Row 18, Seat 6. Click here to see the full report!

In other news, Yankees ticket prices have jumped up to number one in all of the MLB this week, surpassing the Minnesota Twins and the Boston Red Sox. Yankees average transaction prices last week were $91, which was the highest price for them at any point in the season. To see where your favorite team ranks, click here!

Meanwhile, the longer A-Rod takes to hit 600, the longer you have to enter SeatGeek’s contest to win free stuff! The rules are simple; just take a guess at which section in Yankee Stadium you think A-Rod is going to hit his 600th home run.

Enter Now–> Redirect to Twitter to Tweet this and enter! or Redirect to Facebook to ‘Like’ and enter!

For everyone going to a Yankees game sometime soon, I hope you enjoy the game and witness history. If you are sitting in the outfield bleachers, best of luck catching the ball! Remember, it’s all about lateral movement.

If you have any inquiries, you can email me at justin[at]seatgeek.com. Also, follow us on Twitter @SeatGeek for more ticket, sports and concert news.

2010 is shaping up to be a year of high volatility in baseball’s trade market, with an unusually high number of difference-making players being moved. As Major League Baseball’s non-waiver trade deadline rapidly approaches, a flurry of last minute deals have been agreed upon, boosting some teams’ world series chances, while diminishing others. If, like many of us, you’ve gotten overwhelmed by the flood of activity over the past few days, don’t worry. SeatGeek is here to help. We have compiled a brief, yet comprehensive, review of the biggest trades that have been made, that still could be made, and their implications on the field, and at the box office.

Winners

Philadelphia Phillies

The Phillies made a mistake by letting Cliff Lee go in the off-season. This is a fact. However, the Phillies took a huge step towards rectifying this error yesterday as they finalized a deal with the Houston Astros for ace Roy Oswalt, instantly creating what is probably the most feared rotation in the National League, as well as cornering the market for starters with the first name Roy. When paired with Halladay and Hamels, the top of the Phillies rotation is primed for a deep run in the playoffs, and it is appearing more and more likely that the Phils will be playing in October. They have won eight games in a row, to pull within 2.5 games of the Braves for first place in the NL East, and are only 1.5 games out of the wild card. A newly motivated Oswalt, combined with a resurgent Phillies offense should help the Phillies in their bid to win their third National League pennant in a row.

Texas Rangers

The Rangers have been one of the best stories of this season, coming out of nowhere to lead the AL West by 8.5 games. Led by MVP candidate and triple crown threat Josh Hamilton, and a stable of good young pitchers such as C.J. Wilson and Colby Lewis, The Rangers have made a statement during the first half of the season. In order to continue their shredding of the AL West, and to improve their playoff chances against high powered teams such as the Yankees, the Rangers have been extremely active in the trade market. Despite ongoing bankruptcy proceedings, the Rangers have not been dissuaded from taking on millions of dollars in salaries.

Getting the midseason trade market started off with a bang on July 9th with their acquisition of Cy Young candidate Cliff Lee. Since joining the Rangers, Lee has thrown a complete game in 3 of his 4 starts, and has surrendered more than 2 runs only once. The Rangers also improved their offense yesterday by trading pitchers Evan Reed and Omar Poveda for infielder Jorge Cantu. Cantu will most likely take over 1st base responsibilities, and adds yet another productive bat to the Rangers lineup. Cantu is well on his way to another season of close to 100 RBI, and is on pace to hit over 40 doubles for the third straight year.

Over the past week, Rangers transacted ticket prices are up to $49.50, 11th highest in the league. In the three weeks since July 9th, the date of the Lee Acquisition, Rangers tickets have been trading at an average of $45.96, a 22% increase over the previous monthly average of $37.67 for the period between 6/9/2010, and 7/8/2010.

