Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be a Yankees’ season ticket holder?

The Yankees actually called me during the 2009 playoffs to ask if I was interested in purchasing a ticket license, the official name of a season ticket. Earlier that year I’d purchased a single game ticket via Ticketmaster, which is how the team got my number. My answer was an emphatic yes, which got my name put on a email distribution list to keep me informed of when season tickets were going on sale. Anyone can sign up for the email list on Yankees.com.

After that it was a waiting game. Existing ticket license holders renew and upgrade their seats from November through February. The team didn’t consider new ticket license subscriptions until around March of this year and probably won’t expand the list again until March 2011.

That will be the most difficult time for aspiring ticket licensees. If memory serves, the team only gave me a couple of days notice as to when new ticket licenses may have gone on sale. I remember waking up one day, mid-week, and discovering an email announcing that Yankee ticket licenses would go on sale that day, at 10am, via Ticketmaster. I recommend calling the Yankees’ sales office regularly, or risk being caught completely off-guard.

I sat by my computer, with Ticketmaster ready to go, and logged on at 10am. The site is slow and reloads constantly. It is wise to have an idea of your budget and where you would like to sit before you purchase. Ticketmaster will ask you which ticket license plan you would like, and then you have to select the section you would like your seat(s) to be in. The site may not find your selection because it may not be available, and it was common to see options that had interested me disappear during the purchase process, no doubt because other people snapped up the seats.

I settled on two $70 seats, on the 11 game ticket plan, the cheapest plan the Yankees offer, which came to about $1500 all-in. There are a variety of ticket licenses available, ranging from 11 games, to the full 81 home games, with many seating options in-between. Only 41 and 81 game plan holders are guaranteed their seats for playoff games, but all ticket licensees get preferential treatment for the postseason, so don’t worry if you’re like me and only want to commit to going to about 10 games a year.

My tickets arrived in the mail about two-weeks before the season began, and came with some surprises. The ticket package is awesome, in and of itself. You get a bunch of tickets in a nifty booklet, with your ticket license identification card, all bound together. The Yankees also provide gifts with the license, including discounts at Modell’s, NYY steak, and three coupons each allowing me to purchase two $5 tickets to any home game, Monday through Thursday, subject to availability. The other coupons remain unused, but I happily accepted the team’s offer to expand my ticket license three games for only $30. Learn from my mistake, however, and go to the Stadium (the only place the coupons can be redeemed) the first day you can. Participating seats vanish immediately, but for those who can get to the Bronx this is a great way to add a few more games to your package for virtually no money, and see some other sections of the Stadium in the process.

During the season my ticket license representative reached out to me several times to keep me posted on all important offerings. He also took the time to meet with me and answer my questions regarding playoff tickets. I give the organization top marks for customer service.

The playoff ticket process itself is efficient. All non-41 and 81 game plan holders are allowed to purchase playoff tickets before they go on sale to the general public. My ticket license allowed me to purchase up to two tickets for one game in each of the three rounds of the playoffs. Once again it is imperative to know where you would like to sit heading into the process, which Ticketmaster administers. Also, I purchased only a single ticket for myself to each round to make sure I got through the system quickly. It is harder to find two seats together than a single seat in any section. And, yes, my ticket to game three of the World Series was refunded in full.

I will enthusiastically renew my ticket license this November. I’d like to move my seats, but at the very least the team says I will be able to keep my old seats, which were great. The entire process was smooth and accommodating. I recommend it, if you have some money to burn and a hankering to go to Yankee Stadium a bunch of times. My first year as a ticket licensee was an amazing experience, one that made me more of a Yankee fan.