Ticket prices for the Mets and Yankees playoffs are rising

The Yankees had the best record in the American League. The Mets have been the best story of the playoffs so far.

And well, New York is New York.

Put all of that together and prices in the secondary ticket market for the Division Series, which begins Saturday, are predictably high.

It doesn't help that the Mets are playing the Phillies, which puts upward pressure on prices in both directions – Mets fans willing to travel to Philadelphia and Phillies fans willing to take a quick trip to New York York decide.

According to resale site TickPick, the cheapest ticket (excluding standing room) for Game 1 of Saturday's Mets-Phillies NLDS in Philadelphia was $340 on Friday afternoon and Game 2 on Sunday was $326.

When the series comes to New York for Games 3 and 4 (if necessary), it will cost fans looking for tickets a minimum of $309 and $245, respectively.

Those numbers are expected to increase if the Mets win one or both games in Philadelphia.

As for the Yankees, who open against the Royals at Yankees Stadium, TickPick said Friday's average “getting in” price for Game 1 was $259.

Game 3 in Kansas City cost at least $253, an unusually high price for this market.

But these are all just minimum prices. From there it only goes up.

On StubHub, Game 1 targeted field-level seats between first and third base and the outfield foul poles in Philadelphia in the $300 to $500 range.

Similar seats at Citi Field for Game 3 were more often in the $400 to $600 range.

For Game 1 of the Royals-Yankees at Yankee Stadium, such a seat was available for $300-$500.

If these prices don't sound as outrageous as they might have been, remember: Even though the Mets have seemingly already made enough playoff memories to last fans a lifetime, it was only the first of four possible rounds.

The Division Series could be just the next step in a long and expensive road to the World Series for one of New York's two teams – if not both.

For those looking to experience a postseason game at a lower cost, the Mets are hosting another watch party at Citi Field for Game 1 of the NLDS on Saturday. Tickets are $10 with all net proceeds going to the Amazin' Mets Foundation. Parking is free and select parking fees are just $5 throughout the event. Doors open at 2:30 p.m. and first pitch is scheduled for 4:08 p.m

The Citi Field watch party for Game 3 of the wild-card round against the Brewers drew national attention when videos from the event showed fans wildly cheering for Pete Alonso's game-winning home run in a 4-2 win at Milwaukee.

Fans can purchase tickets at Mets.com/WatchParty. There is a maximum of eight people per person.

Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned to Alaska after a stint in 1985 and has been here ever since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.