Yankees

Which Baseball Team Is It Most Expensive To Go See?

Filed under: Sports

Baseball season is just beginning, time for peanuts and Cracker Jacks and a fresh hope that your team will make it to the World Series in October. Which team does it cost the most to cheer on? The annual study by Team Marketing Report reveals that the Chicago Cubs have the highest average ticket prices in baseball. The average price for Cubs tickets is $52.56, just a handful of change above the Boston Red Sox at $52.32. But the Red Sox win when it comes to a more real evaluation, the FCI. The FCI is the fan cost index, the cost for the average family of four to attend a game. The FCI takes into account prices for two adult tickets, two children's tickets, two small draft beers, four small soft drinks, four hot dogs, two programs, two baseball caps and parking for one car. An afternoon at Fenway will run you $334.78, a full $18 more than seeing the Yankees, who ruled last year with a steep FCI of $410.88. The league average FCI is $195.13.

The best bargain is the Los Angeles Angels with a FCI of $124.90. The average FCI is down as many teams are offering cheaper concession items or other discounts. The Yankees are still on top when it comes to premium seats. The Team Marketing report says the average premium seat at Yankees Stadium is $312.11, far down from last year's price which topped $500 but still steep enough for the top slot.

Tags: baseball, chicago cubs, fan cost index, fenway park, red sox, sports tickets, ticket prices, yankee stadium, yankees

Big Givers Donate To Haiti

by Amanda Gordon (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Charity, Big Givers

The response to the earthquake tragedy in Haiti was almost immediate, and just days afterward, millions of dollars have been raised, a lot of it through small donations of $5 or $10 transmitted through the humble text message. But there's another kind of giving that has emerged too: Single donations in much larger amounts, from the likes of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, Olivia Wilde, Tiger Woods, Madonna. Hopefully the list will grow and grow.

Why is it so gratifying though to hear about celebrities making donations? Perhaps because by doing so, they're doing something we've already done, something that thousands of ordinary people are doing. A crisis reminds us that we're all vulnerable, we're all responsible for helping. And that's what it is going to take to bury the dead, take care of the living, and rebuild Haiti.

So when George Clooney asks for your donation tonight, during the Hope for Haiti telethon he is hosting on MTV, you won't just be saying "yes" to an incredibly magnetic movie star, you'll be joining a community of people wanting to help. It's as simple as that. Celebrities undeniably bring some glamour and sparkle to the task of fundraising, and that's okay. It is after all a difficult and serious business. We're lucky to have them.

Check out the gallery below for a look at the amounts donated so far.

Gallery: Haiti's Big Givers

Tags: angelina jolie, AngelinaJolie, ben stiller, BenStiller, brad pitt, BradPitt, brangelina, celebrity donations, CelebrityDonations, donations, earthquake, haiti, yankees

Yankees Win! Celebrate with Autographed 2009 World Series Baseballs

by Deb West (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Sports

Yankee fan or not, I think we'd all like to pitch the first ball of the World Series, or get the double play at second base, or even be the bat boy for the big game. Part of the American consciousness centers around baseball and every fan, from the little league team players to the old timers who remember when the Dodgers played in Brooklyn, was tuned into the great spectacle that was the World Series.

The closest most of us will ever get to being a part of history is watching from the stands munching on our peanuts or Cracker Jack popcorn. There is hope, while we may never take the field, we can own a piece of history. A lucky few will catch a foul ball at a World Series game but the rest of us will have to purchase one from Steiner Sports.

Steiner Sports has a Derek Jeter Autographed 2009 World Series Baseball for sale. In September of 2009 Jeter collected his 2,722 breaking the long standing record held by Lou Gehrig for 70 years. This accomplishment just added one more accolade to the resume of this former Rookie of the Year and current captain of the team. The baseball is hand signed and comes with a certificate of authenticity for $500.

If A-Rod is more your style you can pick up an autographed 2009 World Series Ball that is the first of its kind. While A-Rod has already hit more than 550 home runs and played in more than 10 All-Star games it is Alex Rodriguez's first trip to the World Series. Therefore creating a unique opportunity for the serious collector, available for $400 with a Steiner Sports Certificate of Authenticity.

A signed ball is a very cool piece of history to own, just don't let the dog get hold of it!

For those of you who wish the old stadium was still around and think there has never been and will never be players like the greats of times past you can indulge in collectors items as well. There is a hand signed Mitchell and Ness 1956 Mickey Mantle Yankees home Jersey signed by the great himself offered for $7,500.

