It’s becoming a trend now… for the second year in a row, StubHub released its annual Major League Baseball (MLB) season preview which includes the hottest selling games and trending teams heading into Opening Day 2018. This year, there’s something different in store for fans and that’s the concept and reality that for the first time since 1968, all 30 MLB clubs will play their first games of the season on the same day, March 29.
Like any good company, StubHub loves analytics and sorted through its wealth of data to find key trends ahead of Opening Day.
“As StubHub comes off another record breaking World Series in terms of demand last season, we’re feeling the excitement from baseball fans as we head into Opening Day 2018,“ said Jill Krimmel, StubHub’s General Manager of MLB, NCAA and All Other Sports. “This season is significant for StubHub because for the first time fans will be able to purchase MLB tickets right up until game time for all 30 teams.”
The top-selling opening home game this year belongs to the New York Yankees, led by new team member and reigning National League MVP Giancarlo Stanton, as they face the Tampa Bay Rays in The Bronx. A California rivalry takes the spot for the second highest selling Opening Day game, as the Los Angeles Dodgers face off against the San Francisco Giants.
Looking past Opening Day, according to StubHub data, Barry Bonds’ San Francisco Giants jersey retirement on August 11th is the most anticipated moment of MLB’s regular season. Three out of five of the top selling non-home openers on StubHub involve the Giants and Dodgers, proving to be the most heated MLB rivalry heading into 2018.
The complete list of top in-demand MLB home openers according to ticket sales on StubHub:
- Tampa Bay Rays at New York Yankees, 4/2
- San Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Dodgers, 3/29
- Seattle Mariners at San Francisco Giants, 4/3
- Baltimore Orioles at Houston Astros, 4/2
- St. Louis Cardinals at New York Mets, 3/29
The full list of top MLB games outside of home openers according to ticket sales on StubHub:
- Pittsburgh Pirates at San Francisco Giants (Barry Bonds Jersey Retirement), 8/11
- Los Angeles Dodgers at San Francisco Giants, 4/7
- San Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Dodgers, 3/30
- Los Angeles Dodgers at San Francisco Giants, 4/6
- Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees, 6/30
According to total regular season sales so far, the Yankees are also this season’s most in-demand team, with the San Francisco Giants, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs rounding out the top five-best selling teams.
The complete list of top in-demand MLB teams according to regular season ticket sales on StubHub:
- New York Yankees
- San Francisco Giants
- Boston Red Sox
- Los Angeles Dodgers
- Chicago Cubs (as a Cubs fan, I thought they’d be #2 or #3)
- St. Louis Cardinals
- New York Mets
- Houston Astros
- Toronto Blue Jays
- Texas Rangers
Coming off their 2017 World Series win, the Houston Astros have seen a 115% growth in the amount of tickets sold on StubHub, the largest increase of any MLB team. The Astros are also one of the top five trending teams, experiencing the highest growth of regular season ticket sales over the last four years.
The full list of top trending MLB teams according to StubHub:
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