And the snow on Yankee opening day in 1996.

The problem is that there are no doubleheaders in the schedule, which then requires that the open days be used for makeup games.  MLB winds up having games 6 days a week - the seventh is an open day used for travel and so on.

Schedule doubleheaders and you can get more open days, but you still wind up with the problem of people trying to afford admission.  As it is, the price of a single-game ticket for the stereotypical family of 4 is out of sight for most people (and I haven't even gone near the costs in NYC, Boston and a couple other higher-priced markets).  Tack on the fact that you are not allowed to bring any outside food, drink or whatever into most (if not all parks) and you have a real problem, dollar and cent-wise.  

About a dozen years ago, I went to the Real Yankee Stadium and took my backpack with a couple peaches (it was August) and the NYT (I got there early).  It cost me $2.50 for the subway ($1.25 each way) and another $7 for the bleacher ticket.  That might have been the last time anyone did a Yankee game for under 10 bucks.  I can't imagine them letting anyone into the bleachers with peaches (pits fly really well) anymore.  BTW, that was a great game - El Duque's "rookie" year, he threw 8 1/3 of 2 hit shutout ball and Mo got the save in a 2-0 win over the very tough Rangers.

For me, I can make a day of it for under 50 bucks, but I'm willing to sit in the upper deck and nurse a jumbo soda and a bag of peanuts.  I find a scorecard at $5 to be an abomination, but that's cheaper in than in a lot of parks.  

But a family with a kid all excited "Dad, I want a hot dog; Dad, I want some ice cream; Dad, I want some soda" is going to run into big bucks quickly.  And, FWIW, a good rule of thumb is you stay as many innings as your kid is years-old.

He's thrown that whole team on his back and will carry them across the line.

Watch him.  He surely is one of the 10 best ballplayers you will ever see.  Save the memory.  

The same goes with Rivera.

It's like an incident I had at the Vet in Philly, during one of their first interleague series with the Orioles.  I had taken my dad, for something to do.  There were a couple kids - 10 y/o or so boys - with one's dad, sitting in the row behind me.  We were all about 30 rows back along the LF foul line.  They were antsy and their dad was just tired.  So, rather than get all bent out of shape at the kids, I just turned around and said:  "hey, guys.  You see number 8 there, playing third for the Orioles?"

"Um, yeah."

"Well, that's Cal Ripken.  You should watch him play so, when you're old like me, you can tell your kids you went to a game with your dad and you all saw the Great Cal Ripken play, and remember why it was he was so great."

You never saw kids get so intent on watching a ballgame.

My dad had seen Mantle play, prior to his knee injury.  Said he was faster than anyone he'd ever seen.  As a boy he'd seen players like Johnny Mize, the Giants of the 30s and some of the NL greats of that area - a relative lived near the Polo Grounds, close enough to walk actually.  His telling me about watching Mantle run and Mize play is something that will stay with me, probably as long as I live.