The ultimate combination of old and new can also be had, one can sit in front of the flat screen in the living room in a pair of seats from the original Yankee Stadium signed but current Yankees stars. Derek Jeter/Mariano Rivera/Jorge Posada/Andy Pettite have jointly signed a pair of seats form the old stadium. This limited edition series of 96 is being offered for $1,900 a pair. Just think next year you could have the best Yankees seats in the house, your house!

Tags: 2009 world series champs, 2009WorldSeriesChamps, A-Rod, autographed baseball, AutographedBaseball, baseball, Derek Jeter, DerekJeter, Mickey Mantle, MickeyMantle, sports celebrities, SportsCelebrities, World Series, WorldSeries, Yankees

Didn't Get World Series Tickets? How About Buying the Ticket Booth!

by Deb West (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Sports

Disappointed you didn't get tickets to the first game of the World Series this evening? Well, here's your chance to own a piece of history.

New York-based Steiner Sports is offering a one-of-a-kind opportunity to own a piece of history: a Yankee Stadium Ticket Booth. The price of the booth is $20,000.

The ticket booth is just one of many iconic and cherished items from the original Yankee Stadium, a landmark that is regarded as one of the most significant monuments in sports history. Yankees-Steiner Collectibles, which is a division of Steiner Sports, is the exclusive provider of game-used memorabilia from the original and current Yankee Stadium.

Steiner Sports offers many other collectibles for purchase including the seats where Reggie Jackson's monstrous home runs landed as well as the sod where Yankees legends stood to say their final goodbyes to their beloved Stadium.

The company also has an array of autographed sports memorabilia signed by the likes of Hank Aaron, Joe Namath, Muhammad Ali and Derek Jeter, among others.

The ticket booth is not available for purchase through the web; interested buyers should call Steiner Sports directly at (800) 759-SCORE or (914) 307-1000. Other memorabilia from Yankee Stadium are also available via a public sale and at auction by visiting Steiner Sports' website.

Tags: memorabilia, ticket booth, TicketBooth, tickets, World Series, WorldSeries, Yankees, YankeeStadium

Celebrate the 2009 World Series with Steuben Crystal Baseball Bats

by Deb West (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Events, Sports

Calling all Yankees and Phillies fans, check this out.

For the baseball enthusiast who is also a discerning collector Steuben adds a classic twist on memorabilia with their Major League Baseball Collection. The new Steuben design features a regulation size bat made of the finest pure crystal. This is the same design used for the Ted Williams All-Star Game Most Valuable Player award presented by Chevrolet, and given to Carl Crawford of the Tampa Bay Rays this year.

Both the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies bats are engraved with the teams logos. Even if your team didn't make it to the World Series this year, don't despair! The complete collection includes bats for each and every team in the American and National leagues. The regulation-size bats are retailing for $6,650 a 30% discount off the regular price of $9,500. The collection includes smaller bats as well as other pieces for the collector who wants a high quality engraved item at a lower price.

What might seem to be an unusual partnership is really a unique match between two American classics. All the pieces in the MLB collection are handcrafted by Steuben in their Corning, NY factory. Each piece is made by skilled artisans, carefully inspected and signed with a diamond-tipped pen. Any piece that is discovered to have imperfections is destroyed as there is no second best for Steuben or Major League Baseball.

Tags: baseball, crystal, Phillies, Steuben, World Series, WorldSeries, Yankees

World Series Tickets Already Available

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Sports

After last night's game the New York Yankees are hopeful that their World Series dreams are about to come true. And their fans are hopeful too, jumping on the first round of World Series tickets which went on sale this morning. Prices range from $51 to $1,706. Tickets in the Legends area run from $731 to $1706 and offer a close-up view of the action. In order to accommodate more fans the Yankees will make 59 Café seats per game on the Field Level concourse available for $156 per ticket and approximately 220 standing room tickets per game for dedicated standing locations on the Field and Main Levels available for $104 and $93, respectively, per ticket.

Source

Tags: baseball, mlb, sports, tickets, world series, WorldSeries, yankees

Rare Baseball Photo Sells For Record Price

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Sports

The historic photo shown above could soon be displayed at Yankee Stadium. The near-mint condition photograph is signed by 30 members of the legendary "Murderer's Row" 1927 New York Yankees team and was recently purchased for a record $350,000 which is the most ever paid for a vintage sports photograph. Joe Orlando, President of PSA/DNA Authentication Services in Newport Beach, California which certified the authenticity of the autographs says that the price is nearly 70 percent higher than the last time this autographed picture was sold in an auction less than three years ago. The purchase by an anonymous buyer was brokered by

Memory Lane, Inc. of Tustin, California which also sold the autographed photo for $206,000 in a December 2006 auction.

