It wouldn't be the middle of the offseason if I didn't write about spring training ticket prices, but I'm pleased to inform you that the good news keeps coming.
There has been noteworthy progress in the battle to make exhibition games more affordable, and the graphic below does most of the explaining:
| Team | Low | High |
| Angels | TBA | TBA |
| A's | $12 | $25 |
| Brewers | $13 | $22 |
| Cubs | $15 | $28 |
| D-Backs | $15 | $25 |
| Dodgers | $15 | $42 |
| Giants | TBA | TBA |
| Indians | $12 | $27 |
| Mariners | $12 | $23 |
| Padres* | $12 | $23 |
| Rangers* | $13 | $23 |
| Reds | $12 | $27 |
| Rockies | $15 | $25 |
| Royals | $13 | $23 |
| White Sox | $15 | $42 |
| *Denotes 2010 prices | ||
You read that right -- the White Sox are finally offering something resembling cheap seats. They reduced the price of their bottom three sections, with an especially dramatic reduction of their "baseline reserved" section. Having watched this kind of stuff for a while (it's one of my top two crusades), a 25 percent drop in a single season is a pleasant surprise.
Also, it's a nice gesture that it costs under $10 to provide your own seat. It cost $8 in Camelback Ranch's inaugural season, and it's back to where it started.
Of course, some issues remain. Camelback Ranch still hosts the most expensive seats in the Cactus League by far, as the chart to the right shows.
The White Sox and Dodgers are charging well more for their second-best section than every other Cactus League is charging for their top seats. Some clubs haven't released their 2011 prices, but they likely won't come close to matching what the Sox will charge for the "dugout field box" section, especially since they jacked up those seats by $5 to compensate for the lower prices elsewhere.
But hey, that the White Sox reduced prices at all, and significantly in some sections, is remarkable, because they've rarely budged from their determined "correct" prices, even in the face of attendance issues. Perhaps this will set a precedent for creating a much-needed "get into the park" price point at U.S. Cellular Field when the games start counting.
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Christian Marrero Reading Room:
*Paul Konerko believes Ozzie Guillen and Kenny Williams when they say the focus will be on the field in 2011.
*From the man who brought you "Mystery Team" comes a new enigma: Mystery Groin. Yes, Scott Boras says Manny Ramirez was derailed by an injury he didn't even know he had.
*J.J. tries to figure out what the Sox can do with Dayan Viciedo.
*Mike has some doubts, but ultimately calls the Konerko signing "perfectly cromulent."
*Among tweets with pictures of Juan Pierre working at a homeless shelter, Scott Reifert showed us the ad circulating around the city:
The great news -- if fans want to get a jump on the season when pitchers and catchers report, they have options for saving a little bit of money.
