Ticket brokers in Baltimore have Sept. 23 circled on their calendars. In Boston, it is Sept. 27. And in New York, it is Sept. 30.
Those are the scheduled dates of Cal Ripken's last games in each of the three cities. Word that the Baltimore Orioles ironman infielder would announce his retirement sent some ticket brokers in Baltimore scurrying to their offices early Tuesday to scramble for tickets for the Orioles' final home game.
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Ripken remembrances
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As with the retirement of any superstar, the price of Cal Ripken collectibles will rise significantly in the coming months before stabilizing.
Fans rushed to online auction sites early Tuesday morning looking for Ripken memorabilia before prices soared.
A Ripken-signed jersey sold on eBay for $407 at 11:09 a.m. ET on Tuesday. Three hours earlier, the jersey's top bid was $225.
Despite the fact Ripken has signed frequently for fans, his signature still remained a hot item because he is so well liked.
"He was such a great signer and for the collectible world he was ideal," said Rich Klein, price guide analyst for Beckett, a sports collectibles publishing company. "He was accessible and friendly and even when baseball was in the doldrums, he knew it was his duty to sign for fans and get the fans back and treat them well."
Ripken's most valuable rookie cards are his 1982 Topps #21 and 1982 Topps Traded #98T, which in gem-mint condition are valued at $2,000 and $3,000 respectively, according to Beckett Publications.
A Ripken-signed baseball is listed at $125. A signed bat, $250. And a signed jersey, $400.
-- Darren Rovell
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"It's not good when you get people calling you and you can't get them the tickets no matter how hard you try," said one ticket broker, who asked to remain anonymous. "This is absolutely one of those cases."
The broker said prices will be "a lot like his record-breaking game" during which Ripken broke Lou Gehrig's consecutive game streak of 2,130 games six years ago. It will cost $250 to get inside the Camden Yards gates, he said. Field box seats could soar to between $600 to $800.
Tickets for four upper reserve seats to the Sept. 23 game were up for auction on eBay early Tuesday morning. A fan paid $552 for the four tickets, which had a combined total face value of $52.
Possibly driving up the cost of ticket prices is that the Orioles' last home game is against the New York Yankees. Prices could even go up more, brokers say, if Ripken decides prior to the game he won't play in the final seven games of the season, on the road in Boston and New York.
Since word of Ripken's retirement broke late Monday night, ticket demand hasn't hit Boston or New York yet, according to several brokers who frequently hawk Yankees and Red Sox tickets.
"I really don't think it will be that huge of a deal," said a broker with Ticket Exchange in Greenwich, Conn., which sells tickets to Mets and Yankee games. "You can't possibly compare it to anything like the Subway Series."
A broker at Ace Tickets in Boston said his company had not received a call from fans seeking tickets to the Red Sox-Orioles series at Fenway Park by noon Tuesday.
"We've had absolutely no demand since the announcement yesterday, but it might be too early to tell," said Jim Holtzman, president of Ace Tickets. "A lot of people felt this was already going to happen, and at the beginning of the year they were speculating about it."
Holtzman said the last game of the Red Sox series falls on Yom Kippur, the highest of holy days in the Jewish religion. He said he believes that could help keep prices down. He estimates 20 percent of his buyers are Jewish. Tickets for the last series against New York will average between $300 and $350, Holtzman said.
Darren Rovell, who covers sports business for ESPN.com, can be reached at darren.rovell@espn.com.
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