The Mets tomorrow "will open the World Series" against the Royals, "nearly five years to the day of the Oct. 29, 2010 announcement of Sandy Alderson assuming the general manager’s role," according to Adam Rubin of ESPN N.Y. Alderson on Saturday said, "The fans certainly have been patient. And I think it’s because they understood what we were trying to do. We didn’t deviate much from that. As you get into the fourth and fifth year, people get a little impatient. They want to see some results. And that would be true of us. That would be true of ownership. That would be true of fans as well" (ESPNNY.com, 10/25). Alderson said of his relationship with Mets ownership, "They have been very supportive of our general direction. They have been patient as well. Resources have gradually increased and we knew resources would not be unlimited at the outset. In many ways, in some critical areas, ownership has been very supportive. I have no complaints whatsoever" (N.Y. POST, 10/25).
LONG TIME COMING: In K.C., Vahe Gregorian wrote under the header, "No One Can Cast Stones At Royals Owner David Glass' House Any More." The Royals are now in their second World Series in as many years after "securing two in the first 45 years of their existence." Along the "often-humiliating way, mostly under Glass’ administration, there were 28 years without a postseason, four 100-plus loss seasons in five years and a parade of bloopers that made any Royals fan feel like the farce was with them." All of this recent success "would have seemed a preposterous vision not long ago." But all of it also "is testimony to a central redemptive message in the Royals’ revival." Glass, who was "formerly labeled a tightwad," has "changed and grew and probed what’s possible and maybe even reinvented himself some, depending on just how you interpret his first years of ownership." This season, the Royals "set attendance and TV ratings records, none of which adequately measures the way this captivating team is in the bloodstream of the city." Glass: "They are long-suffering, but they stuck with us. They’re a great crowd, they’re a well-behaved crowd ... (and) you can talk to any of these players and they’ll tell you the tremendous energy that they feed off from the fans" (KANSASCITY.com, 10/24). MLB.com's Richard Justice wrote Glass "stayed the course through plenty of tough times because he was convinced he had the right people in place," and in this "most basic of ways, the Royals are a model franchise." Perhaps the "most important lesson is this one: The Royals never wavered in their belief in what they were doing." From the beginning, they "knew it was not going to be a quick fix" (MLB.com, 10/24).
WHO NEEDS TICKETS? On Long Island, Neil Best cites SeatGeek data as showing prices for seats at Kauffman Stadium "are running at $809 on average for Game 1 and $820 for Game 2." The average asking price for World Series tickets as of Thursday "was $1,539.51, according to TiqIQ.com." The three games set for Citi Field "have been riding high since the Mets clinched and were at $1,630.34 per game." Prices for the four potential games in K.C. "are averaging $1,460.27" (NEWSDAY, 10/25).
