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For a number of years, I had a generous boss and a loving relative (by marriage) with club box infield seats at Wrigley Field, the kind of seats that put you in spitting distance of the action. They never charged me and with advance notice, always had tickets available. So, I am very, very spoiled when it comes to watching games at Clark and Addison.

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Does it get better than free tickets with the best views in baseball? It does not, even for a sportswriter who isn’t a Cubs fan.

But while sitting in the club box infield seats are heaven — you can have the bleachers — I wanted to know what are the other best seats in the house for Wrigley Field and Guaranteed Rate Field.

While there won’t be many deals to be had at Wrigley Field this season, the secondary market is going to be flooded with highly jacked-up inventory, which makes choosing the best possible seats a little more difficult.

The Cubs averaged 39,906 a game last year, their best attendance since averaging 40,743 in 2008, while the White Sox managed to sell 21,828 tickets per game. Expect the Cubs to get back to 40,000 this season and the Sox to struggle to average 20,000.

For those of you who don’t have friends with good tickets, your best bet at Wrigley would be targeting the seats where you can find the best value and to do that, fans need to do their homework. Given that so many seats are held by season ticket holders (and the Cubs) who scalp them online to recoup costs, I went to SeatGeek and StubHub to find the “best seats in the house.”

SeatGeek went through its 2016 data for me and ranked the five sections with the best “deal score” for both parks.

For context, according to SeatGeek, the average price of a Cubs ticket on the secondary market last season (excluding the playoffs) was $90. For the White Sox, it was $28. The average Cubs season ticket this season will be around $66, a jump of nearly 20 percent from 2016, so expect their secondary market average to jump about the same percentage. (White Sox tickets should be dirt cheap all year.)

2016 sections with the best deals for Cubs games:

As for the White Sox, here are the best sections in 2016:

SeatGeek’s “deal score” is a bit of an arbitrary designation for fans just looking for good seats. But if you compare prices with deal scores, we get a clearer picture of the value for the seats.

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At Wrigley Field, section 122 had the best deal score in 2016, and it’s no surprise. The field box infield seats are right behind home plate, one section behind the club box infield seats, but they also had an average secondary market price of $191. So throw that out for most bargain-hunting fans, particularly with families. Wrigley’s section 135, outfield field box seats down right field, was more reasonable at $109.

Sections 517 and 503, upper deck reserved infield and outfield seats, respectively, were priced at $62 and $55 last year, a good value right around the average ticket price for the ballpark, as long as you don’t mind being in the upper deck with its sparse selection of food.

Section 202 is terrace reserved outfield in the left field corner and the average price in 2016 was $70. If the row is close enough, these are good seats with a different angle than I’m used to. I got them for family members a couple years ago and they really enjoyed the area. Plus, it’s close to the Waveland Ave. exit, food stands and bathrooms.

If you’re looking to spend under $100, those seats are your best bet.

SeatGeek also provided me with the seats with the lowest deal scores. Aside from some of the very expensive box seats, Sections 114 ($149) and 224 ($79) had the lowest deal scores. Maybe do your homework there.

For Guaranteed Rate Field, the top three deal scores are in the 500-level, i.e. the upper deck. If you’re looking to spend between $8 and $22 on a ticket, these are for you. But given the low prices for close seats and the ability to move around without hassle in the lower bowl, you’re better off finding the cheapest price in the lower deck. (The Sox occasionally have restrictions on movement from upper to lower deck when the stadium is full)

Section 161, bleacher seats, went for an average of $19 last season. Section 118, down the first base line, went for $33. If you’re not into seat-hunting and like the reassurance of having a seat, I think Section 118 is for you. 

As for StubHub, their spokesman provided me with a top three list of “best quality” and “best value” from last season, and they’re basically all club box seats, which makes sense.

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Best Quality – Wrigley 2016

Best Value – Wrigley 2016

At Wrigley Field, you get what you pay for. If you can swing it, try sitting in the club box seats once, especially before next season when the Cubs are inflating prices for some seats and sections with the introduction of their underground club suites. Nothing like a $250 or so bump in tickets for the right to eat some sliced prime rib before the game.

As for the Rate, with the Sox embarking on a rebuilding plan, your best bet is to buy the cheapest ticket possible and roam around the park looking for swaths of empty seats. If you’re not with kids, or minors, just head into the new craft beer “kave” in right field.

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