The 1927 Yankees have been described as the greatest baseball team of all time, winning 110 games and losing only 44. The signatures include names which still resonate today including Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. Orlando says that several other team-signed copies of this photograph exist but some of the autographs on those pictures are so-called 'clubhouse' signatures, signed by other players or other ball club personnel. The autographs on this photo were personally obtained by Yankees pitcher George Pipgras who passed down the photo down to his daughter, LeMorn Pipgras Simpson who later sold it for $80,000.

Gallery: Most Valuable Baseball Collectibles

Joe DiMaggio's rookie New York Yankees uniform

Source

Tags: baseball, sports memorabilia, SportsMemorabilia, yankees

The Tommy Bahama Bar at the New Yankee Stadium

by Annie Scott (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Spirits

If you're going to be visiting Yankee Stadium, be sure and check out the new Tommy Bahama Bar just inside Gate Six.

The Tommy Bahama Bar is located in the perfect place for meeting friends -- Gate 6 is the first gate you see when you get off the subway. Better still? They serve delicious drinks made with Tommy Bahama Rum!

Tommy Bahama Rum has been gaining momentum since its release in 2007, especially at the Tommy Bahama Cafes around the world. The rum is handcrafted in Barbados by R.L. Seale, a family owned and operated distillery with four generations of experience. The rum incorporates all natural ingredients -- blackstrap molasses, coral-filtered water, and yeast, and is fermented in small batches. The White Sand version is aged for two years in oak, and then the color is filtered out. The Golden Sun, amber-colored Tommy Bahama rum gets its color from three years of aging in oak. Tommy Bahama Rum is being distributed by Sidney Frank -- the same company who brought you Grey Goose and Jagermeister.

Marrying a sexy, high quality rum with a lifestyle brand like Tommy Bahama is a brilliant move. When you think Tommy Bahama, you think tropical, and what goes in tropical drinks? Rum.

I spoke briefly with Tommy Bahama CEO Terry Pillow about the collaboration and the new bar at Yankee Stadium. Click through the gallery to read the interview and see more of the new Tommy Bahama Bar!

Gallery: The Tommy Bahama Bar at Yankee Stadium

Annie Scott and Tommy Bahama CEO Terry Pillow

Gate 6 Great Hall - The Bar is Visible at the End

Check out our brother site Gadling for exclusive photos of the new Yankee Stadium.

Tags: rum, terry pillow, tommy bahama, tommy bahama rum, TommyBahamaRum, yankee, yankees, yankees stadium, YankeesStadium

Alex Rodriguez Selling His Homes, Estates of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

Baseball player Alexander "A-Rod" Rodriguez has been in the news a lot lately and it hasn't been for his skills on the baseball diamond. A-Rod is currently going through a divorce and is rumored to be Madonna's new man. He's also dropped a bit of real estate on the market. The Real Estalker recently had a piece on the New York and Florida properties he has up for sale.

Rodriguez and his ex-wife Cynthia have put their four-bedroom unit at the Trump Park Avenue on the market for $14 million. The apartment has been renovated for today's casual buyer with a large family room and open kitchen space. The listing for the apartment is here.

He has also put his home in Coral Gables, Florida on the market. The Mediterranean home built in 1952 was purchased by the Rodriguez family for $12 million in 2005. The home sits on the water with more than an acre of land and has six bedrooms, a pool and a three-car garage. The grand home does have some rather dramatic choices in wallpaper but the pool area and outdoor space is lovely. It is listed at $14.876 million.

UPDATE: As of January 2009, Rodriguez has done some major price chopping. The NYC apartment is down to $10 million and the Coral Gables home is listed at $12.3 million, not much more than he paid for it.

SECOND UPDATE: The NYC home has sold and the Coral Gables home is now listed at $9,999,999 million.

Experience more lush living in luxury homes and mansions or see the stars living large with celebrity homes galleries at AOL Real Estate.

