How much does it cost to attend a baseball game with you? It's $1,500 plus travel expenses.

What?! Are you crazy?!
I’m the good kind of crazy, but in all seriousness, let me explain the cost. Start by watching this video from a Watch With Zack game that I did in Atlanta in May 2017. Here's another video from a game in Chicago in June 2017. Here's another from Citi Field in July 2017 and yet another from Yankee Stadium that I did two weeks later. Do you still think I'm crazy? Here's one from Cleveland in August 2017, another from Detroit the day after that, and another from Toronto the day after THAT. Also, consider this: the average Major League Baseball game lasts three hours, and if we go early for batting practice, we'll meet outside the stadium and spend a minimum of six hours together. If the game is slow or goes into extra innings, it could be more like seven or eight hours, and there's a lot of planning that goes into setting this up. That said, it's not just about the time. I'm an expert. Remember? And I'm pretty much the most fun person ever, but hey, if you still think I’m crazy, try hiring a plumber for six hours. Or a wedding photographer. Or a personal trainer or a tutor or a psychologist or a lawyer — see how much THAT costs. Go get a six-hour massage and email me a copy of the receipt.

Is it $1,500 per person?
No. I charge a flat fee per game, so if you invite a bunch of people to join you, it'll still cost $1,500 total plus travel.

Where do you live? How much does the travel cost? I live in New York City, so if we attend a game at Citi Field or Yankee Stadium, I'll ride the subway and it won't cost you anything extra for me to meet you there. If I'm home and you want me to join you for a game in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington D.C., or Boston, I'll have to rent a car, so in addition to that, I'll ask you to cover gas, tolls, and parking. That adds $300 to my fee. (Note: I don’t charge extra for the many hours of my time that it takes to travel there and back.) If I'm anywhere else on the road and driving to meet you at a stadium (for example, driving from Milwaukee to meet you in Chicago), that, too, will cost an extra $300. The farthest I'm willing to drive in one direction is 250 miles, so for any trip longer than that, I’ll need you to cover my flights along with a hotel room.

Why does it cost $300 to drive to a baseball game?
On a recent-ish trip from New York City to Washington, D.C., renting a car for 24 hours cost $174.88 including accident/liability insurance plus tax. I also paid $29.06 for gas, $48 to park at the stadium, $28.80 in tolls during the 400-plus miles of driving, and $27.45 for taxi rides to and from the car rental place, which was a mile from my apartment. That’s actually more than $300 if you add it all up. I wish I owned a car, but street parking in NYC is a nightmare, and garages near me charge about $1,000 per month, so to hell with it — no car for me, but as a result, my day trips to nearby-ish stadiums are pricy. I’m sorry about that.

Are most of your games in New York or do you travel all over?
I've done dozens of games with people over the years, approximately half of which have been in New York. Back in 2007 I flew to San Francisco to catch baseballs for a woman and her 12-year-old son at the Home Run Derby. Later that season I drove to Baltimore to meet a family of four at Camden Yards, and in 2008 I took people to two games at Fenway Park in Boston. In 2009 I took a kid to Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, and in 2011 I joined a father and his two young kids for games in Cleveland and Pittsburgh. More recently, in 2016 I flew to Kansas City for a game with a dude in his 40s, and in July 2017 I met up with a family at Target Field in Minnesota. Shall I go on? In 2018 I joined a family at SunTrust Park and also did a game at PETCO Park with a huge group of kids. In 2019 my games with people included stops at Globe Life Park in Texas, Wrigley Field in Chicago, and Tropicana Field in Florida. Anything is possible.

Can we do this at a minor league game?
Sure, if you want. Everything else will be the same in terms of how this all works.

Do you mostly do games with families who have kids?
Yes but I’ve done some of adult-only games, so no matter how old you are, we can make this happen. I’m good with kids. I’m good with grown-ups. It’ll be fun no matter what.

What if our game gets rained out?
You won't lose your money. If an official game is not played, we'll pick another date and hope for better weather or if you’d rather get a refund, that's fine too.

How do we pick a game in the first place?
In a normal season, the ideal timing for me is approximately one month in advance. That’s usually when my plans begin to take shape. Throw some dates at me, and let’s discuss, but please *ONLY* get in touch about this if you’re the person who will be paying for it. (If you’re under 18, please get a parent or legal guardian to contact me. That’s the only way to make this happen.)

How do I pay for this?
You can mail me a check or use Venmo or PayPal. We'll discuss the details when you're ready to book a game. I'll ask for half the money up front and the rest in person.