Minnesota Twins

The Twins quietly bolstered their playoff chances as well yesterday by acquiring loser Matt Capps from the Nationals in exchange for two minor-leaguers. Capps comes as a welcome addition to a Twins bullpen that has struggled without perennial all-star closer Joe Nathan, who is out for the year with an elbow injury. Capps is certainly an upgrade over interim closer Jon Rausch, another former National. Check out ESPN analyst Jonathan Costa’s interesting breakdown of the two relievers.

The Twins are also having success at the box office. They recently overtook the Red Sox for first place on SeatGeek’s weekly ticket price index. For a team that was seriously being considered for contraction a few years ago, this is a fantastic accomplishment.

Historical Minnesota Twins Ticket Prices

The opening of beautiful new Target Field has definitely helped ticket prices for Minnesota, but it is not the only factor. Prices for Twins games have been steadily increasing over the course of the season, as opposed to starting out high, and slowly dropping over the course of the year. This phenomenon indicates that ticket prices are more correlated to the Twins on field product, than the novelty of a new stadium.

Other Deals

Smaller trades, but still of some significance include the Padres’ acquisition of aging star Miguel Tejada from the Orioles. Tejada hit .269 with 7 HRs and 39 RBI in 97 games for the Orioles this year, with a measly .308 OBP and nausea inducing .670 OPS, behind such offensive stars as Ian Desmond of the Nats, and Yuniesky Betancourt of the Royals. Tejada will most likely split his time between third base and shortstop. Hopefully for the Padres, a change of scenery will reinvigorate the 2oo2 AL MVP.

The Chicago White Sox acquired pitcher Edwin Jackson from the Diamondbacks in exchange for RHP Dan Hudson and LHP David Holmberg. Jackson went 13-9 with an ERA of 3.62 with the Tigers last year, but has posted a 5.16 ERA so far in 2010 with the D-Backs. The White Sox are reportedly also looking to land a bat, such as Adam Dunn.

Other moves include Dan Haren moving from the D-Backs to the Angels, Scott Podsednik joining the Dodgers, and the Braves acquiring Alex Gonzalez from the Blue Jays for Yunel Escobar and Jo-Jo Reyes

It will be interesting to see whether any more moves are finalized before 4 PM tomorrow. At this time of year there are plenty of teams in contention, but only 8 will make the playoffs. Keep following SeatGeek to learn how these transactions and more affect ticket prices for the rest of the season and beyond.

Feel free to email me at jonathan@seatgeek.com with any questions, and remember to like us on facebook, and follow us on twitter @SeatGeek and @SeatGeekMLB

At SeatGeek, we have been working hard on creating new ticket pages, which show average transaction price of each team on the secondary market, average listing prices, a historical ticket price tracker, top home/away games and more (See Minneosta Twins Ticket Price Page). Transaction price is a great way to gauge fan sentiment, since it shows how much fans are actually willing to pay on the secondary market for tickets to see their team play. These pages also rank the teams by who has the highest transaction price for tickets over the course of the last week, and in essence, these rankings are a reflection of fan sentiment of that team.

Since we’ve began keeping track, the Boston Red Sox ticket prices have been the highest. The number one ranking has been due to the overall high demand for Red Sox tickets. The Red Sox are a great team, with a great fanbase, and Fenway Park has one of the smallest capacities in all of baseball, making it that much harder to get tickets. These factors, and more, have driven Red Sox prices on the secondary market up to an average of $90 in 2010. Recently, however, the prices of tickets have been trending downward, and the average sits at $79.

As the Red Sox prices have decreased, the Minnesota Twins prices have increased. The Twins are currently riding a five game win streak, and two weeks ago swept their division rival Chicago White Sox at home, who had won nine games in a row prior to that series.

While the Twins have been playing well, a major factor in their high ticket demand has been the fact that the Twins are playing in a brand new stadium in 2010. 2010 is the first opportunity fans get to check out Target Field, and demand for tickets is very high – which drives up the price of tickets for Twins games. Recently, Twins ticket prices have been transacting for $80!

If you are wondering where your favorite team ranks amongst the rest of baseball, SeatGeek has a page for that too! Click here to see the prices and rankings for each team in the MLB.

