Article by Todd Matthews

The 2001 Seattle Mariners were, indeed, unbelievable.

The team tied the major league record for most wins in a single season.

Superstar right fielder Ichiro Suzuki received MVP and Rookie of the Year honors.

But the Mariners may have truly pulled off the impossible in an area that has received little attention: namely, a form of ticket sales that some fans call "legalized scalping."

Last June, the Mariners organization introduced the "Ticket Marketplace" on its Internet Web site. Through the site, season ticket holders are provided the opportunity to sell their choice tickets to non-season ticket holders - often at prices above face value.

+ + photo courtesy Tablet newspaper + +

The Mariners' spin on the transaction is upbeat and almost benevolent. "Rather than have to shop their tickets around to friends and co-workers, or strangers, they can register and do everything online," says Rebecca Hale, spokesperson for the Seattle Mariners. "The payment transaction is handled online so the seller doesn't have to meet up on some street corner and make the cash transaction."

Reselling tickets above face value within the Seattle city limits is against the law. The Web site points this out, stating, "Transactions on the Seattle Mariners Ticket Marketplace are between the season ticket holder and the buyer, not the Seattle Mariners, LiquidSeats or MLB.com." However, a "fee" for each sale is divided among the Mariners, Ticketmaster, and Liquidseats - the company that developed the software and handles ticket payment and delivery.

The trend is troubling for many baseball enthusiasts, particularly Mariners fans. Check the "Fan Forum" section of the Mariners official Web site, and the concerns are real. "You want to see real scalping?" wrote one fan. "Last year dozens of $6 [centerfield] bleacher seats were being offered out at $89 each for some games. It's funny how you have to be a season ticket holder to sell through this forum, yet the Mariners don't sell bleacher seats as season tickets! I guess having a 16-game pack could have its privileges."

Another fan wrote, "While the Mariners ask police to stop illegal ticket scalping in Seattle outside Safeco Field, they profit from inflated prices they 'legally' sell from their ticket agent's computer."

Indeed, as of this writing, tickets for an upcoming, weekday Mariners game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays - an expansion team that finished the 2001 season 53 games behind first place in the American League - were selling for $300 each (face value: $36).

Is the Ticket Marketplace a legalized form of ticket scalping?

The Mariners say no. "Season ticket holders with addresses inside the Seattle city limits are blocked by the website software from selling their tickets for above face value," says Hale. "If the season ticket holder resides outside Seattle, they are not breaking city law."

But what's to stop a season ticket holder residing in Seattle from purchasing their tickets through a P.O. Box or other address outside of city limits? Nothing.

As athlete salaries grow almost exponentially, the fans wind up paying for, say, the $252 million Alex Rodriguez contract through higher prices at concession stands and the box office. If a team is doing well, like the 2001 Mariners, tickets are scarce and fans may only be able to turn to sites like the Mariners Ticket Marketplace for seats - paying more than face value. Fans low on cash are potentially squeezed out of seeing live, major league baseball.

Hale disagrees: "The benefit of Ticket Marketplace is the tickets that are for sale are tickets that are not available to the general ticket-buying public. They are purchased for the entire season by a season ticket holder. If the owner doesn't use it, then that seat goes empty. With Ticket Marketplace, an otherwise empty seat is on the market and available to the fan who wants to buy it. So instead of squeezing the fan, we're actually helping make it easier to get seats to games."

Easier to get seats? Possibly. But only if you are the highest bidder.

This article originally appeared in The Tablet