Planning a trip to New York next week in hopes of seeing the Blue Jays clinch a post-season series for the first time since 2016?
Getting tickets might not be so easy.
Canadian residents are barred from buying tickets to the Jays’ potential American League Division Series matchup next week at Yankee Stadium.
The AL East-winning Jays are skipping Major League Baseball’s wild-card round and advancing directly to the AL Division Series. They’ll host the winners of the best-of-three wild-card series between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, which starts Tuesday.
The Toronto Blue Jays will enter the MLB playoffs as American League East Division title winners for the first time since 2015 after a decisive 13-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.
The Jays and their New York rivals finished the regular season on Sunday with the same record of 94 wins and 68 losses. Toronto claimed the division crown by holding the tiebreaker over the Yankees.
On Tuesday, Oct. 7, the ALDS will move from Toronto to either the Bronx or Boston for Game 3.
However, fans logging on to Ticketmaster to buy tickets for Game 3 or a potential Game 4 in New York are being met with a message warning that sales are “restricted to residents of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania.”
The Ticketmaster message says residency will be based on the buyer’s credit card billing address. Sales to fans from outside those four states “will be cancelled without notice and refunds given.”
Policy meant to fight ticket scalping
A Yankees representative told CBC News the policy, which allows sales to residents of only four states, is meant to fight ticket scalping.
The policy also applies to the wild-card round. Red Sox fans have voiced their anger on X.
“Hey @MLB this is kind of ridiculous,” one user posted on X Monday afternoon.
“Bunch of scare bears,” wrote Brian “Rear Admiral” McGonagle, a Boston-based producer of the Spittin’ Chiclets hockey podcast.
Canadian-based Blue Jays fans won’t face the same issue if the Red Sox beat the Yankees and advance to face Toronto in the next rounds.
A Red Sox representative said in an email “we do not limit purchase eligibility at Fenway Park.”
It’s not the first time Canadian sports fans have been banned from buying playoff tickets to games in the U.S.
In 2023, Canadian residents were barred for 24 hours from buying tickets to the Toronto Maple Leafs’ second-round playoff series in Florida.
