2010 is shaping up to be a year of high volatility in baseball’s trade market, with an unusually high number of difference-making players being moved. As Major League Baseball‘s non-waiver trade deadline rapidly approaches, a flurry of last minute deals have been agreed upon, boosting some teams’ world series chances, while diminishing others. If, like many of us, you’ve gotten overwhelmed by the flood of activity over the past few days, don’t worry. SeatGeek is here to help. We have compiled a brief, yet comprehensive, review of the biggest trades that have been made, that still could be made, and their implications on the field, and at the box office.

Winners

Philadelphia Phillies

The Phillies made a mistake by letting Cliff Lee go in the off-season. This is a fact. However, the Phillies took a huge step towards rectifying this error yesterday as they finalized a deal with the Houston Astros for ace Roy Oswalt, instantly creating what is probably the most feared rotation in the National League, as well as cornering the market for starters with the first name Roy. When paired with Halladay and Hamels, the top of the Phillies rotation is primed for a deep run in the playoffs, and it is appearing more and more likely that the Phils will be playing in October. They have won eight games in a row, to pull within 2.5 games of the Braves for first place in the NL East, and are only 1.5 games out of the wild card. A newly motivated Oswalt, combined with a resurgent Phillies offense should help the Phillies in their bid to win their third National League pennant in a row.

Texas Rangers

The Rangers have been one of the best stories of this season, coming out of nowhere to lead the AL West by 8.5 games. Led by MVP candidate and triple crown threat Josh Hamilton, and a stable of good young pitchers such as C.J. Wilson and Colby Lewis, The Rangers have made a statement during the first half of the season. In order to continue their shredding of the AL West, and to improve their playoff chances against high powered teams such as the Yankees, the Rangers have been extremely active in the trade market. Despite ongoing bankruptcy proceedings, the Rangers have not been dissuaded from taking on millions of dollars in salaries.

Getting the midseason trade market started off with a bang on July 9th with their acquisition of Cy Young candidate Cliff Lee. Since joining the Rangers, Lee has thrown a complete game in 3 of his 4 starts, and has surrendered more than 2 runs only once. The Rangers also improved their offense yesterday by trading pitchers Evan Reed and Omar Poveda for infielder Jorge Cantu. Cantu will most likely take over 1st base responsibilities, and adds yet another productive bat to the Rangers lineup. Cantu is well on his way to another season of close to 100 RBI, and is on pace to hit over 40 doubles for the third straight year.

Over the past week, Rangers transacted ticket prices are up to $49.50, 11th highest in the league. In the three weeks since July 9th, the date of the Lee Acquisition, Rangers tickets have been trading at an average of $45.96, a 22% increase over the previous monthly average of $37.67 for the period between 6/9/2010, and 7/8/2010.

Minnesota Twins

The Twins quietly bolstered their playoff chances as well yesterday by acquiring loser Matt Capps from the Nationals in exchange for two minor-leaguers. Capps comes as a welcome addition to a Twins bullpen that has struggled without perennial all-star closer Joe Nathan, who is out for the year with an elbow injury. Capps is certainly an upgrade over interim closer Jon Rausch, another former National. Check out ESPN analyst Jonathan Costa’s interesting breakdown of the two relievers.

The Twins are also having success at the box office. They recently overtook the Red Sox for first place on SeatGeek’s weekly ticket price index. For a team that was seriously being considered for contraction a few years ago, this is a fantastic accomplishment.

Historical Minnesota Twins Ticket Prices

The opening of beautiful new Target Field has definitely helped ticket prices for Minnesota, but it is not the only factor. Prices for Twins games have been steadily increasing over the course of the season, as opposed to starting out high, and slowly dropping over the course of the year. This phenomenon indicates that ticket prices are more correlated to the Twins on field product, than the novelty of a new stadium.

Other Deals

Smaller trades, but still of some significance include the Padres’ acquisition of aging star Miguel Tejada from the Orioles. Tejada hit .269 with 7 HRs and 39 RBI in 97 games for the Orioles this year, with a measly .308 OBP and nausea inducing .670 OPS, behind such offensive stars as Ian Desmond of the Nats, and Yuniesky Betancourt of the Royals. Tejada will most likely split his time between third base and shortstop. Hopefully for the Padres, a change of scenery will reinvigorate the 2oo2 AL MVP.

