by Hans on September 12, 2009
Been a while since the last post at the Dugout. At the time, Boston still had the edge on the Yankees, Texas still led in the AL West, and the Mets actually had a shot at the playoffs.
Also of note, on June 21st, Adam Dunn’s average had fallen from his April .310 to .267 while his HR pace had fallen from 52 at the end of May to an un-Dunn-like 36. Some said that strikeouts, a weak surrounding lineup, and a stadium with larger dimensions than the bandbox in Cincy were and would continue to expose him for what he always was – a liability.
Instead, Dunn spent July with a .319 average and a whopping 1.043 OPS. In August, he followed that with a .297 average and a 1.112 OPS and is batting .302 so far this September.
There's no power outage in the nation's capital
He’s now on pace for 43 HR’s and could end the year batting north of .280 – despite having never finished a single season in his career with .267 or better.
All this, Nationals fans got for a 2009 salary of only $8 million. In contrast, other 2009 free agent signings include Cleveland’s Kerry Wood ($10 million 2009 salary), San Francisco’s Edgar Renteria ($7 million) and Randy Johnson ($8 million), New York’s Oliver Perez ($12 million), Tampa Bay’s Pat Burrell ($7 million), Chicago’s Milton Bradley ($5 million – $21 million more due in 2010/2011), and Los Angeles’ Rafael Furcal ($6.5 million – $20.5 million due in 2010/2011).
With this offseason’s free agent class headlined by Jason Bay and Matt Holliday, it will be interesting to see what bargains exist among the Aubrey Huff’s, Orlando Hudson’s, Adrian Beltre’s, and Bobby Abreu’s of the league.
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The 2009 Baseball season is finally underway. One thing that is up, more so this year than last, is the price of enjoying a cold beer and a sunny day inside the walls of a metro-market baseball stadium.
I think I’ll skip the Cubs and Yankee games this year and stick to my south side friends Cellular Field home (which still ranks in the top 10). Here are the 4 most expensive tickets in baseball (by average price).
1. New York Yankees – $72.97
Up over 75% from last years number, this steep increase helps cover the cost of the new Yankee Stadium.
2. Boston Red Sox – $50.24
Breaking their 13 year winning streak as the most expensive tickets, the BoSox fall to second place. Hopefully the highest status they attain all year.
3. Chicago Cubs – $47.75
This $45 cover charge will get you into old ivy, surrounded by a bunch of Midwestern brunettes that don’t really care for baseball. The good thing is they love their Old Style. As long as you don’t get stuck behind a column with a partial view, enjoy.
4. New York Mets – $36.99
The Mets are opening their new stadium in the number four slot for most expensive tickets in baseball. Not worth it for me – I’m more of a Yankees guy.
The Most Expensive Ticket in Baseball
That cover’s the top 4 average ticket prices for 2009, how about the overall top ticket. At $2,625 the premium, Legend Suites at the new Yankee Stadium are demanding the biggest dollars in baseball.
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