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Baseball Capsules: AP-KN Poll: MLB fans feel priced out at ballpark
Comments 0 | Recommend 0Clarence Eckstein grew up in Ohio, when a great summer day meant driving 2½ hours with his dad to see Pete Rose and the Big Red Machine.
At 51, Eckstein still cheers for Cincinnati. From home, on TV.
"Tickets, gas, food, it's a few hundred dollars," he said. "Other bills are more of a priority."
He's got company. The high price of attending games is by far the biggest problem in Major League Baseball, an Associated Press-Knowledge Networks poll of fans released Thursday shows.
A whopping 63 percent said the steep cost was the game's top trouble - up from 45 percent in a survey right before opening day. Worries over players making too much money or taking steroids lagged behind.
"It's sad when people can't afford to come to a game. No doubt. I would love for every kid and every adult to be able to afford to come to a ballpark," Texas Rangers pitcher Eddie Guardado said. "Somebody's going to come up with a good idea to fix it."
MLB attendance is down more than 6 percent this season. The average ticket price is $26.64, up 5 percent over last season, according to the Team Marketing Report.
In other poll results:
- 72 percent of respondents said MLB is not doing enough to prevent the use of performance-enhancing drugs.
- 15 percent of fans who went to a game last year said they aren't likely to attend a game this year.
- About two-thirds said neither Manny Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds or Sammy Sosa should be allowed into the Hall of Fame if they are found to have taken steroids or performance-enhancing drugs.
Fans said soaring salaries (18 percent) and players taking banned drugs (14 percent) also were concerns. But more than anything, they felt priced out.
Players said they understand.
"It's definitely a big concern for me," Minnesota Twins outfielder Denard Span said. "Without the fans, this game, I don't think it really exists.
"I don't think anybody in here wants to play in front of nobody. So if ticket prices are going up, especially with the economy as bad as it is right now, where people can't afford to come to games, I think something definitely needs to be adjusted," he said.
Eckstein, who works on semi trucks in Celina, Ohio, has felt the crunch. He went to two Reds games last year, but doesn't plan to make it to Great American Ball Park this season.
Linda-Lee Sigmon, who runs her own monogramming and embroidery business in Orlando, Fla., also expects a shutout. Getting to Tropicana Field to see the Tampa Bay Rays is too pricey for her family.
"I have boys 11 and 12 years old, and as much as I'd love to take them to a game or two - that's the highlight of the summer - I can't do it," she said.
"My business has been severely impacted because of national economics. You go to the ballpark and get a hot dog and a Coke and the tickets and maybe a little souvenir and it's prohibitively expensive," she said. "Taking the kids to an old-fashioned ballgame is a major vacation."
MLB said two-thirds of its 30 teams cut their average ticket price or some level of seats this season. Even so, it's too much for some.
"With the economy the way it is in general, you're seeing people priced out of certain forms of entertainment. It's not just a baseball problem as much as it is an economical problem within our country," Los Angeles Angels outfielder Gary Matthews Jr. said.
"I think we still are the cheapest form of entertainment in sports," he said. "When you consider what NBA games run and the amount of games that they play, it's astronomical. Think about taking your family to an NBA game or an NFL game and see how much a day at the football stadium runs a family."
The AP-Knowledge Networks poll was conducted June 26 to July 5 and involved online interviews with 655 adults who said they were interested in Major League Baseball. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.
The poll was conducted over the Internet by Knowledge Networks, which initially contacted people using traditional telephone polling methods and followed with online interviews. People chosen for the study who had no Internet access were given it for free.
Methodology for baseball poll
The AP-Knowledge Networks poll on baseball was conducted June 26 to July 5 and is based on interviews of 655 adults who said they are fairly or very interested in Major League Baseball.
The national survey was conducted online by Knowledge Networks of Menlo Park, Calif., under the direction and supervision of AP's polling unit.
Knowledge Networks initially contacted people using traditional telephone polling methods and followed with an online interview. People chosen for the study who had no Internet access were given it for free. With a probability basis and coverage of people who otherwise couldn't access the Internet, the Knowledge Networks online surveys are nationally representative.
Results were weighted, or adjusted, to reflect the adult population by demographic factors such as age, sex, region, race, and education.
No more than one time in 20 should chance variations in the sample cause results to vary more than plus or minus 3.8 percentage points from the answers that would have been obtained if all adults in the U.S. who are interested in Major League Baseball were surveyed.
There are other, potentially greater, sources of variability in surveys, including the wording and order of the questions.
The questions and results for this poll are available at http://surveys.ap.org.
