Spectator Sports

Baseball

With two baseball teams in town, you can catch a game almost any day from Opening Day in April to the beginning of the playoffs in October. (Don't bother trying to get Subway Series tix, though -- they're the hottest seats in town. Ditto for Opening Day or any playoff game.)

Carlos Delgado, Jose Reyes, David Wright, Carlos Beltran, and the rest of the Amazin' Mets play at Shea Stadium in Queens (subway: 7 to Willets Point/Shea Stadium). Tickets, which are prized at Gold, Silver, Bronze and Platinum levels (based on the team the Mets are playing and the day of the week: i.e., any Yankees game is Platinum; certain early season games are "Value," with deeply discounted tickets) range from $5 to $37 for "Value" games, to $22 to $70 for Platinum games in 2007, with many variations. Trust us, you do need a program . . . or to study the seating chart on the team website. For information, call the Mets Ticket Office at tel. 718/507-TIXX or visit www.mets.com. Also keep in mind that you can buy game tickets (as well as logo wear and souvenirs, if you want to dress appropriately for the big game) at the Mets Clubhouse Shop, which has two midtown Manhattan locations. You'll see the Mets at Shea Stadium through 2008, and in 2009, head across the parking lot to the new stadium, currently under construction.

So the Yankees haven't won a World Series in a few years -- Manager Joe Torre vows he will fix that! The Yanks play at the House That Ruth Built, otherwise known as Yankee Stadium (subway: C, D, 4 to 161st St./Yankee Stadium); NY Waterway offers baseball cruises to games. Call tel. 800/533-3779 or visit www.nywaterway.com for more info. For single game tickets ($12-$63 in 2007), contact Ticketmaster (tel. 212/307-1212 or 212/307-7171; www.ticketmaster.com) or Yankee Stadium (tel. 718/293-6000; www.yankees.com). Serious baseball fans check the schedule well in advance for Old Timers' Day, usually held in July, when pinstriped stars of years past return to the stadium to take a bow.

At Yankee Stadium, upper-tier box seats (which run about $42), especially those behind home plate, give you a great view of all the action. Upper tier reserve seats are directly behind the box seats and are significantly cheaper ($20). Bleacher seats are even cheaper ($12), and the rowdy commentary from that section's roughneck bleacher creatures is absolutely free. Most of the expensive seats (field boxes) are sold out in advance to season-ticket holders. You can often purchase these very same seats from scalpers, but you'll pay a premium for them. Tickets can be purchased at the team's clubhouse shop in Manhattan, at the stadium on the day of the game, and online at http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com. The Yankees will play at original Yankee Stadium through 2008, and are scheduled to open "new" Yankee Stadium (just across the way) for the 2009 season.

Minor-league baseball coexists with the Show in the boroughs, with the Brooklyn Cyclones, the New York Mets' A-level farm team, and the Staten Island Yankees, the Yanks' junior leaguers. Boasting their very own waterfront stadium, the Cyclones have been a major factor in the revitalization of Coney Island; KeySpan Park sits right off the boardwalk (subway: D, F, N, Q to Stillwell Ave./Coney Island). The SI Yanks also have their own playing field, the Richmond County Bank Ballpark, just a 5-minute walk from the Staten Island Ferry terminal (subway: N, R to Whitehall St.; 4, 5 to Bowling Green; 1 to S. Ferry). What's more, with bargain-basement ticket prices (which topped out at $14 for the Cyclones, $11 for the Yanks in the 2007 season), this is a great way to experience baseball in the city for a fraction of the major-league hassle and cost. Both teams have a rabidly loyal fan base, so it's a good idea to buy your tickets for the June through September season in advance. For the Cyclones, call tel. 718/449-8497 or visit www.brooklyncyclones.com; to reach the SI Yanks, call tel. 718/720-9200 or go online to www.siyanks.com.

Year-Round Yankee Tour -- For a taste of Yankee glory at any time of year, take the Insider's Tour of Yankee Stadium (tel. 718/579-4531). This official tour of the House That Ruth Built will take you onto the field, to Monument Park, and into the dugout. You'll even visit the press box and take a peek inside the clubhouse. The guide peppers the tour with lots of Yankee history and anecdotes as you go. And who knows? You might even spot a certain gorgeous green-eyed multimillionaire shortstop as you make the rounds.

Tours are offered daily at noon except New Year's Day, during Opening Day preparations (usually the 3 weeks prior), and on weekends when the team is at home and weekdays when there is a home day game. Tickets for the 1-hour basic Classic Tour are $14 for adults, $7 for kids 14 and under. No reservations are required; all you need to do is show up at the ballpark's press gate just before tour time, but it's still a good idea to call and confirm. Groups of 12 or more require reservations and can book the 80-minute Champions Tour, which includes a short film on Yankee history screened in the Adidas Hall of Fame Suite, on a more varied schedule; prices are $20 for adults, $14 for seniors and kids. The Champions Plus Tour adds a 15-minute tour of the club level ($25 adults, $17 kids). Check the Yankee website (www.yankees.com; click on "Yankee Stadium") for more info.

Basketball

Though the New Jersey Nets are supposed to be moving to Brooklyn, there are two pro hoops teams that already play in New York at Madison Square Garden, Seventh Avenue between 31st and 33rd streets (tel. 212/465-6741 or www.thegarden.com; 212/307-7171 or www.ticketmaster.com for tickets; subway: A, C, E, 1, 2, 3 to 34th St.), Eddie Curry and the rest of the New York Knicks (tel. 877/NYK-DUNK or 212/465-JUMP; www.nyknicks.com) are the NBA team from NYC, and their tickets range from $35 to $335. The WNBA's New York Liberty (tel. 212/465-6080; www.wnba.com/liberty), who electrify fans with their tough defense and scrappy youngsters, occupy MSG from late May through September. Tickets for the Liberty (which celebrated its 10th season in 2006) start at $10 and go up to about $229 for courtside seats behind the benches, with plenty of good seats available ranging from $10 to $30.

Ice Hockey

NHL hockey is represented in Manhattan by the New York Rangers, who play at Madison Square Garden, Seventh Avenue between 31st and 33rd streets (tel. 212/465-6741; www.newyorkrangers.com or www.thegarden.com; subway: A, C, E, 1, 2, 3, to 34th St.). Rangers tickets are hard to get, so plan well ahead; call tel. 212/307-7171, or visit www.ticketmaster.com for online orders. Ticket prices range from $27 to $140 and waaaaaaaaaaaay up (for VIP seats).