What if something comes up at the last second and I have to cancel?
Just let me know as soon as possible, and we'll work it out. If we can schedule another game, great. If not, I'll refund your money. Just don't leave me on the hook for travel expenses.

How should we handle tickets?
If you already have tickets, bring them (including one for me, please, so we'll be guaranteed to sit together). If you don't have tickets, I suggest you include extra money with your payment and let me be in charge of buying them. We will, of course, discuss the options and the cost.

Why do I have to pay for your ticket? If you're getting cheap tickets, I don't mind paying for myself, but if you plan on splurging for good seats, it's not fair if I have to splurge too. Does that make sense?

What about food?
I will never turn down free food, but I don't require people to feed me. I'll probably bring a protein bar or grab something quickly at the stadium.

When and where will we meet? It's easiest to meet at the stadium (unless we're road-tripping together). I usually arrive about an hour before the gates open.

How early do the gates open?
It's different for every stadium. Pre-COVID, some places had one or two gates that opened early. Some places opened earlier on the weekends. Some places opened earlier for season ticket holders and/or for people who’ve purchased special BP tickets. Right now? It seems that most stadiums are opening the gates 90 minutes to two hours before game time, though a few venues are opening just one hour early. I'll plan everything once we figure out which stadium we're going to.

Do you really guarantee that we will get at least one baseball?
Yes. If you don’t catch a baseball, I’ll catch one for you, and if we all somehow go home empty-handed, I will refund all of your money or do another game with you for free. It’s likely that we’ll get more than one baseball. Check out these detailed stats from all my "Watch With Zack" games to see what’s possible.

Do you post blog entries and videos about all the games you do with people?
Yes, almost always. When I first started doing this, most of my clients looked forward to being featured on my blog; click here and here and here to see a few of my favorite entries from Watch With Zack games. These days, rather than blogging, I’m focusing on my YouTube channel, so most of my clients get excited about being featured there. If we do a video together, it will likely get at least 30,000 to 50,000 views, possibly within the first day. This video got 180,000 views in the first day, so who knows? You might go semi-viral. This is all part of the Watch With Zack experience. The cost to have me join you for an entire day and film a video is less than I charge sponsors to mention them for 45 seconds in a video. Let that sink in.

Are you able to bring a videographer? How much extra would you charge to have someone else join us and film?
Yes! For now I would just ask you to cover my videographer’s travel expenses and provide them with a ticket for the game. (They’ll need their own hotel room, but if we’re driving, we’ll share a rental car.) Get in touch and we'll figure it out. I realize that hiring me for a day and potentially paying for travel expenses is quite expensive. At this point I'm willing to pay my videographer myself to have them film us, but at some point in the near-ish future, I might ask for a little extra to help offset the cost of their fee.

How do we book a hotel room? Should I find a place close to the stadium, make the reservation under your name, and pay for it?
The easiest thing to do would be to include extra money with your payment and let me handle this part of the planning. We don't need fancy accommodations, but we don't want to stay at a cheap/tacky place that has bulletproof glass in the lobby and rooms that smell like cigarettes. (Been there/done that; we stay in nice-but-modest hotels like the Holiday Inn or Courtyard by Marriott.)

Can I have a discount? This costs a lot of money! Can we work something out? No. Planning and attending games with people takes a TON of time and effort. At any given moment, l could be in touch with a dozen people in different cities who are interested in booking games with me. I don't know how to say this nicely, so I'll just say it directly and hope you understand: my fee is non-negotiable.

What made you think of starting this business?
The one piece of career advice I've heard the most is: "Do what you love." I love baseball, I love people, and I love teaching so this seemed like a great way to combine all three. Also, I'm not exactly the 9-to-5 type.

How do I know my kid won't get hit by a ball or knocked over by a crazy hot dog vendor?
Real talk: you don't but the odds of your kid getting injured are VERY slim. Of course some kids are accident-prone wherever they are, so you need to accept the fact that minor scrapes and bruises are possible. That said, I will do everything possible to ensure your child's safety, including staying by his/her side at all times. As a necessary legal measure (which will hopefully help everyone feel safer), I have liability/medical forms that you'll need to fill out and sign.

How do I know I can trust you?
Funny, I was gonna ask you the same thing. After all, you know a lot about me, and I know nothing about you. Send me an email. Tell me what you have in mind and please let me know in your first message that you've seen these FAQs — otherwise I'm just going to direct you here. Hopefully we can work something out and book a trip to the ballpark.