How to get the best deals on Mets and Yankees tickets

As the baseball season begins, there is hope for Yankees and Mets fans who want to see a game without having to raid their kid's college fund. 

Those looking for a deal can often find good seats at cheaper prices for many games than they could have a decade ago.

In fact, $5 tickets can be had for some Yankees games this year at the Terrace level --  including the second home game of the season on April 12, provided you have a MasterCard. And bargains are also available for Mets tickets. 

You just have to know where to look -- and when to buy. 

Klapisch: Baseball's 10 people to watch in 2017

Pete Caldera's 2017 Baseball Predictions

Matt Ehalt's 2017 Baseball Predictions

Want the best price for Mets tickets? Check their Wednesday and Thursday night games at Citi Field.

Prefer the Yankees? Look for Monday and Wednesday games.

If you buy your tickets through the team's website, buy as early as possible - the Yankees this season joined the Mets in the "dynamic pricing" game, meaning the price of many tickets for most games is changing by the hour.

PODCAST: Best deals on Mets and Yankees tickets

But if you are comfortable with secondary ticket markets such as Stubhub.com, do the opposite. The longer you wait, the lower the prices are likely to get on such sites.

This is the world of buying sports tickets in 2017. Just as with buying an automobile or making airline flights and hotel reservations, a savvy customer can get a great deal and an unwitting one can expect to pay the price - literally.

The Yankees will offer $10 grandstand tickets for every home game and, for $15, fans can get standing-room-only access and a free beer as they watch from numerous “social gathering locations” around the stadium. Meanwhile, Mets fans age 60-plus can get 50 percent off seating in select areas for certain games.

The marketplace has lowered the price for games against lesser teams or for games in which the home team is out of contention and for games in inclement weather. But the same supply-and-demand force has driven the very best game prices sky-high.

The Yankees, for instance, put single-game tickets on sale in February, with prices ranging from $10 to $375 for their May 13 game against the Houston Astros. For the game the next night, tickets cost $90 minimum and more than $500 for seats at the field level.

Why the big shift? May 14 is Derek Jeter Night, when the Hall of Fame-bound shortstop will have his No. 2 jersey retired by the Yankees in a pregame ceremony at Yankee Stadium and have a plaque unveiled in Monument Park.

5 Keys to the Mets' 2017 season

5 Keys to the Yankees' 2017 season

Bob Klapisch's 2017 Baseball Predictions

Those differing prices are similar to the Mets' use of four tiers of "variable pricing" to rank games according to popularity - and therefore cost. You can buy a three-game package, for instance, and pay $55, $66, and $77 for those games while sitting in the exact same seat each time. The highest-priced game would be against the team expected to be the most desirable opponent or closest rival.

As for variable pricing, as the Mets put it on their website, “Prices for all games may be adjusted on a real-time basis, either upwards or downwards, based on market demand.”

Parents with a child who want to go to a birthday-celebration game, for example, now have to make a decision whether to lock in the current available price – or “roll the dice” and wait. If the local pro team goes on a winning streak, a dramatic trade is made, the ace starting pitcher will pitch that day or the weather forecast proves ideal, then waiting will have cost you. A downturn in the team's play and a chance of showers, meanwhile, saves you money - even it means you might get wet.

But Joris Drayer, an associate professor of sport and recreation management at Temple University, said franchises have been fairly conservative regarding the extent of their "dynamics."

"It's usually pretty tame, no more than 10 percent or so," said Drayer, who previously worked in the marketing department of the Oakland Athletics baseball team. "But those few dollars can make a big difference for teams, with thousands of seats at dozens of home games. It just gives teams the flexibility - if the team makes a pennant run or goes on a 15-game winning streak - to capitalize somewhat on that and not let all the extra money go to the ticket brokers."

Dr. Stephen Shapiro, an associate professor of sports management at Old Dominion University whose specialties include sports ticket pricing, said that there is a reason some franchises have been wary of dynamic pricing.

“It can come across as price-gouging, so teams have to be wary of a perception that they are just looking for a way to raise prices,” Shapiro said. “But it’s actually an appropriate response for them to effectively price tickets. It doesn’t make sense for them to just guess what the value is going to be.”

Shapiro said fans will get used to the fact that buying sports tickets is now similar to booking an airline flight, so that customers in similar sections will all pay different prices in each case.

Do any fans benefit from dynamic pricing?

“Fans that are knowledgeable about the process, and who are willing to search around, come out ahead,” Shapiro said. Drayer and Shapiro both said that traditional fans who only want to buy on the official team website likely will do better to buy early, since teams are more eager to send prices on their websites up rather than drop them down. The opposite can be true of secondary market sites such as Stubhub, Shapiro said, because there the ticket sellers are fans who may be willing to settle for a modest loss on tickets that they can’t use or no longer want.

Franchises are wise not to push ticket prices to the absolute market limit, Shapiro said, because fans who are pleased with their purchase price are liable to simply spend more on high-profit merchandise and food and beverage while being more satisfied with their overall experience. Ticket brokers have made “bets” on the value of game tickets for many years.

So where do the best deals tend to be?

Nate Rattner, a spokesman for the SeatGeek secondary ticket market analysis firm, agrees with the professors that customers of the secondary markets should be patient.

“For many matchups, prices tend to come down the week leading to the game,” said Rattner, whose company researched last season's numbers to find which weeknights offer the best deals at each stadium. “Last season, both Mets and Yankees fans who bought tickets more than a week before a game spent 25 percent more than those that bought tickets in the last few days before a game.”

