Yankees 2011 promotional schedule

Who could deny Yankee
Snoopy?

The New York Yankees announced the promotional schedule, and for such a rich organization it seems quite cheap. 

Here is the break down by month of the promotions, for the exact dates they are listed here.

April (4 promo dates)- Calendar Day, magnetic schedule day and cap night.
The Yanks play 18 times in April and you only have four promotions? Not only is it just four promotions they have two calender days. Bad marketing by the Yanks, when April is typically a poor attendance month.

May (1 promo date)- Grass seed planter night
Only one promotion given away in month where they play 13 games. In the bombers defense they do play the Mets and Red Sox six times. But the one give away is grass seed planter night? Embarrassing

June (12 promo dates)- Jorge Posada figure night, cap day(twice), bat day,collectible cup night, Dunkin Donuts gift card night, pin night,T-shirt night, key ring night, lunch box night, Yankee collectible truck night, and old timers day.
Oh boy if you like free stuff buy your June tickets now! This is probably the best month for promotions, you get a Jorge Posada figure, a bat and can create your own outfit with a Yankee shirt and cap.

July (4 promo dates)- Visor night, fan ring day, collectible truck day and TBA
Didn't they just have collectible truck day the month before? Strange that all the promos in this month are during the weekend.

August (3 promo dates) Cap night, collectible ford focus night and TBA

Last chance to get your Yankees hat with tons of cheap advertisements on it ! Also another toy car give away? How about they give away real cars, then I will pay for those $1,500 seats.

September (6 dates) Poster night, binder night, calculator day, snoopy Yankee night, TBA and Roger Maris 61st, 50th anniversary night.
Back to school brings your school supplies this month. The snoopy Yankee night is always very popular, just ask my girlfriend who gets way too excited about it. Last thing is the Roger Maris 50th anniversary of his 61st home run is very cool, especially since they will hold it against the Red Sox, the same team he hit it off 50 years ago.

So their you have it 30 promotional days in an 81 game season, a bit on the cheap side if you ask me, but then again I really don't care that much for the free stuff since I go to actually watch the game, but you would be very surprised how many kids and adults get excited over this free crap stuff. One strange thing is that alot of the give aways are on the weekend and during the summer, both times when the Yankees don't need to sell tickets. Since after all the reason behind giving away this stuff is to increase attendance.

Yankees vs Rays just don't sell like Yanks - BoSox

The Rays may have gained a short lived lead in the AL East this past week, when they took two of three from the bombers but it doesn't mean that they are now a hot ticket. The division race is not over , and the Yanks and Rays will face each at the start of next week September 20-23, a four game series at Yankee Stadium.

Maybe it is because it is during the week, and school is back in session but the ticket prices for that series can be had for below face value. This year has been a tough one if you sell a lot of tickets since the Yankees market became flooded and seats were widely available for cheap. But in the middle of a pennant race against a team that is just half a game back is crazy. I'll admit that I sold two of the games I had from this series early in the season because I figured that by this time the Yankees would have a nice lead and the series wouldn't mean that much. Tickets can be had for as low as $8 on Stubhub for the series. It should also be noted that on three of the four nights there will be a promotional giveaway (including a Yankees Snoopy doll).

So while the Rays series is going for less then face, when the Red Sox come into town the next night the prices are above face. The Red Sox are currently six games back , and just don't seem to have that fight to get back into the mix. Yet because its Boston and the whole rivalry the prices are reasonably high. Another factor could also be because it is the last regular season series and it is being played on the weekend.

So while the Red Sox series may come when the Yankees are about to clinch a playoff berth, it wont have the same rivalry feeling. The Red Sox will be out of contention and will have young players in the game, not the old usual suspects that Yankee fans love to hate. Meanwhile the Tampa Bay series will feel much more like a playoff game, with every single pitch mattering. It just shows that even with the Rays being one of the best teams in baseball, coming to Yankee Stadium for a possible ALCS preview, the New York vs Boston rivalry holds stronger.