The Chicago White Sox acquired pitcher Edwin Jackson from the Diamondbacks in exchange for RHP Dan Hudson and LHP David Holmberg. Jackson went 13-9 with an ERA of 3.62 with the Tigers last year, but has posted a 5.16 ERA so far in 2010 with the D-Backs. The White Sox are reportedly also looking to land a bat, such as Adam Dunn.

Other moves include Dan Haren moving from the D-Backs to the Angels, Scott Podsednik joining the Dodgers, and the Braves acquiring Alex Gonzalez from the Blue Jays for Yunel Escobar and Jo-Jo Reyes

It will be interesting to see whether any more moves are finalized before 4 PM tomorrow. At this time of year there are plenty of teams in contention, but only 8 will make the playoffs. Keep following SeatGeek to learn how these transactions and more affect ticket prices for the rest of the season and beyond.

Feel free to email me at jonathan@seatgeek.com with any questions, and remember to like us on facebook, and follow us on twitter @SeatGeek and @SeatGeekMLB

Rivalries have always played a huge role in sports and we all know the fun in rooting against a team we hate. In the past, rivals have been compared in a number of ways, from who has the best current team to who has won the most championships to who has the best fans. We at SeatGeek thought it would be interesting to compare rivals based on transactions on the secondary ticket market, which we have found to be a great judge of fan sentiment.  Three weeks ago, we looked at the Mets-Phillies rivalry. Today, we will be looking at the rivalry between the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The first graph shows the average transaction price per month for February through July. The ticket price data is based on the date transacted, not which game the tickets are for, meaning that if a ticket is bought in February for a game in July, the data is part of February’s average.

• Average Giants ticket prices are greater than or equal to Dodgers ticket prices every month.
• July is a very interesting month for the Dodgers. We are not completely sure what was the cause of such an extreme drop. During July, the Dodgers are 6-8 and are currently 5.5 games out of first place, which might have caused fan sentiment to fall, and with that, ticket prices.
• Though this data is based on the transaction date and not the game date, about 40% of secondary market tickets for a game are usually bought with a week of the event and over half are usually bought within 2 weeks. The fact that our data for July only includes data through July 19th, and so far this month the only teams the Dodgers have played at home are the Cubs and the Marlins, two below .500 teams, could also explain the significant drop in average ticket price.
• Please comment below with any other ideas you might have regarding the significant drop in Dodgers ticket prices in July.

We also thought it would be interesting to track the ticket price changes as a percentage change over time – with February as our base month.

This allows us to compare consumer sentiment fluctuations across different teams on the same scale. For a more simple example, lets look at two teams; Team A and Team B. In February, Team A’s tickets are $5 and Team B’s tickets are $30. In June Team A”s tickets are $10 and Team B’s tickets are $20. That means Team A experienced a 100% increase in ticket prices and Team B experienced a 33.3% decrease in ticket prices. Therefore:

• Giants tickets purchased in July are 19% below the price of tickets transacted in February.
• Dodgers tickets purchased in July are 49% below the price of tickets transacted in February.
• Up until July, Giants and Dodgers tickets follow an remarkably similar pattern. Prior to July, both teams’ changes in average ticket prices tracked within a 5% range of each other.

We will keep you updated. We plan on updating these plots monthly, in addition to looking at other rivalries. Stay tuned.

Be sure to follow us on Twitter @SeatGeekMLB and email max@seatgeek.com with any questions or comments.

Alex Rodriguez hit another home run yesterday for the Yankees, giving him fifteen on the season, and 598 for his career. The home run snapped a slight power drought for A-Rod, and put him only two home runs away from joining the 600 Home Run Club!

Last week, SeatGeek and Hit Tracker released their report on when and where Rodriguez will hit the milestone 600th home run. They determined that he is most likely to hit it on July 25, versus the Kansas City Royals. The most likely section for him to hit it is Section 136, while the most likely seat – dubbed “The Money Seat” – is Section 135, Row, 18, Seat 6.

See the full report here!

A-Rod hit one home run in the past three games since the All-Star break, and if he continues this pace, he will in fact hit number 600 on July 25th against the Royals. A home run every third games means he will hit 599 on July 22nd, during the first game of the series versus KC, and 600 on the last game of the Yankees current homestand.

