Everything Guide

The Everything Guide to Ballparks

By Ben Mathis-Lilley
Published Jul 9, 2007

(Photo: Lauren Klain Carton)

It’s a rare privilege to live within a few miles of ball teams so beloved (albeit only sporadically successful) that weeknight games against woeful opponents are blockbuster affairs. Of course, there’s a catch: If you want to go to the ballpark, there are 40,000 people with the same idea, and that drives up demand for finite resources like decent tickets, subway seats, and bathroom space. With a few wrong moves, an impulsive decision to catch a game can turn into a financial, logistical, and nutritional nightmare. But other than a few annoyances—the security line will be a pain, the middle relievers will struggle to locate their breaking ball—most elements of a stadium outing can be engineered to minimize hassles and maximize viewing enjoyment. Here, an all-encompassing guide to having a good time at Shea and Yankee stadiums. Play ball!

The Fastest Way to Get There: A 99-percent-guaranteed guide to get you to the stadium on time.

Scalp-Free Seats: How to score good, cheap, legal tickets.

Put Down That Sharpie!: How to get a good autograph.

Working the Levels: A stadium breakdown for satisfying every dream.

The Regulars: Baseball fans at Yankee and Shea stadiums.

First-Tier Deals: Taking advantage of the Mets’ box office.

Ask an Expert: Fox Sports veteran Bill Webb on how to get on TV.

Stadium Etiquette: How to keep the crowds on your side.

Better Eating Elsewhere: Is there really a reason for $5 stadium pizza?

The Ugly Truth About Stadium Food: The calories, the prices, and a nutritionist's verdict.

Contributors: Steve Aquino, Ira Boudway, Tommy Craggs, Joe DeLessio, Michael Gsovski, Connor Kilpatrick, Kai Ma, Ben Mathis-Lilley, Hillary Reinsberg, Doria Santlofer, Haven Thompson, and Rachel Wolff.