Baseball purists were outraged when Bud Selig and Major League Baseball introduced interleague play during the 1997 season. The casual fan however relished the opportunity to witness new and unfamiliar matchups. Interleague play also made possible head-to-head series between cross-town rivals in large cities, with series like Cubs vs. Sox, Dodgers vs. Angels, and Mets vs. Yankees drumming up excitement and increasing ticket sales league-wide.

Recently however, baseball experts have begun to speculate that the novelty of interleague match-ups has worn off, and fans are tiring of the spectacle. Said ESPN senior baseball writer Rob Neyer on ESPN Radio: “I just think it’s overdone. I would love to see interleague play be limited to maybe 6 games per season…i think nobody is excited about the Royals and the Rockies, or the Padres and the Mariners.”

However, with all due respect Mr. Neyer, empirical data proves otherwise. The best way to gauge fan excitement is through how much they are willing to pay for a ticket to an individual game, and despite your speculation to the contrary, fans actually are excited about seemingly uninteresting interleague matchups. Tickets for the Saturday game of the aforementioned Mariners-Padres series were trading at an average price of $71.29, almost ten dollars higher than that day’s lone National League matchup featuring the tied for first place St. Louis Cardinals, which are selling for $61.79.

Utilizing Seatgeek’s unique database of secondary market ticket transactions, we compared prices of June interleague matchups, to the prices of the National League game taking place on the same day, thereby eliminating the day of the week as a confounding variable. Our findings, based on millions of dollars worth of transactions, show that the average cost of a ticket for an interleague game in June is $101.51. This is almost double the NL average of $51.27. Additionally, the average price for a ticket to the most popular interleague game, the Friday June 18th clash between the Yankees and the Mets, was more than three times the cost of a ticket to the most popular National League game, the Wednesday, June 23rd match between the Astros and the Giants, at $209.10 to $62.59.

Almost all interleague games are trading at higher prices than their N.L counterparts. However certain series are more popular than others. The top 5 most in demand series are, unsurprisingly:

• Mets @ Yankees – Fri. June 18th – Avg. price – $209.10
• Dodgers @ Red Sox – Sat. June 19th – Avg. price – $201.41
• Yankees @ Dodgers Sat. June 26th- Avg. price – $189.20
• Phillies @ Red Sox – Sat. June 12th – Avg. price – $186.13
• Phillies @ Yankees – Thurs. June 17th – Avg. price – $160.15

For tickets and price forecasts to these games and more, don’t forget to visit seatgeek.com.

Update: Interleague Play in Review 6/29/10

As the interleague matchups have drawn to a close for the 2010 season, we decided to take a retrospective look back at this year’s results, both on the field, and off. Once again the AL emerged from interleague play victorious, going 134-118, and winning the majority of contests for the seventh straight year. Teams such as the Boston Red Sox (13-5 in Interleague play) and Chicago White Sox (15-3) used their interleague supremacy to catapult themselves back into their respective divisional races, while the Texas Rangers solidified their lead in the AL West, by going 14-4 against National League opponents. Certain players embraced interleague play with open arms as well. Jake Peavy, who has struggled since his acquisition by the White Sox, posted a microscopic 0.78 ERA during this stretch, and Rangers’ outfielder Josh Hamilton hit .472 during interleague games.

While inevitably at this time of year baseball purists, writers, bloggers, and fans alike express their disdain for the “artificial” rivalries created by interleague games, as we previously proved, Interleague play sells! Now, as all regular season AL – NL matchups have concluded, we can reflect on just how well interleague play resounded with fans in 2010.

As it turns out, fans quite enjoy watching Interleague games, regardless of their “artificial” nature. As we have shown in a recent blog post, ticket sales are correlated to fan support. Major League Baseball announced yesterday that attendance for interleague games was up 17.8% over 2010 intraleague matchups, drawing an average attendence of 33,253 fans per game, compared to the intraleague average of only 28,233. Our friend Maury over at bizofbaseball.com recently released a comprehensive review of attendance at interleague games which I highly recommend. According to his analysis, the top interleague park in 2010 was Dodger Stadium, drawing an average attendance of 54,332 in 6 games against the Yankees and Angels.

