Elusive Spring Training

I stayed home past 10 am this morning, even though I knew I had to get to the mailbox to pick up all the packages that had arrived in the week I had been gone. 10 am was the time that the Oakland A's website opened for spring training tickets.

So, exactly at 10 am (as reported by my cell phone), I logged on, and promptly found that the first date I plugged in was sold out. Whaaat? There must be an error. I tried a second date and found that the same was true, no matter what seats I tried.

I was trying to fill in Oakland A's tickets from March 16 through March 19th. I had already bought a few on two different websites, non-A's games.

I did find one game that offered tickets: March 17th, Monday, Kansas City vs. Oakland. I bought the best seats offered, which were actually good seats behind the dugout. I was looking for box seats -- which are just beyond the dugout and which would offer the best autographing opportunities -- but beggars can't be, yeah, you know the ending.

At 10:20, I headed for the mailbox. First, however, I went to breakfast. (There was no meaningful food in the house unless you count shredded wheat without milk.) My waiter happened to be the A's fan with whom I've had many a conversation. He didn't know Dan Haren had been traded. But he did know that today was the day that Oakland A's spring training tickets opened up.

He was going today after work, driving over to the A's Coliseum to see what tickets he could get. I told him that the days I had gone for were mostly sold out. His face changed to a rather unbelieving sour stare. "I don't believe it," he said, and we both wondered why the A's would sell out. My own particular theory has to do with resale. I mean, everybody wants to go to spring training even though most of those people won't attend a single game in Oakland. He told me that the Cubs games in spring training, followed by the Giants, are the first to go. But....the A's???


I wished him luck. I'm tempted to go back there tomorrow morning for breakfast, just to see how he fared. In the rain. At least I'd avoid the shredded wheat.