A year ago, when the Orioles announced that they would be sending out postseason ticket invoices to season-ticket holders, the occasion was cause for celebration. It was one more sign that what we were witnessing was real, and something that might actually happen. Of course the O's would have to send out ticket invoices. They might make the playoffs!
The announcement is already more routine even though it's only the second year in a row that they have been good enough to where this is a step. For teams like the Yankees or even the Rays, there is probably not even anything worth mentioning about this. But two years ago, the O's were 69-93, so even if their playoff chances are a bit more dim this year than they were last year, it's worth something.
According to The Baltimore Sun, postseason ticket invoices will be going out to season-ticket holders on Friday. Ticket holders can guarantee tickets to all 11 possible games in the postseason, with full-season and 29-game plan holders being able to save nearly 50% off the cost of tickets when they go on sale to the general public.
Season-ticket holders will have until September 6 to send in their invoices, and the remaining tickets will go on sale to the general public after that.
The article states that the cost of postseason tickets is 20% less than individual prime game prices. This would be a difference from last year, when the cost of tickets escalated with each round of the playoffs. The exact price schedule was not released, but if you're a season-ticket holder, you'll know when you get your invoice.
For the rest of us, it's a reminder that the O's are in the hunt for the postseason for a second straight year. They sit three games back in the wild card after Wednesday night's win, with Cleveland and Oakland to pass to make it into postseason position. The next three games are against Oakland, so O's fans will have a better idea of whether they even need to bother with playoff tickets by the end of the weekend.