Gallery: Alex Rodriguez's New York Apartment

Gallery: Alex Rodriguez in Coral Gables

Tags: a rod, alex rodriguez, AlexRodriguez, ARod, baseball, celebrity real estate, CelebrityRealEstate, coral gables, CoralGables, estate of the day, EstateOfTheDay, florida, new york, NewYork, yankees

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Mets Sell Out Luxury Suites At New Ball Park

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Sports

Wall Street may be in turmoil but that hasn't affected the need for luxury baseball suites yet it seems. Bloomberg reports that the New York Mets have already sold out the luxury suites in their new stadium, Citi Field. These 49 suites start at $250,000 a year and go up to $500,000. Mets season-ticket holders are also renewing even though the prices for the team's first season at the new $800 million ballpark are higher (the top ticket price is $495). All this at a time when the financial services sector, traditionally a big spender on luxury suites for sporting events, is rapidly bleeding jobs. Dave Howard, the team's executive vice president for business operations, has said that troubled companies Lehman, AIG and Bear Stearns were not purchasers but Citigroup did pay $20 million a year for naming rights.

Not to be outdone, the New York Yankees are also moving into a new ballpark next season that has 56 luxury suites in four different categories and a top ticket price of $2,500 a game. The NY Times reports that those suites are also nearly sold out too.

UPDATE: Bloomberg reports that the Yankees have seven luxury suites unsold at $600,000 a pop and that they expect to sell out.

Source

Tags: baseball, mets, new york, yankees

Derek Jeter Movado Watches

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches, Sports

Derek Jeter's collaboration with Movado has resulted in four new watches sporting Yankees-style pinstripe design. The fanciest model in the Special Edition Series 800 Chronograph Watches is the Limited Edition Movado Series 800 Derek Jeter Chronograph in 18K rose gold. It is a series of 10 pieces and has a 47mm case with sapphire crystals on both sides and an alligator strap. Jeter's name and team number decorate the edge of the caseback, and the 18K central winding mass has his number on it. It sells for $25,000.

There is also a version in black PVD-finished "Performance Steel" and 18K rose gold with a black strap in kevlar-reinforced "XtremeResin". It retails for $7,700. Two Special Edition Series 800 Derek Jeter Chronographs in Performance Steel have a matching steel bracelet, blue or black stripe-textured dials with silvered subdials, and battery-powered ETA quartz chronograph calibers. They sell for $1,700.

Movado will donate $100,000 to Jeter's Turn 2 Foundation, which works with kids to inspire them to avoid drugs and alcohol and "turn 2" education and a healthy lifestyle.

Movado has also done a similar series with Tom Brady and though I will always be a Boston girl (and a Boston sports fan) at heart, I have to admit Jeter's watches are more stylish.

Tags: derek jeter, DerekJeter, movado, timepieces, watches, yankees

Win A Yankee Stadium Proposal

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry, Sports

If you've ever thought you might want to do the stereotypical baseball stadium proposal, here's your chance to do it without having to spring for the rock, provided that you are a Yankees fan. Jewelry retailer Michael C. Fina, Hearts On Fire diamonds and N.Y. Yankees All-Star pitcher Mariano Rivera are offering a contest called The Final Engagement. Fans who write a short essay (250 words or less) describing why they should be chosen will be entered into the contest to win a 1.5-carat Hearts On Fire diamond engagement ring valued up to $40,000, plus four tickets to the Sept. 18 game and to propose live via the Diamond Vision screen. Winners will be chosen based on love of the Yankees as well as a creative and persuasive essay. For each entry, Michael C. Fina and Hearts On Fire will donate $1 to the Mariano Rivera Foundation, a nonprofit that benefits underprivileged children. The contest ends August 31.

[via National Jeweler]

Source

Tags: baseball, diamonds, engagement, hearts on fire, proposal, yankees

Johnny Damon's New York Apartment, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

The Wall Street Journal and Bob over at Berg Properties led me to the listing for Johnny Damon's gorgeous 2,410 square foot apartment at at 151 E. 58th Street. Damon bought the apartment for $5,555,000 back in 2006. Now I used to be a fan of Damon back before the hair, when he first started to play for the Red Sox but my affection for the man ended when he went to play for the Yankees. Still, respect must be paid for this is a lovely place and it saddens me to think of him giving this up for a place in the burbs with a pool as the WSJ mentioned.

The apartment has three bedrooms including a master suite with two walk-in closets and a dressing area and a master bath with marble mosaic floors, double sinks, a bathtub and a shower. The apartment on a high floor at One Beacon Park has views of Central Park and the Manhattan skyline and the building has concierge service, 24 hour doorman, fitness center, basement storage and valet parking. The windowed kitchen has stainless steel appliances, Italian Basaltina stone countertops and a large dining area with a banquette. It is listed at $8.2 million. After the jump, not a piece of sports memorabilia in sight but note what looks like a Harley Davidson pool table.

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Tags: baseball, johnny damon, JohnnyDamon, one beacon, red sox, yankees

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