We also decided to take a quick look at the top selling games during this time period. Between the dates of May 21st, the first day of Interleague play, and June 27th, the last, there were 512 MLB games, of which less than half, 252, were interleague, and 260 were intraleague. However, despite being the minority of contests, the top 10, and 14 of the top 15 highest priced games during this time period were of the interleague variety.

The top-selling game, perhaps unsurprisingly, was the Saturday May 22nd Subway Series clash between the Yankees and Mets at Citi Field. Rounding out the top 5 are more of the usual suspects when it comes to drawing high ticket prices, including the Dodgers, Red Sox, and Phillies in addition to the Yankees and Mets.

During his same interview on ESPN radio, Rob Neyer concluded: “The reason it is the way it is now, is because this is the way it was conceived by Bud Selig…16 years ago, and we’re stuck with him until he’s not commissioner anymore, but I guarantee you in five to ten years it won’t be like this.” Well in this instance we have to admit you’re right Rob. If these current ticket trends continue, in five to ten years we most likely will not have teams playing 18 interleague games a season. They’ll be playing many, many more.

You can listen to Neyer’s interview here.

For more data or to answer any questions or comments, email me at jonathan@seatgeek.com and follow on twitter @SeatGeekMLB

Here at SeatGeek, we forecast the price of tickets using an algorithm that incorporates many factors that affect ticket prices on the secondary market.  One of those factors is other events, especially sporting events, that are occurring in the same city at the same time.  With that in mind, I set out to write about what I thought would be the decrease in ticket prices for baseball games in cities where their basketball and hockey teams had made it to the post season.  Upon analysis of the data, however, I was surprised to find that that was not the case.

Interestingly, our data shows that there is no drop in ticket price for baseball games when their city’s hockey or basketball team is playing in a playoff game in the same city, on the same night.  A great case to support this is Boston Red Sox ticket prices on May 28.  On this Friday night, the Red Sox were scheduled to face the Kansas City Royals.  Meanwhile, the Celtics were slotted to play the Orlando Magic in Game Six of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals.  Despite the immensely important playoff game going on in the same city, tickets for the Red Sox game were in high demand.  The average price of tickets sold for that Red Sox-Royals game was $103, which is only $4 less than the $107 season average for tickets sold.  Considering the Royals are not a very desirable opponent to see, there generally would be a drop in ticket demand and ticket price for that game anyway.  But for there to be only a $4 drop in price from the season average while the Celtics were playing a playoff game is staggering.

Is the Green Monster green for the Celtics?

This case was not exclusive either.  Throughout the playoffs, tickets for baseball games have maintained their average price despite the postseason games going on down the street.  Nonetheless, luckily for those Bostonians that were in attendance for the Red Sox loss on the same night the Celtics advanced to the finals, the Celtics win meant at least two more home games in Boston.  Perhaps next time around our data will be different, and Boston fans will make sure to catch the game at TD Garden, rather than the game at Fenway.

The  SeatGeek Sports Blog will be doing Team Profiles for all the Major League Baseball teams over the next couple of months.  Each profile will include 5 topical questions about the team, answered by those who follow the teams the closest, the bloggers.  For the Tampa Bay Rays Devon Rogers of Riseoftherays.com was nice enough to provide some insight on the team.

SeatGeek: Over the past couple years the team has been able to go from a perennial “loser” to one of the most talented teams in Major League Baseball.  Over the next couple of off seasons it seems that it will be difficult for the Rays to keep some of their top talent (i.e. Carlos Pena and Carl Crawford) if they are unwilling to spend big bucks to keep them.  So in the future will the Rays increase the amount of money they spend as a team or are they committed to continuing to build within?

