NLCS tickets on sale at 10 a.m. today
Cubs fans who stayed up late Wednesday night will need to be awake and near a phone or computer by 10 this morning if they want tickets for the next round.
Although the National League Division Series only just started, the team needs to sell League Championship tickets now to avoid logistical nightmares should the Cubs advance.
Only about 15,000 tickets were made available to the public for the first round's two potential games at Wrigley Field. They sold out in about 35 minutes.
Slightly more tickets will be available today for three LCS games at Wrigley, but they should sell out in about the same time frame, Cubs Director of Ticket Operations Frank Maloney said.
The tickets are only available at www.cubs.com or by phone at 800-843-2827 (Illinois callers) or 866-652-2827 (out-of-state callers).
For Cubs fans hoping to turn out at the ballpark before a game in hopes of getting late-released tickets -- don't count on it, Maloney warned.
"We generally don't get them in the postseason -- we do our best to avoid that," he said. "Because the last thing we would ever want is crowds out here waiting for something that ain't going to materialize. I would say the chance of that is about zero."
Wrigley can hold more than 41,000 people, but the Cubs have to satisfy their more than 27,000 season-ticket holders in addition to each Major League team, the umpires, the networks and more.
The crunch can lead to some desperate calls to the ticket office.
"I get the calls [that start] 'I've been a Cubs fans since 1880. I've gotta go,' " said Maloney. "And, even more interesting are the casual calls, generally from out of town: 'I need two for Saturday.' They don't grasp what's going on here."