Reds/Yankees tickets hard to get

CINCINNATI - There was excitement in the air Monday throughout Downtown Cincinnati and around Great American Ball Park.

The New York Yankees were in town for the first time since 2003 to take on the Cincinnati Reds in a three-game series.

“It’s a great opportunity for the city to see a team that is not normally here and we don’t normally go to play,” said Declan Mullin, the Reds Vice-President for Stadium Operations.

Each one of the games is expected to sell out, despite the fact that variable pricing is in effect.

“There’s a $15.00 increase on all the tickets that we have,” said John Davis, the Reds Vice-President of Ticketing. “The Yankees and the Boston Red Sox would be the only kind of teams that can carry something like that because they’re here so seldom and the demand is so high.”

Anderson Township resident Bill Beal picked up his tickets wearing a New York Yankees hat.

“I’m a Reds fan, except when they play the Yankees,” he said. “I watched the Yankees play when I was a young boy and saw the great DiMaggio. That was enough and I’ve been a Yankees fan ever since.”

Making the two-hour drive to Cincinnati from Parker City, Indiana, were Brian Young and his son, Drew. Both were decked out in Yankee jerseys and hats.

“The Yankees are going to win all three,” Drew said after naming virtually every player on the current New York roster.

At Riverfront Choice Tickets, five out of every six telephone calls over the weekend were from a fan inquiring about Yankees/Reds tickets.

“The demand for Yankees is enormous,” said Marketing Director Travis Jackson.
“There are just so many great players and such a tradition that people want to see.”

Jackson said prices for tickets are all over the map.

“They range from just a few dollars less than face value up to as much as a few hundred for some of the better locations like Diamonds and Clubs,” he said.

Tom Brady was among the buyers.

“Had to see the Yankees,” the Mount Lookout man said. “Lots of history. Love going down to Reds games. Taking Dad as a part of Father’s Day.”

The Reds Hall of Fame created an exhibit to capture the excitement of the Reds and
Yankees matchups through the years.

They met in the 1939 and 1961 World Series, but New York won both four games to one. The Reds rebounded to sweep the Yankees in the 1976 World Series.

The Reds have won both series in interleague play – in Cincinnati in 2003 and in New York in 2008.

Executive Director Rick Walls said the focus of the exhibit is the 1961 Reds team, the National League Champions.

The roster included Frank Robinson, Veda Pinson and Wally Post plus pitchers Jim O’Toole and Jim Maloney.

“1961 was a team that nobody thought could do a whole lot for the Reds,” Walls said.
“The ‘Ragamuffin Reds,’ as they were known had a few stars on the team, but they were surrounded by a cast that was trying to prove themselves – not too unlike today’s Reds.”

Mother Nature dumped an inch-and-a-half of rain on the Great American Ball Park playing field, but Mullin said he wasn’t overly concerned about any possible impact on the game.

“The grass is actually growing on two to three feet of sand and it will drain close to two inches of rain per hour,” he said.

Major chores included making sure the warning track was drained and the seating area was cleared of any standing water.