Over the past week, transaction prices show that the Twins and Red Sox are 1 and 2 respectively, followed by the Blue Jays, Mets and Giants. See the screenshot below for the top ten teams in the MLB, and visit the MLB team pages for the complete rankings.

With these pages, fans, writers, bloggers and fans alike can inform themselves on how their team’s ticket sales on the secondary market are doing, and they can relate this data to fan sentiment.

If you have any questions regarding the data or usage of these pages, feel free to email justin[at]seatgeek.com. Also, don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @SeatGeek for more sports news and ticket information.

By now, the biggest question surrounding Alex Rodriguez’s 600th home run may not be where/what section in the stadium, but when?

Two long weeks ago, here at SeatGeek, we released our initial report on where Alex Rodriguez’s 600th home run may land at Yankee Stadium. There was a substantial likelihood that A-Rod would hit the milestone home run towards the end of the Yankees’ nine game home stand which began after the All Star break.

One week ago, A-Rod hit career home run number 599, and had three games left on the current home stand to hit the milestone homer in front of the home crowd. Yet, A-Rod did not hit 600 in New York, and he took his chase with him to Cleveland, as the Yankees were slotted to play four games versus the Indians at Progressive Field.

SeatGeek and Hit Tracker followed up our initial report with a prediction of where the historic ball may land at Progressive Field. Given the frequency in which Rodriguez has hit home runs this season and in the past, there again was a high percentage chance he would hit one home run during the Cleveland series. Yet, three games have passed, and A-Rod has gone homerless. Now, here we are, preparing to release another report with a  prediction of where A-Rod’s 600th home run ball may land at Tropicana Field in Tampa Bay (the Yankees play their next three games after tonight versus the Rays – let us know if you want a sneak peak at the data).

Throughout the coverage of A-Rod’s milestone chase, SeatGeek and Hit Tracker have kept track of the percentage chances of when A-Rod may hit his 600th home run.

By now, everyone is wondering when (if ever!) will A-Rod actually hit number 600?

At this point, there is a 22 percent chance that Rodriguez puts one in the bleachers during tonight’s game at Progressive Field. Remember, if he does, the most likely section is Section 182, while ‘The Money Seat” is Section 181, Row J, the aisle seat in between Sections 180 and 181.

If A-Rod does not hit a home run tonight, there is a 42% chance that he hits it during one of the three games versus the Rays in Tampa. If he doesn’t hit it at Tropicana Field, then there is a 29% chance he hits it during the Yankees next home stand (seven games), beginning August 2nd – track Yankees ticket prices updated daily to track the impact, if any, that A-Rod is having on the secondary ticket market.

Don’t lose hope Yankees fans! If you were hoping to see A-Rod hit his 600th at Yankee Stadium, there is still a chance!

If you want to go to any of the upcoming games in which the Yankees play and A-Rod may hit 600, SeatGeek is the place to get your tickets! Click on a game below to see the best ticket deals around on the secondary ticket market:

7/29 Yankees @ Indians

7/30 Yankees @ Rays

7/31 Yankees @ Rays

8/1 Yankees @ Rays

If you have any questions or data inquiries, don’t hesitate to email me at justin@seatgeek.com. Also, don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @SeatGeek, “Like” us on Facebook, and stop by SeatGeek for all of your ticket needs.

Terrell Owens finally has a new home. After enduring a summer of irrelevancy and no serious offers, T.O mania took hold this week as rumors abounded that the loudmouthed receiver would be signing, with first the Rams, then the Jets, and finally the Cincinnati Bengals. Coming off of a sub par year by his standards, T.O should be committed and ready to make an impact for the Bengals, who made the playoffs last season. In going to Cincinnati, T.O teams up with arguably the only more out-sized personality in the N.F.L, in Chad Ochocinco. He signed a one year contract worth $2 million, with performance incentives for over $1 million more. It will be interesting to see whether, T.O can get along, with his new team, and whether his performance on the field will be worth the headache he inevitably causes off of it.

