There’s an All-Star game at Yankee Stadium this summer, and yesterday fans began the process of picking the starters.
Balloting began on-line and at ballparks around the country, signaling the unofficial countdown to the event.
At the Stadium, MLB and Yankees officials held an afternoon news conference to promote not just the game, but All-Star Week, which begins on Saturday, July 11, with the All-Star FanFest at the Javits Center.
The hot topic is tickets for the All-Star game, the workout and Home Run Derby and the Futures game. Baseball’s chief operating officer, Bob DuPuy, said 70 percent of tickets will be made available to either Yankees season ticket holders or the general public (through a lottery), with the rest reserved for MLB.
On-line registration for the ticket lottery began yesterday at MLB.com. The lottery will occur on June 16 that determines which registrants will have an opportunity to purchase two tickets, subject to availability, for either of the two events.
Tickets will be priced at $150-$725, up from $75-$285 for last year’s game at San Francisco and $10-15 for box and reserved seats the last time the All-Stars were at Yankee Stadium, in 1977.
Tickets for the Home Run Derby and workout day on July 14 are $100-$650 and tickets for the Futures game on July 13 are $50-225.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Derek Jeter, Yogi Berra and Hal Steinbrenner were among those at the news conference. Bloomberg cited the projected $148.4 million that All-Star Week will mean for the city and was presented with an All-Star jersey that he jokingly said will be buried under Fenway Park.
Team president Randy Levine announced the Yankees will donate more than $7 million from the workout day to local and national charities.
Before the Yankees faced the Tigers last night, Jeter, Hideki Matsui and Mariano Rivera participated in an on-field ceremony to kick off the balloting. Fans can vote at the ballpark and on MLB.com until June 29.
“It’s always fun, and I think this one will be even more special because it’s in Yankee Stadium,” Jeter said. “It’s fitting. I’ve said it time and time again, this is the greatest stadium on the planet. . . . I think it’s only fitting that the All-Star Game is here this year.”