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.

For information on pricing and availability of tickets for the Metropolitans, call the Mets Ticket Office at tel. 718/507-TIXX (507-8499), or visit http://newyork.mets.mlb.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 a midtown Manhattan location.

New Yankee Stadium is across the street from the old one (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, contact Yankee Stadium (tel. 718/293-6000; http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com) or go to the team’s clubhouse shop in Manhattan. 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.

You can also buy Mets and Yankees tickets by contacting Ticketmaster (tel. 800/745-3000; www.ticketmaster.com), visiting the stadium on the day of the game, or trying online resale sites such as StubHub (www.stubhub.com).

Minor-league Baseball

Minor-league baseball coexists with "the Show" in the boroughs, with the Brooklyn Cyclones, the New York Mets’ minor-league farm team, and the Staten Island Yankees, the Yanks’ minor leaguers. Boasting their very own waterfront stadium, the Cyclones have been a major factor in the revitalization of Coney Island; MCU 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 (RCB 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 South Ferry). What’s more, with bargain-basement ticket prices (which topped out at $17 for the Cyclones, $16 for the Yanks in the 2010 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. 718/720-9265 or go online to www.siyanks.com.

BASKETBALL
There are two pro hoops teams that play in New York at Madison Square Garden, Seventh Avenue, between 31st and 33rd streets (www.msg.com or www.ticketmaster.com; tel. 212/465-6741, or 800/745-3000 for tickets; Subway: A, C, E, 1, 2, 3 to 34th St.). The New York Knicks (tel. 877/NYK-DUNK [695-3865] or 212/465-JUMP [465-5867]; www.nba.com/knicks) are the NBA team from NYC. They play from November through mid-February. The second is the accomplished WNBA team the New York Liberty (tel. 212/564-9622; www.wnba.com/liberty); its season falls in the summer months, beginning in late May.

FOOTBALL
Both the New York Giants (www.giants.com) and the New York Jets (www.newyorkjets.com) play in the Meadowlands Stadium. It’s located not in New York City, but in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and tickets are VERY difficult to get. Tickets are available from Ticketmaster.com and, if price is no object, StubHub.com or SeatGeek.com.

ICE HOCKEY
NHL hockey is represented in Manhattan by the New York Rangers, who play at Madison Square Garden (http://rangers.nhl.com;  tel. 212/465-6741; Subway: A, C, E, 1, 2, 3 to 34th St.). Rangers tickets are hard to get, so plan well ahead; call tel. 800/745-3000, or visit www.ticketmaster.com for online orders.

Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.