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Miami Marlins, desperate to fill stadium for opening day, offering ‘buy one, get one free’ tickets

Mike Oz

The Miami Marlins already gave away most of their players to the Toronto Blue Jays, and now, to get some fans in the stands, they're giving away tickets too.

To get a crowd on opening day, the Marlins ticket office is trying to lure fans with this offer: Buy a ticket to the team's April 8 home opener against the Atlanta Braves and get a free ticket to another game in April or May. This officially makes them the Payless Shoe Source of baseball.

You'll recall that when single-game tickets went on sale there were fewer people there than a Starbucks drive-thru at 8 a.m. That's despite the fancy two-year-old stadium in South Florida.

From the South Florida Sun-Sentinel:

Last year anyone who didn’t purchase a season-ticket plan had to enter a lottery for a slim chance of scoring a ticket to the inaugural opener.

Marlins President David Samson recently said season-ticket sales had fallen from just over 12,000 in 2012 to fewer than 5,000. Asked if he expected a sellout for the opener, he said, “I don’t know. I really don’t.”

It sounds very minor-league, doesn't it? But, really, the whole things makes sense. The Marlins are going to have a lot of empty seats this season, and we now live in the Groupon era, where getting a "deal" guides buying decisions. Might as well give some tickets away. What's to lose?

Oh, yes. Dignity.

Wait, this just in: The Marlins have traded their dignity to Toronto too — for a bucket of popcorn and $50 cash.

Spring training is here. Stretch out with us.
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