The team's home openers - Monday for the Mets and April 10 for the Yankees - present their own challenges since so many winter-weary fans in the area make attending an annual tradition - are showing how much prices can vary by the day. For instance, the average resale price on the secondary markets for the Yankees' home opener went from $136 to $97 to $73 to $105 in a span of four consecutive days last week.

Meanwhile, that free promotional item is liable to cost you in the end: Fans paid an average of $13 more for tickets on the secondary market last year on games that featured a bobblehead “giveaway,” Rattner said.

There are discounts available for senior citizens, children, and veterans as well for many games of both the Mets and Yankees.

"My advice is this," said Drayer. "Find a ticket for a game at a price you are willing to pay, and buy it. You can speculate and then torture yourself if the price goes down, but that's no way to be happy. It's like the stock market - or a sports bet. That's the nature of buying sports tickets these days."

Citi Field tickets guide

Best sections

• Delta Club Sections 11-19. Best seats in the house, behind home plate with padded seats, access to three limited-access “clubs,” and in-seat food and beverage service.
• Caesars Club, Box and Gold, Sections 309-329. Padded seats and access to three clubs plus indoor bar with good views.
• Promenade Club 406 to 423. Midlevel prices for above-average seats, and sections 413-416 are foul ball heaven.
• Coca-Cola Corner. The former Pepsi Porch is the upper deck in right field. Come early and catch a batting practice home run ball.
• Field Box 109-110 and 125-126. Lower level seats just beyond the infield, Acela Club access, and a chance for autographs (for Mets autographs, especially Section 110).
• Bridge Terrace 143. These are ticketed seats in right-center field, but actually they are sets of four seats at each of 18 tables, so it's a unique opportunity.
• Big Apple Reserved 140-142. Lower-level seats in center field for about $35, good for kids given the batting cage, dunk tank, and visits from the Mr. Met mascot.

Source: bestbaseballseats.com

Best 2017 promotions

• April 9 vs Marlins – Rally Towel Night
• April 22 vs Nationals – Matt Harvey Garden Gnome Day
• May 6 vs Marlins – Noah Syndergaard Hair Hat Night
• May 20 vs Angels – David Wright Figurine Night
• June 17 vs Nationals – Bucket Hat Day
• July 1  vs Phillies – Asdrubal Cabrera Bobblehead Day
• July 22 vs Athletics – Noah Syndergaard/Thor Bobblehead Night
• July 23 vs Athletics – Yoenis Cespedes Compression Sleeve Day
• Aug 19 vs Marlins – Yoenis Cespedes Bobblehead Night

Full list here.

Best recurring deals

• At every Friday home game, all fans receive a Mets themed T-Shirt, with themes changing with each game.
• Fireworks go off from the Citi Field roof and from the center field grass on Super Saturdays.
• Family Sundays. Every home Sunday game features pregame inflatables, face painting and music, while youngsters 12 and under can run the bases with Mr. Met after the game.
• Fans  age 60-plus can get 50 percent off seating in select areas for certain games, with purchase on the day of the game only.

Yankee Stadium ticket guide

Best sections

• Legends Suites 11-29. For your $400 per ticket or so, padded, theater-style seats right behind home plate.
• Main sections 213-227B. Closer to the field than similar seats, and better viewing angle being between the dugouts.
• Field sections 110-111. Best chance to get a Yankees’ autograph. Or just stroll down here during pregame batting practice.
• Grandstand 415-425. At the highest level, so make sure you obtain a low row number for best value.
• Grandstand 407 A and 433. These are the alcohol-free sections, if that’s appealing.
• Mohegan Sun Sports Bar. But only if watching the game from a sports bar in center field sounds like a great idea.
• Bleachers 201 and 239. Only $5! What’s the catch? Oh, the Batter’s Eye Café in center field means that from these sections, your view of left field or right field is obstructed. Still, $5.

Source: bestbaseballseats.com

Best 2017 promotions

• April 28 vs Orioles – Fleece Blanket Night
• May 14 vs Astros – Derek Jeter Night (you may need to take out a loan to afford tickets)
• May 26 vs Athletics – Freezer Mug Night
• June 9 vs Orioles – Reggie Jackson Bobblehead Night
• June 11 vs Orioles – Bat Day
• June 25 vs Rangers – Old-Timers' Day
• July 9 vs Brewers – Whitey Ford Bobblehead Day
• Aug 25 vs Mariners – Star Wars Night: Darth Vader Yankees Knit Cap
• Sept 17 vs Orioles – 1977 World Championship Fan Ring Day

Full list is here.

Best recurring deals

• The Yankees this year will offer $10 grandstand tickets for every home game.
• Another new feature is “Pinstripe Pass,” which, for prices starting at $15, gets you a standing-room-only access and a free drink (beer/soda/water). Fans can watch the game from numerous “social gathering locations” around the stadium.
• Terrace Level, Grandstand, or Bleachers available for just $5 (plus fees) for three early-season and one late-season midweek games. These tickets are half-price with MasterCard for five other games.
• Active military members can buy tickets for most sections for midweek home games.
• Fans age 60 and over get discounted pricing for many midweek home games all season – but as with the military discount, these must be purchased at the stadium before the game.
• Fans age 14 and younger get half-price seats for dozens of games.