No, I’ve never been to the World Series, and yes, I’m still annoyed about it.
Back in 1996, in the days where people would have to buy tickets in person, I waited on line at Yankee Stadium and got postseason tickets. I saw the Yanks in the Division Series, for sure; I don’t think I got ALCS tickets.
Then I waited on line again and got myself a World Series ticket. Amazing! Many of my friends had tickets with their fathers to games 1 and 2; I got myself a single seat, because my dad isn’t a big fan of baseball games, and I was not going to miss out. It was for Game 7.
The Yankees won the World Series in six games.
Thoroughly dejected, I got a refund. In the dynasty years that followed, I was unable to get a World Series ticket again, despite the Yankees’ winning three more championships by 2000. I did get to Game 6 of the 1998 ALCS, and I got to see Mariano Rivera send the Yankees to the World Series, which was incredible; I can still picture the end of the game from my seat, and the upper deck of the old Yankee Stadium bouncing in the enthusiasm. But never a World Series.
The Yankees made the postseason a lot in the ensuing years, but it occurred to me that the only thing better than seeing the ALCS clincher would be going to the World Series, so I stopped trying to get postseason tickets for the early rounds. In 2009, the only time the Yanks made the Series since 2000, I had a toddler in the house and couldn’t be bothered.
So now it’s 2024, I have two teenage sons, and Major League Baseball has a tiered, throttled system for World Series tickets, so when I tried to buy them this week, the only option available was $1266 for the wheelchair row, proof of eligibility required, and a two-ticket limit, too.
With some continued good play, the Yankees will make the 2024 World Series in the coming days, and barring some extraordinary good luck, I won’t be there, again. At least I have a story to tell.