High Gas Prices Don't Miss Anybody
This story appeared on the The Early Show
We're at Victory Field, home of the local AAA baseball team, the Indianapolis Indians. We came to the game to try to find one person who isn't feeling the pinch in some way from high gas prices. We couldn't do it.
One thing that surprised us as we headed here through Ohio and Indiana corn fields was how high the gas prices were, even in farm country. For instance, we paid $3.95 a gallon in Englewood, Ohio.
Those steep prices prompted the Davis family to take in a minor league game here instead of driving to Cincinnati to see the Reds.
Steve Davis told me, "Just getting there is a lot more expensive than coming here, for example. Whereas, I don't know -- a couple summers ago, it would have been a fun weekend."
Over at the concession stand, Martina Evans has changed her mind about a car purchase.
"I was getting ready to buy an SUV, and now I'm not going to buy one," she told me.
And that's bad news for Leroy Sargent, who sells SUVs and was taking in the game. "People aren't buying cars," he says. "They're not buying them. Big trucks are not selling."
Down in the team's maintenance shop, we talked to Jermaine Hatcher, who can't believe how pricey it's gotten to power the lawn blowers. "Having a car," he says, "and the gas prices the way they are -- it's better to catch the bus."
AAA umpires such as David Rackley get all their gas expenses reimbursed by the league. When he was in single A ball, a travel stipend was a way to make a few extra bucks but, "I think now, guys are breaking even, if not maybe coming out of pocket a little bit."
As for the team itself, well, flights to games cost more. And the promotional vehicles cost more to fuel. But team officials hope more local fans stay close to home to save on gas, as the Davises did. "In our case," says Assistant General Manager Randy Lewandowski, "instead of driving to Cincinnati or St. Louis or Chicago, well, 'Let's come me to downtown Indianapolis to see the AAA Indians as opposed to the Cubs, the Cards, the White Sox, etc.! ' "
So far, Jeff is spending an everage of ten cents per mile in his Toyota Prius, and we're spending an average of 15.3 cents per mile in our Ford Fusio, meaning, right now, I'm spending about $5 more for every hundred miles we drive than he is."