Devon Rogers: I think it is a little bit of both. The Rays payroll has increased substantially over recent years, but the ownership has said that this year will be the year to win it as they cannot spend as much in the future. They will continue to use their great minor league system to fill holes while signing who they can. We saw this with Zobrist and I think we will see this with Pena in the offseason.

SeatGeek: What is the feeling amongst Rays fans about the 5 year contract extension for Ben Zobrist?

Devon Rogers: The feeling is that the Rays got another great contract for a talented player. Ben Zobrist is a fan favorite amongst Rays fans because he is a great person, and he is a great player since he can hit and play almost anywhere. They did not spend too much on him, and based on his performanc, he deserves it. Ben is one of the people to stay with a team he likes for his career, and he likes it here, so that probably helped in negotiations. Rays fans, including myself, love Zorilla for his playing ability and the fact that he is great to the fans.

SeatGeek: Are there any Rays minor leaguer(s) who could have an impact in the majors this season?  If so, give me a little scouting report.

Devon Rogers: I think there are a few, but mainly Desmond Jennings and Jeremy Hellickson. Desmond Jennings is a toolsy outfielder who is most likely an option to replace Carl Crawford. You could see him as a September Callup who could give guys rest down the stretch without losing too much playing ability. Jennings has the speed, average and home runs. He has more power than Crawford and should be a great player. His only downside is that he has had injury troubles throughout the minors, which is why he is not already in the bigs. Hellickson is a right-handed starter who could slot in to the rotation if there is an injury or somebody struggling. If that doesn’t happen, he could end up in a similar role that David Price played in 2008. He is an all-star caliber starter when he makes it here.

SeatGeek: What over the last two years has changed in B.J. Upton’s game to make him go from one of the young rising stars in baseball, to someone who looks lost at the plate?

Devon Rogers: In the beginning it was his shoulder. He was playing through a torn labrum. Then we saw him mashing in the 2008 playoffs and he had surgery. You said it correctly, he looks lost. He swings at just about anything and pulls off the ball. He is still salvageable, but he needs to figure out something quickly.

SeatGeek: What is the secondary market like in Tampa? Do more people buy tickets off the secondary market or from the team?  If someone was coming to the Trop for the first time where would you recommend they sit?  Why do the Rays have such a hard time selling tickets when they are in first place?

Devon Rogers: I do not buy off of the secondary market, but the team encourages Stub Hub. Scalping also happens, as it is legal as long as it is not on Tropicana Field property. I think most of the sales go through the team though. If they were looking for value, I would recommend the outfield. There are not many bad seats out there and they are not much more expensive than the upper deck. All outfield is the same price, so you could sit in the first row for the same price as the last. The lower you go the better. If money is no object, there is the Whitney Bank Club and the Home Plate club. The Whitney Bank club has an all you can eat buffet and leather seats located under the second deck on the lower level. The Home Plate club has the same buffet, but these seats are the leather seats in the first 3 or 4 rows behind home plate, approximately 50 feet from the plate. I believe the Rays have such a hard time selling tickets due to the economy. The economy has been hit especially hard in this area and most families cannot afford to go to the game. Also, some people in Tampa are stubborn to come to St. Petersburg to see a game. They believe that the stadium should be in Tampa so they don’t have to drive as far. That is a stupid reason, but it is mostly the economy.

I’d like to thank Devon for taking the time to answer some Rays questions from SeatGeek.  You can find Devon Rogers at Riseoftherays.com.   Watch out for more MLB Team Profiles weekly on the SeatGeek Sports Blog.

The Florida Marlins haven’t really been a franchise on the cutting edge, unless you define ‘cutting edge’ as dismantling World Series championship teams in record time, not fact-checking the relative Judaism of their first basemen, or having their mascot spray unsuspecting tourists with a water gun. However, today the Marlins have done something truly innovative. Thanks to their groundbreaking procedure of selling tickets to games that already happened, each purchaser is guaranteed a ticket to a historic event.

Florida Marlins management has decided to sell unused tickets from last Saturday’s game against the Phillies; the game in which Roy Halladay pitched a perfect game. This way, just like with Lebron James, “we are all witnesses.”

