Dodgers Dugout: What can you do about rising season ticket prices?

Hi, my name is Houston Mitchell, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. Happy Thanksgiving to all of you out there, even you Giants fans.

Rising season ticket prices

The Dodgers raised the price of season tickets and for season-ticket parking for the 2017 season, a move that has angered many Dodgers fans.

In Bill Shaikin’s story on the price increases, David Siegel, the team’s vice president of ticket sales, noted that ownership has invested more than $200 million in stadium upgrades, including a new sound system, scoreboards and Wi-Fi.

“We believe in the value of the game and the in-game experience,” Siegel said. “That’s what we’re going to rest on.”

Siegel also said the Dodgers are confident that their season-ticket holders find value in prices that are discounted from the single-game rate and such perks as early access to the ballpark and invitations to special events.

“We have the most faithful and loyal fans in all of sports,” Siegel said. “We’ll continue to put a great product on the field and off the field for them.”

If you are a season-ticket holder and think the cost has gone up too much, there is only one thing you can do: Don’t renew.

Some readers emailed to complain about how outrageous the increase was, venting for paragraph after paragraph about how the Dodgers just care about making money. When I asked those readers if they were going to renew, almost all of them said “Yes.”

I never get too upset about rising ticket prices, because that’s the way it works in America. Supply and demand. The Dodgers cap their season tickets at 35,000. Not only do they reach that number each year, but they have a waiting list for those who want season tickets.

So, if you want the Dodgers to stop increasing their season ticket prices, stop buying them. If suddenly they couldn’t sell 35,000 season tickets, you can bet they would adjust their prices downward a bit. The power is in your hands. I don’t buy season tickets because I can’t afford that type of hit to my budget. But I also realize that the Dodgers have every right to charge what they want, and they will keep raising prices until people speak with their wallets, not with their mouths.

Medal of honor

Vin Scully received the highest honor a civilian can get in this country when President Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Tuesday. Here is some of what Obama said when presenting Scully with the award:

“With a voice that transcended a sport and transformed a profession, Vin Scully narrated America’s pastime for generations of fans. Known to millions as the ‘Soundtrack of Summer,’ he found time to teach us about life and love while chronicling routine plays and historic heroics. In victory and in defeat, his colorful accounts reverberated through the bleachers, across the airwaves and into our homes and imaginations. He is an American treasure and a beloved storyteller and our country’s gratitude is as profound as his love for the game.

“Most fans listen to a game’s broadcast when they can’t be at the ballpark; generations of Dodgers fans brought radios into the stands because you didn’t want to miss one of Vin’s stories. Most play-by-play announcers partner with an analyst in the booth to chat about the action. Vin worked alone and talked just with us.

“Since Jackie Robinson started at second base, Vin taught us the game and introduced us to its players. He narrated the improbable years, the impossible heroics, turned contests into conversations. When he heard about this honor, he asked with characteristic humility, ‘Are you sure? I’m just an old baseball announcer.’ And we had to inform him that, to Americans of all ages, ‘You are an old friend.’ ”

Roberts is the best in the NL

Dave Roberts was named National League Manager of the Year last week. Here’s what Justin Turner had to say about the difference between Roberts and former manager Don Mattingly:

“I loved playing for Donnie. I thought he was awesome,” Turner said.“He was just really nonconfrontational. He didn’t enjoy, it seemed like, taking care of things right away. I think some things lingered too long and ended up turning into bigger things and issues.

“In his mind, he wanted the players to take care of it, and police ourselves, which is fine to an extent. We try to do that now. But bigger things don’t happen when Dave takes the initiative. Myself, Adrian [Gonzalez], Chase [Utley], [Clayton] Kershaw, whoever, we don’t have to worry about ending it. We can just worry about playing, which makes it nice for us.”

And finally

Danny Kaye sings about the Dodgers.

Have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me and follow me on Twitter: @latimeshouston