While A-Rod seems poised to reach this milestone during this current homestand, there are indications that he may not hit two home runs in the next six games. As much as everyone wants to see Rodriguez hit number 600 in front of the home crowd, the home run could come in Cleveland or Tampa Bay – the next two destinations for the Yankees after their series against Kansas City finishes up.

In the event that A-Rod heads into the series versus the Indians at Progressive Field with 598 or 599 home runs, SeatGeek and Hit Tracker will have updated predictions, including the most likely sections in their stadium, as well as a probable trajectory and “Money Seat”.

Since the passing of Bob Sheppard and George Steinbrenner, we saw a substantial increase in Yankees ticket prices, as fans wanted to get to the stadium to pay their respects to two Yankees’ legends. With the tributes over, we can expect that now, Yankees fans are coming to the stadium hoping to witness history by seeing, and maybe even catching, A-Rod’s 600th home run.

Below is a chart with the average transaction prices of the upcoming games at Yankee Stadium, as well as a table showing the average listing prices in Section 135 and 136 for each game. As expected, the average transaction price for these games versus the Angels and Royals are less than for games versus the division rival Rays. Also, the average listing price for Sections 135 and 136 are substantially higher than the average transaction price for the games as a whole, since face value for these outfield sections are on the higher end for tickets for Yankees games.

If you’re looking to put yourself in the right place to potentially catch the ball, SeatGeek is the place for you to find your tickets. We have several listings aggregated from StubHub, RazorGator, and so on, in Section 135 and 136 for the upcoming Yankees games.

If you want the best chance to catch the ball, you need to be sitting in “The Money Seat”, on July 25. While SeatGeek doesn’t have that exact seat listed, there are two seats for sale that are pretty close. For that game, there are seats listed in Section 135, Row 18, Seats 1 & 2 (only 4 seats down from “The Money Seat”) for $98. If A-Rod does in fact hit home run number 600 there, all you’ll have to do is barrel through only four people to get to the souvenir ball!

As A-Rod approaches 600 home runs, be sure to check back with SeatGeek and Hit Tracker to see their updates. If you have any inquiries, feel free to email justin@seatgeek.com. And as always, don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @SeatGeek!

The MLB All-Star Game is a great opportunity for fans to watch some of the best players in all of baseball take the field, pitting the National League against the American League for home field advantage in the World Series. This year, the game takes place at Angels Stadium in Anaheim, California.

Given the amount of baseball superstars on the rosters for the game, ticket demand for the events is high. Tickets are sold out, and the only place to grab a seat is on the secondary market.

The All-Star weekend consists of three events: All-Star Sunday (the Futures Game and the Celebrity/Legends softball game), the Home Run Derby and the All-Star Game. Fans can choose to buy tickets for one (or more) of the events individually, or they can buy the All-Star Package, which gives them access to all three events.

Not surprisingly, transaction prices for All-Star Package tickets are the highest, followed by All-Star Game tickets, Home Run Derby tickets (which includes the All-Star workout), and then All-Star Sunday tickets.

The All-Star Game is a once a year can’t miss spectacle, which is sure to be exciting as always in 2010. Be sure to check out SeatGeek for all of your All-Star Game, MLB and sold out ticket needs. Also, don’t forget to email justin@seatgeek.com with any questions, and follow us on Facebook and Twitter @SeatGeek!

Update: Please not that we recently launched weekly updated tracking for all MLB ticket prices. In addition, we have detailed data pages for all baseball teams. Please see a few of the examples linked below:

• Red Sox ticket prices
• Twins ticket prices
• Cubs ticket prices
• Mets ticket prices
• Yankees ticket prices

As the All-Star Break rapidly approaches, roughly marking the halfway point of the season, we at SeatGeek wanted to take a look at how each team’s ticket sales on the secondary market were doing.

Ticket prices on the secondary market are determined by the seller, who is generally either a fan or a ticket broker. The sellers pick a price based on demand for the tickets for that game. Generally, tickets are going to be priced higher if the team is a popular team (especially in a city with a bigger market) that is playing well, and is playing a good team.

