In my blog entry about how Yankee fans are more interested in A-Rod hitting 600 than the media says, I noted that the Yankees-Royals series this weekend had more attendance per game than any series this year except for the Mets and Red Sox.
I said they were there to see A-Rod hit 600, but Squawker reader Uncle Mike has a different opinion:
Personally, I don’t think all those people were there to see A-Rod’s 600th. I think a lot of them were there because the Royals stink, so there would be more tickets available and this would be their chance to see the Yankees without blowing even more of the budget on a scalper. Maybe they love A-Rod, but no more so than they love some of the others, and Number 600, if it comes while said fans are there, will just be a bonus.
Let’s take a look at 2010’s top attendance draws at Yankee Stadium (all numbers are courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com):
Date Opponent Attendance Notes
Tuesday, Apr 13 LAA 49,293 (Opening Day)
Sunday, Jun 20 NYM 49,240 (Subway Series)
Friday, Jun 18 NYM 49,220 (Subway Series)
Saturday, Jun 19 NYM 49,073 (Subway Series)
Saturday, Jul 17 TBR 48,957 (Old Timers’ Day)
Monday, May 17 BOS 48,271 (Red Sox)
Saturday, Jul 24 KCR 48,138 (A-Rod)
Sunday, Jul 25 KCR 47,890 (A-Rod)
Tuesday, Jul 20 LAA 47,775 (Cap Night)
Tuesday, May 18 BOS 47,734 (Red Sox)
Friday, Jul 16 TBR 47,524 (Steinbrenner/Sheppard tribute)
All of these games were marquee events. There’s a reason that two of the Kansas City games cracked the top 10 for the year, and it has nothing to do with fans looking for a bargain. If fans were merely looking for a bargain, you would probably see some Orioles games as well. But the Yankee home games against the Orioles are actually the worst attended.
As for the notion that fans were going this weekend because “this would be their chance to see the Yankees without blowing even more of the budget on a scalper,” ticket prices were actually higher on the secondary market than they would normally be for a Royals series.
What do you think? Tell us about it!
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