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Scam or Souvenir?

 

While watching some of Thursday's White Sox/Angels game, Steve Stone read a promotional announcement that I found to be pretty remarkable. Give the White Sox credit. They've found a way to make money off of tickets that were never purchased for a specific game.

Apparently, you can buy the unsold tickets to Mark Bueherle's perfect game. Stone didn't mention the prices. Are they selling them at face value? A premium?

Yes --  you too, can claim to be at a game you didn't attend. What would stop the team from just printing and printing and printing tickets if there was a demand for this souvenir? Who'd know?  Is each ticket authenticated?

Well, if you can't fill the seats, get creative. And, I must admit....this is.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of SB Nation or Al Yellon, managing editor (unless it's a FanPost posted by Al). FanPost opinions are valued expressions of opinion by passionate and knowledgeable baseball fans.

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Yes, they are selling them at face value.

(Plus the damn Ticketmaster fees.)

You can buy one here. I don’t think this is a scam — it’s a chance for the Sox to make a few extra bux — based on that day’s attendance I think they have about 12,000 left.

They’re not the only team to do this. The Twins did this for the game in which Cal Ripken got his 3000th hit in Minnesota back in 2000.

I don’t have a problem with this.

"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra

by Al on Aug 7, 2009 12:17 PM CDT reply actions   0 recs

IMO

smart, and nothing wrong with it

baseball is a game of outs......pop out, ground out, line out, pitch out, strike out, fly out, and Fox and Bud's favorite black out

by Cubbie-Tim on Aug 7, 2009 12:37 PM CDT reply actions   0 recs

+1

You can't win in the postseason unless you can manufacture runs. - Hall of Fame 2B Joe Morgan

by dtc0405 on Aug 7, 2009 12:43 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

Well, consider their target audience.

Alot of Barnum’s were born White Sox fans.

IF IT TAKES FOREVER!!

by Cubfansince1957 on Aug 7, 2009 5:38 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

i was curious the cost

and the cheapest i was able to get so far (including the ticket master fee) $33. If I were a Sox fan, i would get one, that is a cheap price for a souvenir from a historical event of the Sox

baseball is a game of outs......pop out, ground out, line out, pitch out, strike out, fly out, and Fox and Bud's favorite black out

by Cubbie-Tim on Aug 7, 2009 12:43 PM CDT reply actions   0 recs

I have a ticket to his first no-hitter (I was actually at the game), how much do you think I could get for it?

You can't win in the postseason unless you can manufacture runs. - Hall of Fame 2B Joe Morgan

by dtc0405 on Aug 7, 2009 12:47 PM CDT reply actions   0 recs

Not much

BY doing this, they’re devaluing the price of a souvenir ticket of those who were actually there.

"When they signed Fukudome, I knew they were trying to get me fired". - Ron Santo, January, 2008

by BeerCub on Aug 7, 2009 12:53 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

But they didn't do this for the first no-hitter.

"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra

by Al on Aug 7, 2009 12:56 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

So mine potentially more valuable,

since it would be a “rare ticket from his first no-hitter.”

You can't win in the postseason unless you can manufacture runs. - Hall of Fame 2B Joe Morgan

by dtc0405 on Aug 7, 2009 12:58 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

Maybe so

But the suspicion will be there. The collectible markets are fickle.

"When they signed Fukudome, I knew they were trying to get me fired". - Ron Santo, January, 2008

by BeerCub on Aug 7, 2009 1:22 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

I'm in luck, it is a season ticket.

You can't win in the postseason unless you can manufacture runs. - Hall of Fame 2B Joe Morgan

by dtc0405 on Aug 7, 2009 2:25 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

Scour the web and see comparible prices

or put it on ebay with a huge reserve price and see what attention it draws.

Unfortunately it may get confused with the perfect game so you’d have to be explicit in your description.

Just win the next game...!

by blackhawk24 on Aug 7, 2009 1:00 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

I'll have to get it autographed first,

then I’ll have something valuable.

You can't win in the postseason unless you can manufacture runs. - Hall of Fame 2B Joe Morgan

by dtc0405 on Aug 7, 2009 1:01 PM CDT reply actions   0 recs

reply fail.

You can't win in the postseason unless you can manufacture runs. - Hall of Fame 2B Joe Morgan

by dtc0405 on Aug 7, 2009 1:01 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

fail

:)

I'm singing, "GO CUBS GO! GO CUBS GO!" -- DrCrawdad on Jun 12, 2009 7:23 AM CDT

Facts are meaningless. You could use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true! -- Homer J. Simpson

by Shanghai Badger on Aug 7, 2009 2:39 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

Many years ago

There were very few fans in the stands at the end of Nolan Ryan’s last no-hitter because they were in the stadium buying tickets to the game they were already attending.

by gocubsgo22 on Aug 7, 2009 1:11 PM CDT reply actions   0 recs

Great Idea!

