MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Oh, to be one of those lucky fans to catch the World Series in person. Yankees, Dodgers - LA is now just one win away from the championship after last night's victory in New York. Had to remind me, didn't you? You know one thing those fans probably don't have? Paper tickets to the game. Tickets are digital now. They exist only on our phones. Some teams and music venues are bringing back a new type of physical ticket. NPR's Rafael Nam says they're becoming a bit of a hit.
RAFAEL NAM, BYLINE: Jerad Castillo is a die-hard Texas Rangers fan. And one night in October last year, he got to see something kind of magical. It was Game 1 of the World Series.
JERAD CASTILLO: I remember I was sitting in the third deck of the stadium, the last row in that section. I was on the second seat, so I was at the end of the row.
NAM: It was the bottom of the ninth. The Rangers were down 5-3. Rangers star Corey Seager stepped up to the plate with a man on base.
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JOE DAVIS: I'm intrigued with this at-bat and how he's going to face Corey Seager.
NAM: Even the Fox broadcasters didn't know what to expect. And then...
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DAVIS: High drive. It's tied.
CASTILLO: And I erupted. My cousin erupted. We embraced each other. The whole crowd went nuts.
NAM: The Rangers went on to win the World Series for the first time ever. And Castillo believes that home run kick-started it all.
CASTILLO: One of those magical sports moments you see on TV that - you know, it's awesome, but being in person to feel that energy, that excitement - you can't describe it. It just - it's sports.
NAM: To this day, Castillo relishes every instance of that memory, but he did have one big regret.
CASTILLO: I didn't have anything to commemorate that event with. I was at the game, but, you know, there's no ticket. There's no - nothing you can to say that, hey, you were really at that game to attend it.
NAM: Now some teams, like the Texas Rangers, and concert promoters are seeing a business opportunity - a souvenir paper ticket. Not like the ones from the past - the ones with the barcodes yellowing away somewhere in your house - these ones are made of higher-quality paper, with better design. The Rangers released one last year after winning the World Series. It has a grainy, black-and-white picture of a Rangers player heading to bat.
EVAN GITOMER: I think there's still always that connection to an actual ticket, right? And it reminds you. It takes you back, just like the sense of smell.
NAM: That's Evan Gitomer, an executive with Weldon, Williams and Lick, which worked with the Rangers to make that ticket. The souvenir tickets usually sell for about 15 or $20, and some fans really resent having to pay another ticket fee. But Castillo bought the Rangers one as soon as he saw it offered. He loves it. It shows his exact seat location that October night, just like the tickets of the past.
CASTILLO: It's just something, you know, that you can look back at your collection - a, hey, I was there. This is where I sat. You know, it just brings back memories and stuff like that.
NAM: It's a reminder that, yes, he was there, in the last row of that upper deck, to see that magical moment.
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DAVIS: Corey Seager has tied the game in the ninth, and now the Rangers can look to win it.
NAM: Rafael Nam, NPR News.
(SOUNDBITE OF ALESSANDRO ALESSANDRONI'S "EL GRINGO") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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