Faithful: Fans brave the hot sun at Camden Yards today, hoping for a chance to catch Cal one last time. (Sun photo by Lloyd Fox / June 19, 2001) |
Fans of the Iron Man lined up on Eutaw Street, on phones and online early this morning, hoping for a chance to see Cal Ripken play his final game in Baltimore.
Without deep pockets, most will be disappointed.
Tickets for the Orioles' final two home games, September 22 and 23 against the New York Yankees, were sold out as of mid-morning, team officials said. But for fans willing to fork it over for a chance to witness baseball history, tickets are still available from brokers hoping to cash in on Ripkens retirement announcement.
Brokers reached today quoted prices starting at $250 for bleacher seats to $1,000 in the lower box.
For 2131 it started at $250 a ticket and went to $3,000. We should be in that range, said Danny Matta of greatseats.com, a College Park ticket broker.
The difference with this ticket run, Matta says, is that Ripkens breaking of Lou Gehrigs consecutive games played streak was expected. This announcement was a surprise to both fans and the ticket market.
Were iced till tomorrow, Matta says, waiting to see what ticket price the market will bear.
Prices at online auctioneer eBay were also rising. Two tickets to the Orioles' final home game garnered almost 20 bids since Ripken's announcement was made public last night, pushing the two upper deck seats to $600 as of noon today.
For fans of lesser means, there is still hope of catching Cal at the Yard. Team officials say the standing-room only tickets for the Saturday, September 23 game have not yet been put on sale. They're usually sold on the day of the game.
Ripken's final professional game will be played in New York on Sept. 30. Yankees' officials said today that tickets are still available for the three games in that series (Sept. 28-30).
Without deep pockets, most will be disappointed.
Tickets for the Orioles' final two home games, September 22 and 23 against the New York Yankees, were sold out as of mid-morning, team officials said. But for fans willing to fork it over for a chance to witness baseball history, tickets are still available from brokers hoping to cash in on Ripkens retirement announcement.
Brokers reached today quoted prices starting at $250 for bleacher seats to $1,000 in the lower box.
For 2131 it started at $250 a ticket and went to $3,000. We should be in that range, said Danny Matta of greatseats.com, a College Park ticket broker.
The difference with this ticket run, Matta says, is that Ripkens breaking of Lou Gehrigs consecutive games played streak was expected. This announcement was a surprise to both fans and the ticket market.
Were iced till tomorrow, Matta says, waiting to see what ticket price the market will bear.
Prices at online auctioneer eBay were also rising. Two tickets to the Orioles' final home game garnered almost 20 bids since Ripken's announcement was made public last night, pushing the two upper deck seats to $600 as of noon today.
For fans of lesser means, there is still hope of catching Cal at the Yard. Team officials say the standing-room only tickets for the Saturday, September 23 game have not yet been put on sale. They're usually sold on the day of the game.
Ripken's final professional game will be played in New York on Sept. 30. Yankees' officials said today that tickets are still available for the three games in that series (Sept. 28-30).
