This weekend's three-game Yankees-Tigers series in
Detroit, originally scheduled to be held in N.Y., drew
38,719 for the series. The Tigers had expected to draw
75,000-80,000 for the original series to be played this
coming weekend (THE DAILY). Friday's game was played
"before an estimated 6,000" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 4/18). In
Hartford, Tom Yantz wrote that Saturday's game drew "an
estimated" 6,800, while actual game attendance for the
entire series was an estimated 19,800 (HARTFORD COURANT,
4/20). Yankees Owner George Steinbrenner issued a statement
to "amend his earlier remarks" about the Tigers switching
home series with the Yankees. Steinbrenner: "I would never
say that such a gracious act is no big deal. It is 'a Big
Deal!' Mike Ilitch, the entire Tigers organization and the
fans have stepped forward to help us, and I am deeply
appreciative of this act of kindness" (N.Y. TIMES, 4/18).
WHAT MESSAGE DID IT SEND? In Boston, Peter Gammons
wrote the decision to switch the Yankees-Tigers homestands
"was the decision of a league president and a COO who chose
not to stand in front of the fans of Detroit, unlike Bud
Selig, who always stands in front of the heat." He credits
AL Senior VP Phyllis Merhige for attending in Detroit.
Gammons: "It's hard to know what the people who run baseball
care about, other than the rich and powerful" (BOSTON GLOBE,
4/19). Later on ESPN's "Baseball Tonight," Gammons said:
"Inadvertently, what they did was send a message that, 'Hey,
these are just working class people. They're not a lot of
fans. They don't really count as much as the big corporate
box guys.' And even if they didn't intend it, that's the
way it came across" ("Baseball Tonight," ESPN, 4/19).
TICKET CUT: The Yankees announced special ticket prices
for the rescheduled series against the Tigers this weekend,
as all remaining $12 Reserved seats and all $7 Bleacher
seats will be half price. Fans with Tier Reserved seats
from last weekend can use the tickets this weekend, and then
use the rain check for a seat to any remaining regular-
season game based on availability (N.Y POST, 4/18).