The Marlins drew a crowd of about 25,000 spectators for Saturday’s game, leaving tens of thousands of unsold tickets to be sold off as souvenirs. The Marlins will make the tickets available today, Tuesday June 1st, online, and at the box office in south Florida, and are being sold at face value. It is certainly an imaginative money-making scheme for the perennially cash-strapped franchise, and it will be interesting to see how well these ticket stubs sell, both from the Marlins themselves, and on the secondary market.

I guess if you can’t go back in time and actually attend the game, the Marlins are offering the next best thing. The beauty of sports is the ever-present possibility of history to be made. When you purchase a ticket to a sporting event you’re buying more than an afternoon or evening of entertainment, you are accepting an invitation to a world of infinite potential, where, as the N.B.A. has so frequently reminded us, “amazing happens.” When buying a ticket to Halladay’s perfect game, you’re buying a reminder of the excitement each game possesses, and of which you, despite your ticket stub, were not a part.

If you prefer purchasing tickets to games that haven’t already taken place, check out SeatGeek’s Marlins and Phillies pages for the best deals anywhere.

As a huge fan, I was excited to watch the Mets beat the Phillies last night, the first of a 3 game series against the NL East leader, bringing the Mets to within 4 games of first place. It is obviously still early in the season but this is a critical series against almost everyone’s pre-season pick to win the NL East. At the same time, I remain cautious.

The Emotional Roller Coaster of Baseball

In only 47 games this season, the Mets have had one 8-game winning streak and one skid where they lost 8 of 11. At times I have believe this group of guys can make it into the playoffs, like when they won their 8th straight game against the Phillies and at other times I have trouble believing this is a major league team, like when they lost a game on a wild pitch. Because of this extreme inconsistency, which is not at all uncommon for the Mets, I have over the years (since becoming a Mets fan in 2001) developed many different mindsets that over the course of the season I’ve see the Mets through.

1. The “This Year Is Different” Mindset

This mindset usually begins during the off-season when the Mets go out and sign some big name free-agent (e.g. Calros Beltran). This also happens at some point during the season when we begin to see a top prospect start to play really well (e.g. David Wright, Ike Davis). We begin to believe that the Mets newest moves made during the off-season and the growth of their youth is enough to make this year different, taking the Mets to the playoffs.

2. The “Cautiously Optimistic” Mindset

This occurs when we realize that this year’s team really isn’t that different but for some reason they are playing better. We can’t really explain it and so we are cautious about getting too excited but are still optimistic. I felt this way during the 8-game winning streak earlier this season, believing that maybe this team could actually be competitive.

3. The “I’m a Believer” Mindset

This mindset, which I have slowly lost over the years as a result of some tough seasonal endings (think ’07 and ’08), occurs when the team is playing poorly and everyone is saying the Mets are through. Yet, us fanatics don’t listen. We just respond with “Ya Gotta Believe.”

4. The “This Team Is Over-Performing and I’m Scared” Mindset

This is when every Mets fan knows the team doesn’t have what it takes and yet management is still dreaming (and has high hopes for potential September and playoff ticket sale revenues). So the management decides that it is worth compromising the teams future (e.g. trading top prospect Scott Kazmir for Victor Zambrano) to make a run at the title. Compromising the future makes sense when you have a real chance at making the playoffs but makes little sense when the team is over-performing. I hate to say it but at times I have hoped that the Mets would lose realizing that they aren’t a good team and worried that management is going to compromise their future. This attitude by management is made worse by the fact that the Mets are in New York and there is a sense that we need to compete every year. At times, I wish that the Mets would just realize they need to rebuild and get it over with instead of putting out mediocre teams every year.

5. The “Thank God It’s Over” Mindset

This sets in after management finally realizes it’s too late to make a run at it. It is somewhat relieving to know that it is finally over with and we won’t have to go through more emotional turmoil for at least 6 months.