If they did that for the Zambrano no hitter (and there were definitely seats available) I would have bought one for sure!

by ak123 on Aug 7, 2009 1:23 PM CDT reply actions   0 recs

Cubs.com

offered up for sale tickets from Z’s no hitter the next day.

by Corms23 on Aug 8, 2009 1:41 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

Speaks volumes about how crappy their attendance is.

Home game in late July, vs the defending AL champs, and a half game out of first place.

"You win because of the quarterback. We have to get that position stabilized. We're fixated on that." -- Jerry Angelo (12.30.2008)

Jerry Angelo trades for Jay Cutler! (4.2.2009)
.

by SackMan on Aug 7, 2009 1:37 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

The Cubs sent out something like this..

in 2001 when Sammy became the only person to hit 60 HRs in 3 seasons, they sent out unused “Standing Room” tickets to season ticket holders. Of course it was for free…not for some outrageous price See below

See what old Cubs Scorecards looked like at http://cubsbythenumbers.com/scorecards.html
Also, see the Cubs 2009 schedule at http://cubsbythenumbers.com/sched2009.html

by kaseyi on Aug 7, 2009 1:38 PM CDT reply actions   0 recs

The Sox did that for their season ticket holders after Buehrle's first no-hitter.

You can see an example of what they got here.

"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra

by Al on Aug 7, 2009 1:40 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

well

I don’t see anything illegal about it, but I don’t see why anyone would be willing to pay for a piece of paper than you can’t use to get into a baseball game either…

Forget all that other stuff. I gotta believe.

by drewishdrewid on Aug 7, 2009 2:40 PM CDT reply actions   0 recs

Just the same reason...

… you’d buy a souvenir from anywhere. It’s a souvenir — nothing more.

"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra

by Al on Aug 7, 2009 2:43 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

well,

I guess that I have a higher bar for souvenirs.

Forget all that other stuff. I gotta believe.

by drewishdrewid on Aug 7, 2009 2:57 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

I am utterly, vehemently opposed to this action by the White Sox organization!

Ha, just kidding. I could care less.

I've committed to tweeting about the Cubs for the rest of the season. (Does that sound as ridiculous as I think it does?) Anyway, if you're on Twitter, you can follow me here.

by dat cubfan daver on Aug 7, 2009 3:10 PM CDT reply actions   0 recs

Well, certainly replica tix

have always been available. My contention is that the Sox could just keep printing tickets forever if there is a demand. Suddenly, you have 50K tickets, or more – instead of the normal amount of tickets for a full house. That cheapens the ticket’s aftermarket value — if there is one.

If each ticket they sell is authenticated, that’s a different story. Of course, how could you possibly tell between a game-used ticket and an ‘after-the-fact’ ticket, since the ducats are scanned, not ‘ripped’ as in the gold ol’ days.

by San Diego Smooth Jazz Man on Aug 8, 2009 8:55 AM CDT reply actions   0 recs

Since they are selling them...

… through their own box office and Ticketmaster, I suspect they will stop selling them when their own computers say the game is “sold out”.

"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra

by Al on Aug 8, 2009 8:56 AM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

Well, I have WS tix to games that were played long before I was born

Obviously just by my age I couldn’t come close to claiming I was there. But long before my father passed, he wanted to assure me I’d get his ticket stubs to 5 different World Series played at the Friendly Confines. Kind of funny, there were WS games at “Weeghman Park” and “Wrigley Field” but not “Cubs Park”.

So I do have ticket stubs displayed in my sports room that I never went to but I believe it’s understood that its simply a part of history. I was never at the Blackhawks only stanley cup winning game at Chicago Stadium (1938) either but I have my father’s ticket stub too to that game.

I guess people can claim what they want to. For the Cubs, I bet there’s over 100,000 people out there to claim they were at the game when Mr. Cub hit #500, but in reality there was what 10,000 there that day in May, 1970??

FWIW, I bought 4 of these tix for a very close couple of me and my wife’s and will be having those framed at Michaels in a few weeks. It’ll be their Christmas present.

Just win the next game...!

by blackhawk24 on Aug 8, 2009 10:52 AM CDT reply actions   0 recs

There were 5,264 witnesses to Ernie Banks' 500th HR.

Boxscore

"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra

by Al on Aug 8, 2009 11:48 AM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

But I did see Ernie's HR in real time

…on WGN, just arriving home in time from school. Thanks to Mom for having the game on.

by San Diego Smooth Jazz Man on Aug 8, 2009 12:47 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

In for 3

Married into a White Sox family and just picked up 4 Xmas presents for my father and brothers in law. 88 bucks for 3 cool souvenirs, not bad….

Fukudometer: Created 3/31/08 Wrigley Debut 4/5/08 WGN and Japan TV Debut 4/6/08 Sun Times Debut: 4/20/08 Coffee Table Debut: 7/17/08 (http://www.wearecubsfans.com)

by Fuk-U-Meter on Aug 8, 2009 12:28 PM CDT reply actions   0 recs

Ach du Lieber

Blue mountains high .. Blue valleys low
I don't know which way we will go ..
One summer dream .. one summer dream ..

coda

ELO, 1975

by cubnational on Aug 9, 2009 12:12 AM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

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