Our data reflects this trend, as the top three teams with the highest transacted ticket prices are the Boston Red Sox, New York Mets and New York Yankees. The bottom three teams are the Cincinnati Reds, the Milwaukee Brewers and the Pittsburgh Pirates.

(at the bottom of this post is a chart with every team’s exact numbers)

Once we are at the All-Star Break, SeatGeek plans to have a more comprehensive breakdown of each team’s ticket sales on the secondary market. We are going to post a division-by-division break down, while listing some of the top selling games for each team in 2010. Be sure to check back with us for that!

As always, feel free to email justin@seatgeek.com with any questions or comments, and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @SeatGeek!

Yankees-Dodgers is one of the most classic and enduring rivalries in all of American sports. These two clubs have had a unique relationship since the early 20th century when the Dodgers still played at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn. Having met each other in the world series 11 times, most recently in the 1981 fall classic, these are clearly two franchises who don’t like each other. For those who believe that Yankees-Dodgers has lost its luster over the past 50 years, ticket data for this weekend’s series begs to differ. Tickets for the three game set are transacting at prices of $103.92 for game 1, $107.22 for game 2, and $96.95 for game 3. These prices are significantly higher than the Dodgers average ticket price this season, which is $55.27, and the average prices of the Dodger’s two preceding home series. This is extra significant given that the two previous series were against high profile opponents, the crosstown rival LA Angels of Anaheim, and the division-leading Cardinals.

While Yankees – Dodgers is a draw regardless of the circumstances, other factors besides the history between these two teams has contributed to the excitement surrounding this series. First of all these two teams have not met since 2004. A time so far in the distant past, that one of the games ended with then-Dodgers closer Eric Gagne striking out former Yankee centerfielder Bernie Williams. Since that time Gagne has been implicated, and admitted to use of performance enhancing drugs, and is out of baseball. Bernie Williams has also retired and currently is more comfortable playing his guitar than swinging a bat.

The biggest draw for this series however, is the Joe Torre saga. While managing the Yankees to four world championships and ten straight playoff appearances, Joe Torre was a hero amongst New Yorkers. However, after the 2007 season Torre and the Yankees had an ugly separation, in which the Yankees offered Torre a contract extension of $5 million plus incentives which he viewed as insultingly low, and bolted to the sunny skies of Los Angeles, like Walter O’Malley and the Dodgers did 50 years earlier. The Torre-Yankee divorce got even uglier after Torre published a book in which he criticized both Yankee owner George Steinbrenner, and all-star third baseman Alex Rodriguez.

Add to the mix Manny Ramirez, the inflammatory former Red Sox, and current Dodger outfielder’s first matchup against the Yanks since his departure from Boston two seasons ago, and it’s no wonder this series is the biggest thing to hit LA since Ron Artest’s post game press conference after the NBA finals.

As always feel free to contact me with any questions or comments at jonathan@seatgeek.com and follow us on twitter @SeatGeekMLB

At SeatGeek, we use ticket data from transactions on the secondary market to make many inferences about the sporting world and fan sentiment.  Today, we took a look at the change in prices of tickets for each team in the MLB from 2009 to 2010.  The teams with the largest percentage increase from last year to this year were dubbed the “Surprise Teams” of 2010.

As you can see from the title, the two surprise teams of 2010 are the San Diego Padres and the Tampa Bay Rays.  Coincidentally, these two teams begin a three game series tonight in Tampa.  They are also currently two of the best in baseball.  If the season ended today, both would make the playoffs; the Padres as the NL West Champion and the Rays as the AL Wild Card Winner (TB is currently tied with the Red Sox for the Wild Card, so they’d actually have to play a one game playoff, but my point is that they’re good).  As of June 22, the Rays have a 42-27 record, while the Padres are 40-29.

In 2009, the Rays were still really good, finishing the season in third place in the AL East behind the Yankees and Red Sox, with an 84-78 record.  However, this year they are even better. They have had the best record in the league for most of the season, and only recently have fallen back into the pack a bit.  Undoubtedly, their stellar start to the season has had a reflection on ticket prices on the secondary market, causing the increase in average ticket price transaction from 2009 to 2010.

Last year, the average transaction price for Tampa Bay Rays tickets was $33.68.  In 2010, that price has risen to $42.56.  The superstar play of Evan Longoria, Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena, David Price and Jeff Neimann have given the Rays a lot of success this year, which in turn has driven up the price of tickets on the secondary market.

