Bernie Madoff is a big reason the story exists today.
It was a combination of the economy at the moment The structure was set, the economics of MLB salary restrictions at the time, the money the Mets' owner thought he was getting from investments with Madoff... It's a bunch of stuff.
And ballpark food was gonna go way up anyway.
In 2001 A-Rod's pay goes from about 4 mil a year to 22 mil a year, as he joins Texas. I'm thinking there's 81 home games for Texas. If Texas was paying him out of ticket money from home games, and the Rangers averaged right at 35,000 a game.
22 mil / 81 games = $271.6k a game.
$271.6k / 35,000 = about $7.75 per each butt in a seat.
1981 average ticket price about $5
1994 average ticket price about $10
1999 average ticket price about $15
2004 average ticket price about $20
2021 average ticket price passes $35
By the early 1970s I had a car and could drive 300 miles to St. Louis to the the Cardinals. I'd write off, send a SASE, and get a pocket schedule. I could pick a few games, and mail a check, and would get back in the mail 4 tickets for each of the several games I had picked. I was lifeguarding and DJing in the summer, as a game got close I'd ask friends about going, and once there were 4 of us I'd quit asking. We'd drive to St. Louis, watch a game (or two if a double header) then we'd drive back, getting home about 2:30 or 3:00 am. I remember going when there was the oil embargo / gas shortage, the national guard flew armed helicopters along the Interstate highway, because there was occasional trouble with truckers and others. A ticket was maybe $2.75, gas was maybe $18 and we'd divide that, food and drink was $7 to $10... I could go see a ball game for under $20.
I recall filling up our Suburban at lunch on a Thursday work day, the day before we were leaving early Friday morning. This was around 2001... It cost just over $100 to fill the tank. That annoyed me a bit. Tickets were $37.50 each, 6 tickets for me, wife, 3 kids and daughter in law. I'd gotten 2 rooms at a hotel close to the ballpark, that was just under $900 for 2 nights. After getting the gas and back to work that Thursday, someone asks me if I'm excited to be going to see baseball games the coming weekend. I looked at them and said "no." Surprised, they asked why. I told them as a teenager I could drive 300 miles to St Louis and see a game for about $20; but now, I've already spent about $1000 and I haven't even left the driveway.
It's a lot of stuff... stuff costs more now, the economy, greater ticket prices, beer (for the cost of a nowadays beer I could have bought 2 cases back in the 70s)... and on top of all of those factors there's the Bernie Madoff factor with Bonilla, the Mets owner thought he'd be getting money there that would more than pay the future Bonilla payments.
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