And Red Sox win both games
Posted on 05/06/2009 12:02:55 AM PDT by raccoonradio
Hundreds of irate fans - some who claim Yankee employees told them the game had been rained out - stormed away from Yankee Stadium before Monday night's game against the Red Sox even got underway and couldn't get back in, resulting in a an ugly scene at one of the ticket gates.
With rain falling for hours and no start time announced until shortly before 9 p.m., hordes of fans began leaving the Stadium and heading home - some who said they had been advised that the game had been called by Yankee employees who walked the concourse holding pinstriped "How may I help you?" signs.
When a 9:20 p.m. start time was eventually announced over the public address system, a crowd on the sidewalk outside Gate 6 tried to get back into the Stadium, only to have the employees working the turnstiles promptly close the doors in their faces. Panicked fans began racing up and down the sidewalk, trying to find a way back into the ballpark, while others remained at Gate 6 either pleading or demanding to be let back in.
"We talked to the security personnel, who said there was zero chance they were going to play the game," said Tom Stuart, a 27-year-old from Astoria who waited out most of the rain delay before leaving with his girlfriend. "We spent three hours drinking beer - you can't drink much because they're 10 bucks apiece - now they're going to play a game in front of 35 fans."
Becky Wright, who flew in from Oregon for Monday night's game, had bought two tickets as a birthday present for her 16-year-old son, Seth O'Neil. They left the game because "the guys holding the 'How may I help you signs?' said they weren't going to play," said Wright. They were among the hundreds of fans outside Gate 6 trying to get back into the Stadium.
Jason Zillo, a Yankee spokesman, said the team has a firm no-reentry policy. He also said the NYPD and Stadium security hadn't let any fans back into the ballpark.
"We're a part of hundreds of people, if not thousands," said Martin Watson, a 39-year-old New Yorker who spent $800 for four tickets and tried to reenter through Gate 6. "This is not fan-friendly. This is B.S. You pay money for a top-of-the-line franchise, and you get bottom-of-the-line customer service."
"I built this Stadium and they won't let me in it," a man wearing a local union jacket said before storming off.
While fans were being rebuffed outside Gate 6, scores were having their tickets rescanned outside Gate 4 and being allowed back into the Stadium, but that lasted only for a limited time.
One fan, who was wearing a No. 2 Derek Jeter jersey and a backward Yankee hat, approached a reporter to say he had been let back in, but couldn't do so because the Yankees wouldn't rescan his father's ticket. A turnstile supervisor directed the reporter and several fans to the customer service window, which was locked.
At least one fan was arrested outside the Stadium. Roseanna Franco, 25, of White Plains, was charged with assault, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest after she allegedly kicked a New York City police officer after not being let back in.
Stadium security also threatened to revoke the credential of Daily News photographer Robert Sabo, who was shooting the scene outside Gate 6 - a location photographers weren't prohibited from working at on Opening Day.
"They were super-embarrassed and told me to go back to my position on the field or they'd take my credential," Sabo said.
After most of the crowd had dispersed outside Gate 6, turnstile workers opened the doors and began letting people back into the Stadium. But it was already too late for hundreds of fans.
"This is unfair what they did to the people," said one Yankee employee who witnessed the entire scene outside Gate 6. He declined to give his name for fear of losing his job, but added: "For the people who left the game, what are they going to do about their money?"
A one-point-five billion dollar stadium, the highest payroll in the league, and this is how they treat paying customers?
Screw MLB and the Yankees . Anybody who flies all the way from Oregon to see a ballgame is nutso . USA going third world quickly .
Heard about this tonight on Red Sox radio network...they were saying before, when Daddy George ran the Yanks (or
Phineas T Bluster, as Peter Gammons called him) either this wouldn’t happen, or, if it did, heads would roll. Now the
two (or three?) sonny-boys of George are in charge and it’s been a disaster/laugh-fest... (for Sox fans at least)
Top seats behind homeplate at Miller Park are $125, and $30.00 will get you some really good seats.
Hope they don’t feel too bad. The Yankees were never let back into the game either.
Ma~Bear :-)
I hope these fans get comped so they can see the Sox beat the Yankees in better weather.
Sorry, couldn't resist.
We do the same thing at Fenway Paak. If you got a Yankees cap on, the game is canceled, go home. Get on I-95 and keep going south.
MLB treats fans like crap anyway.
No way should games should start at 9:20 pm (and end at 1:10 am).
I’m sure the Sky Boxes were filled to capacity. I’m happy any time something bad happens to Steinbrenner. Hell, I’m happy when anything bad happens to professional sports teams and the entities that are associated with them—NLB, ALB, NFL, AFL, NHL and NBA. And that goes for college sports, too.
I’m not sure to what extent drug enhancement is a factor in tennis and golf or I would include them, too.
I agree, particularly on a weeknight. But since MLB is no longer interested in playing double headers and because of the unbalanced schedule/interleague play, it's too hard to reschedule rained out games, particularly if you are playing an opponent not in your division (which wasn't the case here).
I don't get MLB scheduling sometimes. For instance, Cleveland's home opener was against Toronto--their only home date with Toronto all year. Why--WHY--would MLB schedule a home opener in Cleveland, in April, against a team that Cleveland won't see again all year? It's scheduling stupidity, and because of that stupidity, one of the games had something like a four hour rain delay.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2245223/posts
This is a good deal?
Tickets at the NYC ballparks when I was growing up (50s and early 60s) had a TOP price of $3.50 (three dollars and fifty cents)! All box seats were $3.50. All reserved seats were $2.50. General Admission (do they have that anymore?) was $1.25 or $1.50 and bleacher seats were $0.75. And we got to see Willie, Mickey, and the Duke!
I recently looked at the Mets site to see about tickets for my son's birthday. You need to take out a second mortgage for some of the tickets. There are dozens of price levels based upon seat location now; and then these vary depennding upon which team is visiting. I just cannot imagine a bunch of high school kids getting together to go to a game now, the way my friends and I frequently did 35-40 years ago.
The camera angles on the Met telecasts look different to me now. The view from behind the pitcher is sufficiently tight that only the first two rows of seats are visible. They seem to be showing a view from behind first more often that looks toward second base and the distant (and relatively cheaper) left field seats which are mostly full. The usual view from behind home plate looks out to the also full outfield seats which used to cost seventy five cents.
Sometimes there is a pop-up which forces the TV crew to allow a brief glimpse of those pricey seats behind home which are mostly empty now. There will come a time when teams like the Mets wonder what happened to their fan base as this generation's high-schoolers become adults.
ML/NJ
WWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!
Yes, that new ballpark is just adding lustre and loyalty to the Yankee franchise.
circus
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