Paul Hagen: Hard to beat the high cost of baseball

SEVENTEEN NEW ballparks have sprouted up since Baltimore's Oriole Park at Camden Yards opened in 1992. The Yankees and Mets will add to that number next year. The Twins' playpen is under construction. The Marlins, Rays and Athletics are working hard to join the parade.

By now, we all know the drill. We "ooh" and "ahh" over the wide concourses and modern conveniences of the new place. We reminisce about our pleasant memories of the old. And life goes on.

What sometimes gets lost in the gee-whiz factor here is that the price of tickets and concessions in these modern facilities, almost all supported at least in part by taxpayer dollars, invariably rises sharply.

The New York Post recently reported on a man who has been a Mets season-ticketholder since 1964, the year the team moved out of the Polo Grounds and into Shea Stadium.

As recently as 1993, he said, his annual tab was $5,837. Five years later, it was $11,836. By last season it was $23,702. This year it's around $33,000.

And when he got a letter informing him that comparable seats at Citi Field next year would set him back about $60,000, he decided he'd had enough and informed the club that he won't be reupping next year.

It wasn't that long ago that a family of four could go to a ballgame for roughly what it would cost to go to a movie. Baseball proudly billed itself as affordable family entertainment.

Commissioner Bud Selig, speaking at the All-Star Game on Tuesday, sort of shrugged when asked about the escalating cost of seeing your favorite team in person. He pointed out that more than 80 million tickets are projected to be sold this year, suggesting that this means families still must be coming out. He stressed that each team must be sensitive to the demands of its own market.

Still, you have to wonder if this, like starting crown-jewel events so late that most kids can only watch a couple innings, is a chicken that will eventually come home to roost.

And if that Mets fan might decide to transfer his loyalty to the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League.

 

The hot corner

* According to the New York Post, the Mets are seriously considering promoting from within rather than trying to swing a big trade in the next couple of weeks. They could bring up Fernando Martinez if they need an outfielder, Jon Niese if they want a starting pitcher and Bobby Parnell or Eddie Kunz to strengthen the bullpen.

* According to the , the Mets are seriously considering promoting from within rather than trying to swing a big trade in the next couple of weeks. They could bring up if they need an outfielder, if they want a starting pitcher and or to strengthen the bullpen.

* Next year's All-Star Game will be at St. Louis, followed by Anaheim. No sites have been announced beyond that but, according to Newsday, the 2011 game is expected to be played at Arizona's Chase Field, the 2012 game at Kansas City's renovated Kauffman Stadium and the 2013 game at Citi Field, the Mets' new home.

* Brewers leftfielder Ryan Braun was a little disappointed to find out at the All-Star Game that he actually enjoyed being around the players from the rival Cubs. "It turns out that [they're all] nice guys," he told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. "That's unfortunate. I thought it would be easy to dislike them."

 

Around the bases

* The Rays and Indians played a four-game series to close out the first half. Tampa Bay's starting pitchers had won a total of 31 games. Three of the Tribe's starters had combined for five wins (Cliff Lee came in with 11 wins). Naturally, Cleveland swept.

* The Rays and Indians played a four-game series to close out the first half. Tampa Bay's starting pitchers had won a total of 31 games. Three of the Tribe's starters had combined for five wins ( came in with 11 wins). Naturally, Cleveland swept.

* The grind of another noncompetitive season seems to be getting to Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay. "I don't know if I'll move on, but I want to play for a team that can win a World Series," he said. "It's definitely hard to do the same things every year. It's hard not to see progression. We sit down every spring training or All-Star break and talk about the same things. It's almost like Groundhog Day, and that definitely gets frustrating."

* Pal Doug Kelly points out an item in the San Francisco Chronicle that noted Giants pitcher Brian Wilson bought 47 Yankee Stadium T-shirts for teammates, trainers and clubhouse attendants while at the All-Star Game. Total tab: $1,410.

 

On deck

CHEERS: For Cubs lefthander Ted Lilly. When he fouled a pitch into the Wrigley Field stands last week, the ball fractured the skull of 7-year-old Dominic DiAngi, who was hospitalized for a week because of swelling around the brain. Lilly did more than just say he was sorry. He took the time to visit DiAngi at Children's Memorial Hospital.

CHEERS: For Cubs lefthander Ted Lilly. When he fouled a pitch into the Wrigley Field stands last week, the ball fractured the skull of 7-year-old Dominic DiAngi, who was hospitalized for a week because of swelling around the brain. Lilly did more than just say he was sorry. He took the time to visit DiAngi at Children's Memorial Hospital.