The Padres have seen an even greater improvement in their play from 2009 to 2010.  Last year, the Padres finished with a 75-87 record, but have turned it around due large in part to their pitching staff.  The likes of Jon Garland, Mat Latos and Heath Bell, coupled with the perennial MVP candidate Adrian Gonzalez have put the Padres in first place and have increased the price of tickets for their home games on the secondary market.

In 2009, Padres transaction ticket prices were $35.83.  This year, their prices have risen to $46.74! In percentage terms, the Padres’ ticket prices rose a league-leading 30.5 percent, while the Rays’ prices rose 26.4 percent.

Be sure to follow us on Twitter @SeatGeekMLB, or email justin@seatgeek.com for more MLB news, analysis and ticket information.

When you go watch your favorite baseball team play at home, there is nothing better then seeing the opposing team get pummeled. With any pummeling comes joy and happiness for the home team’s fans and also some pretty great pitching change music. Great pitching change music should provide the lyrical translation of “Get the hell out of there man. Not only have you managed to embarass yourself, but your family and friends as well”. With that here is the Top 5 Pitching Change Songs:

5.  Move Along- All-American Rejects

This song would be higher on my list, if it was not used as the exit music for Cardinals starting pitcher Jeff Suppan after his start in Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS vs. the Mets.  I mean it is a great song to send a pitcher off to when he’s been throwing grandma’s meatballs all game, but not when the guy lets up 1 run over 7 innings.

4. Walk Like A Man- Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons

The title of the song should be what the pitcher does after he has put crooked numbers up on the scoreboard, even though at that point he feels probably doesn’t feel like much of a man and would rather crawl into a dark hole.

3. Help- Beatles

It is pretty hard to have a list of situational music and not include a Beatles song.  I would guess that they pretty much have a song for every situation in life, even  including when a pitcher let’s up 7 in the top of the second and hasn’t recorded an out. 

2. Hit the Road Jack- Ray Charles

Not much to say about this song other then, it is a great song for any departing visiting pitcher, but even better for one who is lucky enough to be named Jack. 

Note: It’s probably not a good idea for the home team to use this song when their pitcher struggles.

1. Bad Day- Daniel Powter

This song has everything you look for in a pitching change song.  It’s overly emotional, it sums up the day the pitcher had, and if you ever heard it on the radio, you would immediately turn it off because you wouldn’t want anyone to think you might have been listening to a piece of crap song like that.

Fans across the New York area absolutely love the twice annual “Subway Series,” pitting the Mets against their crosstown rivals the Yankees. Each team hosts one 3-game series every year, and as the series approaches the unavoidable flashbacks to memorable moments in this rivalry such as the Mike Piazza – Roger Clemens bat throwing incident. As the players and fans gear up for subway series round 2, there’s more on the line than just bragging rights. Both teams have playing well recently, with the Yankees having won 7 of their last 10, and the Mets remarkably riding a streak in which they have won 10 of their last 11 games, including 7 in a row.

However there are causes for concern on both sides of the field. The Bronx Bombers have dropped 2 straight to the Phillies. Alex Rodriguez has still not returned to the field, a fact emphasized last night by a fielding error by Ramiro Pena, A-Rods replacement, that led to a Philadelphia run in the 4th inning. Other causes for concern include the recent spate of shaky starts by A.J. Burnett, and the consistently bad pitching by Joba Chamberlain, whose ERA, after allowing 3 runs last night, has ballooned to 5.72.

The Mets meanwhile, have finally won multiple games in a row on the road for the first time since July 2009. They are playing inspired baseball, and giving their fans something to believe in, only half a game out of first place in the N.L. East. However before Mets fans get too excited, recall that the Mets time and again go on winning streaks in which they appear virtually unbeatable, only to just as suddenly go on a losing streak twice as long as the previous winning one. Mets fans know by now to curb their enthusiasm, and take all recent Mets’ successes with a grain of salt.

Regardless of how well the teams are playing, the subway series has always been a big draw at the box office. Despite its detractors, these six games regularly command ticket prices well above other more mundane matchups. Tickets for the first subway series of 2010 at Citi Field traded at prices of $124.76, $136.38, and $107.39 respectively. These prices are well above the average transacted ticket price of the ten games surrounding that series.

