The New York Yankees continue their strong start to 2015 as they enter the middle of May with a stronghold on first place in the AL East. That hold may only get stronger come May 22, when they begin a three-game series with the AL West’s Texas Rangers. The sample size isn’t big between the two teams lately (New York won four of seven meetings in 2014), but the inconsistent Rangers still provide an ample opportunity for the Yankees to collect another series victory at Yankee Stadium.
The matchup itself isn’t the only thing for Yankees fans to get excited about, as the ticket prices for Yankees-Rangers games in this series are fairly reasonable. The opener, in fact, looks like a tremendous deal, as Yankees tickets come in at just $92.58 on average ($17 for the cheap seats) on the secondary market. This compares nicely to New York’s $182 season average and is an even better deal when you factor in that a Tote Bag Giveaway is included. Interestingly, there are a number of tickets available on Yankees.com that are less expensive than the secondary market. For instance in the 300-level, tickets on Yankees.com are $32 in section 307, Row 9 compared to $59 in Row 4 on the secondary market.
Game Two of this series is actually cheaper and might be the better deal ($77.84 on average, $21 to get in the door), with a Kids Drawstring Bag Giveaway also being involved. The best value has to be the finale, though, despite a hefty price tag of $97.12 on average (but only $11 to get in). That’s understandable, though, since it’s the final game of what could be an entertaining series, and also carries the Bernie Williams Ceremony, in which the team will retire the former center-fielder’s No. 51 jersey.
While the value of Yankees and Rangers tickets is solid for this early-season showdown, New York fans will probably only feel great about it if they can get at least two wins from the three-game set. That looks doable on paper, thanks to a potent offense led by power hitters Alex Rodriguez (10 HRs) and Mark Teixeira (12 HRs), as well as the always reliable Jacoby Ellsbury (batting a blistering .324).
New York’s nasty offense (175+ runs scored already) matches up well against a weak Rangers pitching staff that has allowed more than 175 runs themselves. Texas may be a match offensively, though, while this matchup could gain even more steam if power hitter Josh Hamilton (who the team recently brought back into the fold) is back in time for this series.
Even if Hamilton is still in the minors getting ready for major league action by the time this series rolls around, the Rangers could pose a threat due to their solid bats. Texas hasn’t been quite as impressive as New York thus far on offense, but Prince Fielder has been a consistent source of production (batting .348 with 23 RBI), while Shin-Soo Choo has knocked out six homers. Furthermore, they still have future Hall-of-Famer Adrian Beltre manning third base. If those sluggers provide their usual output in the Bronx this weekend, they certainly have a chance to steal this series.