American League
A's to retire Henderson's number
OAKLAND, Calif. — Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson is getting his due from the Oakland Athletics.
The A's will retire Henderson's No. 24 jersey during a pregame ceremony Aug. 1, deemed "Rickey Henderson Day" by the club in tribute of the career leader in runs scored and stolen bases.
Henderson, 50, spent the majority of his 25 big league seasons — and some of his best years — with Oakland, which selected him the fourth round of the 1976 amateur draft.
Henderson will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., on July 26. He will be the fifth Oakland player to have his number retired, joining pitchers Catfish Hunter (No. 27), Rollie Fingers (34) and Dennis Eckersley (43), and outfielder Reggie Jackson (9).
Perkins will not start Friday
MINNEAPOLIS - Minnesota Twins starter Glen Perkins was still sick when he arrived at the ballpark Thursday and will not start against the White Sox on Friday.
Perkins missed his scheduled start on Wednesday against the Yankees after waking up with an illness. Manager Ron Gardenhire says Perkins met with a doctor on Thursday and received some medicine to treat the illness.
After Anthony Swarzak started in a 4-3 loss to the Yankees on Wednesday night, Francisco Liriano moved up a day in the rotation to face the Yankees in the series finale on Thursday.
Nick Blackburn also will move up a day to open the three-game series against Chicago on Friday. The Twins hope that Perkins will be ready pitch on Saturday.
Rolen, on a 25-game hitting streak, gets a rest
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Toronto third baseman Scott Rolen, who has hit safely in 25 straight games, is out of the starting lineup for Thursday's game against Tampa Bay.
Rolen is normally rested when the Blue Jays play a day game following a night game.
Over his career-high 25-game run, Rolen is hitting .390 (41 of 105). The team record is 28, set by Shawn Green in 1999.
Also, Toronto manager Cito Gaston will miss at least the first two games of a weekend series that starts Friday at Baltimore to attend funeral services for his sister. Bench coach Brian Butterfield will manage the Blue Jays while Gaston is away.
Storm knocks out power during Blue Jays-Rays
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Toronto Blue Jays' game against the Tampa Bay Rays was delayed for 20 minutes in the middle of the seventh inning by a thunderstorm that knocked out power to some of the lights at Tropicana Field.
The Rays were leading 3-2 when play was stopped Thursday afternoon.
Weather delays are rare at Tropicana Field, which has a permanent roof. The local power company told the Rays that the outage was caused by a lightning strike to a nearby substation.
Indians send Sowers to minors, activate Betancourt
CHICAGO - The Cleveland Indians have sent struggling left-hander Jeremy Sowers to Triple-A Columbus and activated reliever Rafael Betancourt from the disabled list.
The Indians announced the moves on Thursday before their game against the Chicago White Sox.
Tomo Ohka (1-2) will start in Sowers' place against Detroit on Sunday.
Sowers allowed four runs in 5 1-3 innings Wednesday against the White Sox, dropping his record to 2-7. Since going 7-4 with a 3.57 ERA as a rookie in 2006, he has gone 7-22 with a 5.85 ERA.
The 26-year-old's inability to consistently pitch deep into games is manager Eric Wedge's main concern.
Wedge said the Indians won't require a fifth starter until July 25, and Sowers would be considered for that outing.
National League
Pedro Martinez says agent negotiating with Phils
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — Pedro Martinez says his agent is negotiating with the Philadelphia Phillies, trying to get the pitcher back into the major leagues.
Martinez said the Phillies have been scouting him in his native Dominican Republic.
"The Phillies saw me this past Tuesday in a simulated game and I felt very good with my fastball and all my pitches," Martinez said Thursday.
Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. denied reports a deal was done, but confirmed the team's interest in the three-time AL Cy Young Award winner.
"He has not been signed," Amaro said before the NL East-leading Phillies played Cincinnati on Thursday night. "We've seen him pitch. He's not in town."
The 37-year-old Martinez is reported to have worked three innings in a simulated game against a Phillies summer league team, with his fastball clocked at up to 93 mph.
"I feel the best I have for some time," Martinez said.
The eight-time All-Star said it was up to his agent and the defending World Series champion Phillies to wrap up contract details.
Martinez went 5-6 with a 5.61 ERA for the New York Mets last year. The free agent pitched in the World Baseball Classic before this season started.
The Phillies have been hurt by injuries to their starting rotation. No. 2 starter Brett Myers had hip surgery in June and his replacement, Antonio Bastardo, landed on the disabled list after making five starts. Philadelphia already has used nine starters through 82 games. The Phillies used only seven starters last season.
