The 111th edition of Major League Baseball’s World Series begins Tuesday, October 27th, as the American League pennant winning Kansas City Royals face the National League pennant winning New York Mets. Kansas City has home field advantage in the series because of this summer’s MLB All-Star Game, which was won 6-3 by the AL side on July 14th in Cincinnati, Ohio at Great American Ball Park.
The Royals were winners of the AL Central division, going 95-67 and posting a strong home record of 51-30 at Kauffman Stadium. The Mets, division winners of the NL East, went 90-72 and went 49-32 at Citi Field, winning just one game fewer than the Royals.
Kansas City is in the World Series in back-to-back seasons after not making one playoff appearance from 1986 through 2013. The Mets were last in the playoffs in 2006 but have not appeared in a World Series since 2000.
The Royals and Mets have both showed to be complete teams from top to bottom, showing the depths of their lineups, the quality of their pitching, top notch base running and high quality defensive efforts. Kansas City defeated the Toronto Blue Jays four games to two in the American League Championship Series while the Mets steamrolled the Cubs in a four-game sweep in the National League Championship Series.
With New York being a major market and the Mets reaching the World Series for the first time in 15 years, secondary market World Series tickets are reaching significant levels according to TiqIQ.com. The four-game average for games at Kauffman Stadium for Royals tickets have an average price of $1,235.57, while the three-game average for games at Citi Field has an average of $1,643.29. The most expensive game at Kauffman Stadium would be Game 7, which currently has an average ticket price of $1,708.90 with a get-in price of $520. Game 6, which would be the final home game at Citi Field for the Mets, currently has an average ticket price of $1,663.19 with a get-in price of $635.
Round trip flights from New York on Hipmunk.com can vary from $450 to $1,200 depending on the duration of the stay. Of the two cities, Kansas City hotels on Hipmunk are cheaper than its counterpart in New York, as rates start from $58 to be in the heart of the city.
The Mets hang their hat on their starting rotation, which involves Jacob deGrom, Matt Harvey, Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz and have the advantage in that department. The Royals have World Series experience from last season and is something they’ll be able to lean on throughout the series. In any case, two hot teams are colliding in the game’s largest stage and should create some memorable moments throughout.