What do you think? Can you relate? If you believe this year is different or you are cautiously optimistic, or even if you are rooting for the Mets to lose, you should head out to see the Mets-Phillies game tonight or tomorrow night for what should be some very entertaining baseball. If you can’t make it to one of those games or you want to go see your own team, don’t worry. SeatGeek also offers great deals on tickets for all teams.

The  SeatGeek Sports Blog will be doing Team Profiles for all the Major League Baseball teams over the next couple of months.  Each profile will include 5 topical questions about the team, answered by those who follow the teams the closest, the bloggers.  For the Minnesota Twins Andrew Kneeland of Twinstarget.com was nice enough to provide some insight on the team.

SeatGeek:  How do Twins fans like Target Stadium?  Is it playing as a pitchers or hitters park? What is the secondary ticket market like now in Minnesota with a smaller stadium in terms of seats?  Where would you recommend a person going for their first time sit?

Andrew Kneeland: This early in the season, Twins fans are still learning the layout of Target Field. Although it’s impossible to tell this early, the stadium appears to favor pitchers more so than hitters. Tickets for every regular season game at Target Field in 2010 sold out in just minutes, and the demand for Twins’ tickets is certainly high. For your first game, I would recommend sitting in the second level behind home plate, allowing you to see the entire field as well as the outstanding Minneapolis skyline.

SeatGeek: Although he has struggled a bit in his last few starts, it seems that Liriano has found his control again.  Is there anything else that he has changed to get back to being dominant again?

Andrew Kneeland: These last three starts have been very forgettable for Twins fans, and it’s becoming increasingly apparent that Liriano will never return to his 2006 form. The difference between ’09 Liriano and ’10 Liriano, though, is a less violent scap loading motion. This eases the strain on his arm, but allows his slider to be as deadly as ever. He will never be the perennial Cy Young threat we thought he was a few years ago, but Liriano can still be a very solid top-of-the-rotation starting pitcher for years to come.

SeatGeek: Do any Twins fans care that Mauer’s HR numbers have dropped back to pre 09 levels, or do they consider 09, in terms of power, a fluke?

Andrew Kneeland: Well, I’m sure some fans care, but with the offense producing at an excellent clip it hardly matters. I view Mauer’s home run total in 2009 as a relative fluke, but he certainly will find his power groove later this season and progress to his seasonal average of 16 home runs per season.

SeatGeek: What are the feelings of the fans toward Manager Ron Gardenhire?

Andrew Kneeland: Generally, Twins fans are very appreciative of the work Gardenhire has done in Minnesota. Although he is usually the prime scape-goat, Gardy is one of the best managers in baseball, and Twins fans recognize and appreciate this.

SeatGeek: Are there any Twins minor leaguers that will have a impact on the ball club this year? If so, who, and can you give me a scouting report? 

Andrew Kneeland: There aren’t many minor leaguers who have a chance of playing with the big-league club in 2010, as most of the team’s top prospects are either in Single- or Double-A. Third-baseman Danny Valencia is currently hitting .302/.345/.389 in Triple-A, and will likely be promoted to man the Hot Corner in a month or so. He is an average defender, and possesses slight pop in his bat. At best, Valencia is probably capable of hitting .280/.330/.430 in the Major Leagues.

I’d like to thank Andrew for taking the time to answer some Twins questions from SeatGeek.  You can find Andrew Kneeland at Twinstarget.com and on Twitter @Akneeland.   Watch out for more MLB Team Profiles weekly on the SeatGeek Sports Blog.

It has been reported that the farm from the famous baseball movie, “Field of Dreams”, is being sold for a whopping $5.4 million dollars.  The rumor that my sources have been telling me is that there are two potential buyers for this legendary property and their names are Kevin Costner and Cal Ripken Jr.