Martinez is 214-99 with a 2.91 ERA in 17 seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Montreal, Boston and the Mets. He helped the Red Sox win the World Series in 2004.
Mets put OF Fernando Martinez on disabled list
NEW YORK - Top prospect Fernando Martinez is the latest New York Mets player to go down with an injury.
The rookie outfielder was placed on the 15-day disabled list Thursday with inflammation in his right knee. The move is retroactive to July 4.
To replace Martinez on the roster, the Mets recalled infielder Argenis Reyes from Triple-A Buffalo. Reyes was optioned to Buffalo after Tuesday night's game to open a spot for pitcher Oliver Perez, who came off the DL on Wednesday.
Reyes never left New York, however, according to team spokesman Jay Horwitz.
The 20-year-old Martinez is hitting .176 with a home run and eight RBIs in 91 at-bats. He joins eight other Mets on the DL, including Carlos Delgado, Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran.
Marlins' Badenhop hit by liner
PHOENIX — Florida Marlins reliever Burke Badenhop left Thursday night's game with a left knee contusion after being hit by a line drive off the bat of Arizona's Gerardo Parra.
Badenhop collapsed to the mound, where he remained for several seconds. The ball appeared at first to hit Badenhop in his throwing arm. He was attended by the trainer and eventually walked off, favoring his left leg.
X-rays were negative, and Badenhop was listed as day to day.
Brian Sanches replaced Badenhop with the Marlins trailing 6-0 in the fifth inning.
All-Star Game
Victorino, Inge elected by fans to All-Star game
NEW YORK - Philadelphia Phillies center fielder Shane Victorino and Detroit Tigers third baseman Brandon Inge have been elected by fans to Tuesday's All-Star game in record-shattering voting exclusively on MLB.com, the official Web site of Major League Baseball, and the individual club sites.
Victorino received 15.6 million votes and was followed by San Francisco's Pablo Sandoval, Arizona's Mark Reynolds, the Los Angeles Dodgers' Matt Kemp and Washington's Cristian Guzman.
Inge got 11.8 million ballots, finishing ahead of Texas' Ian Kinsler, the Los Angeles Angels' Chone Figgins, Tampa Bays' Carlos Pena and Toronto's Adam Lind.
"To all the fans across the country, mahalo for your support," said Victorino, a native of Hawaii. "I am so honored and appreciative of the passion that everyone has shown to make this dream come true, especially with the number of votes cast. It's just unbelievable."
The Phillies went all-out to get Victorino selected to his first All-Star game. He went door-to-door in South Philadelphia with Mayor Michael A. Nutter to campaign for votes on Monday. Three fans in their early 20s won a radio station promotion and sat in the press box lounge for 52 straight hours clicking nonstop on their computers for their favorite player. Fans in the ballpark and people listening to the game on radio or watching on television were constantly reminded to "Vote for Shane."
Even Victorino's teammates joined in the campaign while playfully poking fun at the player known as the "Flyin' Hawaiian." After Victorino delivered the game-winning hit in the ninth inning Wednesday night, Chan Ho Park walked out of the bullpen wearing a two-sided billboard that read: "Vote Victorino."
Elsewhere
Man guilty in crash that killed Billy Martin dies
MILFORD, Mich. - A man convicted of drunken driving in a crash that killed ex-New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers manager Billy Martin has died. William Reedy was 72.
Edward Swanson & Son Funeral Home said Thursday that Reedy had pancreatic cancer and died Sunday at his home in Milford, Mich.
Reedy was with Martin in a pickup truck that crashed near Martin's Binghamton, N.Y.-area farm on Christmas in 1989. Reedy first said he'd been driving, then said he lied to protect Martin's reputation.
A jury found him guilty despite his claim.
Reedy owned two bars near Tiger Stadium, the team's home until 1999.
A funeral Mass will be Friday at Most Holy Trinity Church in Detroit, with burial at Great Lakes National Cemetery.
Hearing for ex-Yankee Jim Leyritz postponed
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Former Yankees star Jim Leyritz burst into tears during a court hearing after learning a postponement would keep him in jail for at least another weekend.
A judge delayed a decision until Monday on whether Leyritz will be released on bond or await his upcoming DUI manslaughter trial in jail.
Leyritz became visibly angry, cursing under his breath Thursday and then sobbing. "If anything happens to my kids," he warned to the court as he was led away in handcuffs.
Leyritz's bond was revoked after the 45-year-old was arrested last week and accused by his ex-wife of beating her. His DUI trial is scheduled for Sept. 14.
Leyritz played for six teams in 11 seasons in the majors.
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