Prices for this weekend’s series at Yankee Stadium are also higher than usual, with average transaction prices for the three games at $117, $129, and $114 respectively. (As an aside, it is interesting to note that both these series have been scheduled for weekends, the three days of the week with the highest average ticket prices.)

No matter who prevails on the field, fans in the Bronx this weekend should get their money’s worth, with Yankee fans getting a better look at up and coming stars like Mike Pelfrey and Ike Davis, as well as witnessing the return of former Red Sox slugger Jason Bay, and the Mets faithful perhaps gleaning a little class from the likes of Jeter and Rivera.

The probable starters for Game 1 of the series tonight at the Stadium are former Brave Javier Vazquez for the Yankees, coming off a string of good starts, and Hisanori Takahashi for the Mets, who is fighting to maintain his spot in the rotation with the impending return of John Maine. Game 2 features a sterling pitching matchup between 9-1 Phil Hughes, and 9-1 Mike Pelfrey, and Game 3 also features an exciting pitching matchup as Johan Santana goes up against C.C. Sabathia.

Feel free to email me at jonathan@seatgeek.com with any questions or comments, and remember to follow us on twitter @SeatGeekMLB

As we transition out of baseball’s “Steroid Era”, players’ statistics are drastically changing.  During the late 90s and early 2000s, it would not be uncommon to see several hitters with at least a .340 batting average, 40 homeruns, and 120 RBI’s.  Nowadays, numbers have drastically decreased for hitters, while pitchers numbers are getting better each year.

As I Mets fan, I was perturbed to see that none of the Mets starters currently have batting averages above .300.  I soon realized, however, that few hitters in the National League have eclipsed .300 either.   As of June 14, only sixteen NL batters have batting averages above .300 (American League hitters are doing a little bit better with 21).

Buster Olney via Twitter noted that, “At the height of the steroid era, in 2001, a total of two pitchers posted ERAs under 3.00.  Right now, 25 starters have ERAs under 3.00”.   Are these statistical shifts due to worse hitting, better pitching, or both?

This season has become the season where great individual performances are by pitchers and not hitters.  There have already been three no-hitters in 2010, two of which were perfect games.  Additionally, there has been Armando Galarraga’s almost-perfect game, and even two one-hitters this week alone (Jon Niese on 6/10 vs. the Padres and Ted Lilly on 6/13 vs. the White Sox).  Certainly, 2010 is the year of the pitcher.

At SeatGeek, we have been looking at our ticketing data to see how it reflects various events in sports.  Generally, the overall performance of the team has the greatest effect on ticket prices, as SeatGeek’s founder Jack Groetzinger has noted.  However, there are extreme circumstances where an individual can have a profound effect on the status quo.  During the steroid era, with all of the homerun races occuring, the likes of Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and Barry Bonds would have increased prices when they came to town.  However, currently it is pitchers who are shifting ticket prices.  Most recently, SeatGeek has noted sharp increases in ticket prices in the aftermath of a no-hitter, or for the debut of a highly touted pitching prospect, such as Steven Strasburg.  Moving forward, we can anticipate that under the rare circumstances that ticket prices are affected by individual performances – it will be from star pitchers and not hitters.  Pitchers are delivering better individual performances than hitters, and fans are packing the stands to see them pitch.

As a diehard baseball fan, I struggle between figuring out if I am more impressed by great offensive seasons or great pitching seasons.  Undoubtedly, offensive records are more coveted, perhaps because some of the seemingly unbreakable records have been broken in recent years.  Still, perfect games remain one of the most impressive and rare feats in all of baseball.  With two already this season (three if you could Galarraga’s outing), it seems that baseball fans should grow to expect superb pitching performances in the future, versus excellent offensive games.  The statistics of players surely support this notion, as do the increased prices of tickets on the secondary market for games in which popular pitchers are starting.

Baseball definitely is changing, and this change in pitching might be the most drastic change of all.  With that, expect to see a pitchers duel rather than a slugfest next time you’re at the ballpark.

Be sure to follow us on Twitter @SeatGeekMLB, or email justin@seatgeek.com for more MLB news, analysis and ticket information.