 To the average person this would be two logical people to be interested in buying a baseball field.  The “Iron Man” Cal Ripken used to play baseball, and this field would a great asset to have.  “Crash” Davis/Billy Chapel/Kevin Costner was the star of the movie that took place on the field, besides a man with as many surnames as Mick Foley/Mankind/Dude Love/Cactus Jack needs to have something like this to fit his baseball persona.  What people don’t know about these two individuals is that this is not the first time their paths have crossed.  To keep it short there is an urban legend throughout baseball that in 1997 Costner and Ripken’s wife were found “together” by Cal. Ripken proceeded to beat the hell out of him. Since Cal was not at the stadium for the scheduled game,  the Orioles canceled the game due to “lighting problems” and Ripken’s consecutive game streak was saved.

 Flash forward now 13 years to 2010.   My sources, who if I disclosed their identities would completely ruin the little credibility that this story has, said that Costner was clearly the front runner for this property and looked to have it locked up until Ripken heard about the sale.  Depending on who you talk to Ripken was quoted by people close to him, “I wonder how that two timing Costner will feel when he sees me mending the fences and mowing the corn field” and he told these same people that his message to Costner would be like Dallas Braden’s grandmas, “STICK IT!”.  I’m not sure how this story is going to end, but it should at least be amusing.

 For those who couldn’t guess, this story is fake.

I’d like to preface this post by explaining that I have actually met Jerry Manual and thought he was pretty cool guy and I hope he doesn’t get canned, but If he does I need to be ready.  So I have decided as an unemployed bum with coaching experience, to write a cover letter describing my qualifications incase the Mets are looking for someone else to drive the team into the ground.  Below is a copy of what the aforementioned cover letter would look like:

Christopher J. Matcovich

31 Forrest Street           Airmont, NY 10932     (555) 555-5555

Chris@seatgeek.com

 To Mr. Wilpon,

 RE: Mets Managerial Position

                 I am writing in hopes that you would consider me for your soon to be vacant Managerial position with the New York Mets.  I have a strong passion for baseball, and besides that I need a job.  I feel my coaching experience and my strong passion for baseball would be a great fit for your organization.

               I will tell you why I am the man to resurrect this franchise and bring them to glory once again.  First, unlike the current manager, I can put a sentence together that is not bookended with the phrases “Uhhhhhhh” and “hahahahah”.  As for my experience, I’m considered the Connie Mack of youth baseball in the Lower Hudson Valley.  Last summer I led the 13U Suffern Titans to a 13-5-1 record and to the Northern Valley Independence Day Tournament Championship.    I’d like to say the kids were a huge part of this success, but when you’re stealing signs and providing the pitchers with Vaseline it’s hard to make that statement.   Oh, I almost forgot about my playing days.  Where do I begin?  I made my first Little League All-Star team at 13 years old and it looked like I would be going to play ball at good ole STATE at that pace.  Then at age 17, when I was trying to leg out a grounder to the shortstop, I came up gimp.  I was told it was plantar fasciitis; my career was over almost as quickly as Alyssa Miliano’s show “Romantically Challenged”.

                 Thanks for reviewing my application, but I don’t see this as being a hard decision for the team with my level of qualifications (besides I couldn’t be any worse than Dallas Green, Art Howe, Willie Randolph, or Jerry Manual).  So why don’t you give me a call next week and we can talk numbers.  Thanks.

 Sincerely,

Christopher J. Matcovich  

The SeatGeek Sports Blog will be doing Team Profiles for all the Major League Baseball teams over the next couple of months.  Each profile will include 5 topical questions about the team, answered by those who follow the teams the closest, the bloggers.  For the Baltimore Orioles Team Profile Daniel Moroz of Camdencrazies.com was nice enough to provide some insight on the team.

SeatGeek: Although it has been a bad start to the season, as a baseball fan I have been really impressed by Matt Wieters, Adam Jones, and Brian Matusz.  Do you think the Orioles are heading in the right direction in terms of being able to compete with the big 3 in the division anytime soon?