One thing is for certain however, his arrival has created quite a stir in the Bengals ticket market. For the 2010 season, Bengals tickets were transacting at an average price of 106.45 as of July 25th. As of this morning, July 28th, Bengals home game tickets were listing at an average of $133.38, an increase of 25.3%!

It is too early to tell how this acquisition will affect transaction prices, however since listing and transaction prices are inextricably linked, it can reasonably be assumed that higher listing prices correspond to higher transaction prices, meaning if you wanted to get in to the see the Bengals on the cheap, it would have been better to purchase your tickets yesterday. However, seeing Ochocinco and Owens lined up on the same line of scrimmage is worth a premium to me. Although prices have gone up, SeatGeek still has the cheapest Bengals tickets anywhere.

Please feel free to email me at jonathan@seatgeek.com and don’t forget to like us on facebook, and follow us on twitter @SeatGeek and @SeatGeekNFL

Enter Now–> Redirect to Twitter to Tweet this and enter! or Redirect to Facebook to ‘Like’ and enter!

With A-Rod still stuck at #599, the SeatGeek contest to win $100 worth of tickets will go on. Now that the Yankees have left Yankee Stadium and are playing on the road, it is necessary to update your predictions (or make your first prediction) with a section in the stadium he is now playing in, Progressive Field. Please note, if you entered the original contest, you will still be eligible to win a free player tee for that contest and your guess will be reentered if the Yankees return back to Yankee Stadium (but feel free to make a new guess for Progressive).

To refresh your memory, all you need to do to enter the contest is either follow us on Twitter @SeatGeek and in a mention to us, give us your predictions, OR like us on Facebook and post your prediction on our wall. In the event of a tie, a winner win be randomly selected from the correct entries.

Note: you must be following us on Twitter, or “Like” us on Facebook in order to be eligible to win.

According to our data, there is a 65% chance he hits #600 in Cleveland. Enter now for the chance to win.

Rivalries have always played a huge role in sports and we all know the fun in rooting against a team we hate. In the past, rivals have been compared in a number of ways, from who has the best current team to who has won the most championships to who has the best fans. We at SeatGeek thought it would be interesting to compare rivals based on transactions on the secondary ticket market, which we have found to be a great judge of fan sentiment.  Three weeks ago, we looked at the Mets-Phillies rivalry and earlier this week we looked at the Giants-Dodgers rivalry. Today, we will be looking at the rivalry between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs.

The first graph shows the average transaction price per month for February through July. The ticket price data is based on the date transacted, not which game the tickets are for, meaning that if a ticket is bought in February for a game in July, the data is part of February’s average.

• Average Cubs ticket prices are greater than Cardinals ticket prices every month, even though the Cardinals have an 11.5 game lead over the Cubs. This could largely be due to the Cubs playing in Chicago, the third largest city in the United States.
• Once the season started in April, the Cubs highest month coincided with the Cardinals lowest month, May.

We also thought it would be interesting to track the ticket price changes as a percentage change over time – with February as our base month.

This allows us to compare consumer sentiment fluctuations across different teams on the same scale. For a more simple example, lets look at two teams; Team A and Team B. In February, Team A’s tickets are $5 and Team B’s tickets are $30. In June Team A”s tickets are $10 and Team B’s tickets are $20. That means Team A experienced a 100% increase in ticket prices and Team B experienced a 33.3% decrease in ticket prices. Therefore:

• Cardinals tickets purchased in July are 18% below the price of tickets transacted in February.
• Cubs tickets purchased in July are 24% below the price of tickets transacted in February.
• Excluding May, the Cardinals and Cubs ticket prices follow a very similar trend.

We will keep you updated. We plan on updating these plots monthly, in addition to looking at other rivalries. Stay tuned.

Be sure to follow us on Twitter @SeatGeekMLB and email max@seatgeek.com with any questions or comments.