Daniel Moroz: The team is certainly heading in the right direction. There’s really no way for the Orioles to compete long-term in the AL East without developing young players. That’s often a risky proposition and doesn’t always go according to plan (though free agency isn’t really that different in those regards), but it’s the best way for the O’s to challenge for a division title. I know it’s frustrating, but as long as the team looks like they have a good plan in place I’m willing to be patient – I’m looking at 2012 as the first year where they can really start making some noise. And I also understand that they can make every decision correctly.

 SeatGeek: Who is the next player in the O’s minor league system that will have a impact on the Major League ball club?  Can you give me a little scouting report?

Daniel Moroz: Would it be cheating to say Chris Tillman, who was up with the team for a substantial part of 2009? The right-handed pitcher started this year in Triple-A due to a roster crunch in the rotation and a lack-luster Spring Training, but he’s turned things around in the minors recently – he even pitched a no-hitter a couple starts ago.  Tillman’s a flyball pitcher, which resulted in some home run issues last year and may in the future as well. He looks like he’s really improved his control, though it may have come at the cost of fewer strike-outs (though still a healthy number). As far as his stuff, he’s got a low 90s fastball that I would say is average to a little above, a plus-plus curveball, a surprisingly good change-up, and he’s been working on a cutter apparently as well. He still has the ceiling of a top of the rotation starter, but the more likely outcome is as a good #3. If the starting rotation needs reinforcements, then he – or Jake Arrieta, with a great start in Triple-A himself – are probably next in line.

 SeatGeek: Since 2003-2004(The signings of Tejada, Lopez, Ponson, Palmerio) the O’s have not signed any big name free agents.  Is it that Peter Angelos in unwilling to spend money or is it the recent bad stretch the O’s have gone through that has kept the big name players away?

Daniel Moroz: I’d say mostly neither (the team probably does need to spend a little extra because of the losing, but I don’t think it’s a huge issue). People often have this complaint, but then don’t say what they would have done differently. Which guy in particular would you (a general “you”) have signed? I’ve found the responses to be pretty lacking there, when you get passed the guys name and the excitement and actually look at the production and the cost involved.  Mark Teixeira was offered $140 M, but went to New York for $180 M (without even asking the O’s to match it, apparently). Beating that price wouldn’t have been a smart move for the team – especially considering they were still at least a couple of years from contending. When the team is closer – 2011 or 2012 – is when it makes sense to try to get that last big piece via free agency. Giving tens of millions of  dollars to a guy who will get the team from 70 to 75 wins now but will be 35 years old and well past his prime (but still making a ton of money) when the younger Orioles’ players are hitting theirs (and the team is starting to make a run), is poor planning.  As an additional argument, I’ll point to the list of names you mentioned. How well did those deals turn out?

 SeatGeek: How has Tejada’s transition from short to third gone so far?

Daniel Moroz: Miggy’s got a good arm, which certainly helps. I think he’s still getting used to playing there, and seems to have a tendency to pull an ole move on balls hit to his left. I looked at how Tejada might transition before the season – http://camdencrazies.com/2010/02/01/how-well-might-miguel-tejada-transfer-to-third-base/ – and came up with about average to a little below with regards to his fielding at third. I think that’s what we’ll get.

 SeatGeek: What is the secondary ticket market like in Baltimore in terms of baseball? When people look to get tickets do they usually go to the team or are they more likely to buy from scalpers, StubHub, etc.?  I’m from NY and I have never been to a game at Camden Yards, but I plan to go in the beginning of June, where would you recommend someone sit on their first trip to the stadium?

Daniel Moroz: I’ve never used the secondary ticket market in Baltimore, though there are usually 4-5 scalpers offering tickets between the metro stop and the stadium. Often I’ll just pick up a ticket when I get there. The ballpark is really nice, and I think you get a good view of the game from just about anywhere – which means that even the cheap seats provide good value. Hope you enjoy your trip down.

 I’d like to thank Daniel for taking the time to answer some Orioles questions from SeatGeek.  You can find Daniel Moroz at CamdenCrazies.com and on Twitter @CamdenCrazies.   Watch out for more MLB Team Profiles weekly on the SeatGeek Sports Blog.