Moving one step closer to a bucket list goal to visit all 30 MLB ballparks
Last week I boarded an airplane for a one-night trip to Arlington, Texas, to visit “Globe Life Stadium,” the corporate-named home of the Texas Rangers. I knew I was getting near the Lone Star State when the airline map showed us flying near the Gulf of Mexico . . . oh wait, United Airlines—like way too many corporate entities in this country—just had to suck up to a lifelong con man and convicted felon.
Jeez. I don’t have a lot of confidence in an airline that doesn’t even know where we are. One day future historians will shake their heads at our stupidity.
As long-time readers and friends know, I am on a bucket-list quest to visit all 30 Major League ballparks.* However, it had been three years since I’d traveled to one of the cities remaining on my list.
Located on the appropriately named Nolan Ryan Expressway, smack in the middle of the maze of highways that makes up the Dallas/Ft. Worth metroplex, the home of the Texas Rangers was one of those places I was going to have to make an intentional trip to see. I checked the schedule and found that my Washington Nationals were playing Texas this month. I was in!
Thanks to frequent flyer miles and motel points, Tuesday of last week found me walking near AT&T Stadium (home of the Cowboys), past the old and much more visually appealing home of the Rangers (now dubbed Choctaw Stadium for a gambling enterprise, of course), and into the gates of Globe Life Field following two Nats fans attired in Turner and Scherzer jerseys (those were the days when the owners cared about winning). I made it in time to watch my hometown team take batting practice and to check off stadium #24 in my quest.
Have I mentioned that it was 105 degrees with a hot breeze blowing as I walked that 20 minutes from the hotel to the stadium? Brutal.
When I planned this trip, the Nats were actually generating some excitement, playing a little better than .500 ball. Then at the trade deadline the Lerners, who own the team, do what they have done since winning the 2019 World Series: they trade off their good (and higher-priced) players for “prospects.” Since that magical year its been pretty thin gruel.
Have I mentioned the Nationals need to fire their owners?
I was wearing my 2019 World Series Champions hat and an old Nationals City Connect t-shirt (still my favorite). While I was watching batting practice, Robbie and Larry—the two folks wearing those old Nats jerseys—came up to join me. They live in Rockville and are on the same quest I am to visit all 30 MLB stadiums. Globe Life Field was #27 for Robbie while it was #29 for Larry.
I told my new friends that this was the first in my quest to actually involve the Nats as the visiting team. Robbie said that several years ago she and Larry adjusted their journeys to coincide with Nationals away games and that they liked the experience. It was an interesting adjustment for me. There were a good number of fans wearing their Nats gear beyond the three of us. Everyone—from the stadium personnel to the concessionaires to the Rangers fans—could see our allegiance.
By the end of the evening I actually found it appealing to have that connection to the visiting team. I don’t know if my Nats gear made a difference, but all the locals were exceptionally friendly. Ticket takers and information staff quickly pointed me in the right direction on more than one occasion. The guy who sold me my beef brisket sandwich and beer asked if we could help out the home team by letting them win. I told him that his odds were pretty good, as we’d been playing down-in-the-dumps since the trade deadline and our best player, James Wood, was injured.
My seat was just below the press box, similar to the location of my regular perch in Section 313 in Nationals Stadium (N-A-T-S, Nats, Nats, Nats, Woo!). Unlike at home, that section of Globe Life Field was sparsely settled. Nonetheless, the three women and one man sitting in front of me, all in Rangers attire, were scoring the game—a very good sign for an evening of intelligent baseball conversation.
I asked what they liked best about the stadium. One woman laughed and said “the roof.”
If you look at this line from the box score you’ll see why. The temperature outside was 105 degrees, but the official scorer noted that inside we were sitting in a comfortable environment of 74 degrees. The roof was closed.
Umpires: HP: Chad Fairchild. 1B: Bill Miller. 2B: John Bacon. 3B: Brian Walsh. Weather: 74 degrees, Roof Closed. T: 2:34. Att: 22,126.
That same individual told me that she had “sweated pounds away” at the old Rangers ballpark each summer.
In addition to the nice people, I have to give it to the Rangers for their choice of music. When a Ranger scored and the Nationals challenged the safe call at home plate in the third inning, the stadium’s music director played the following inspired choice:
The video reviewers confirmed the umpire’s safe call, so they did “let it be.”
I also loved it that the “Ranger Fans Sing-a-long” held in one of the between-innings slots featured this classic. I can attest that not only Ranger fans were singing!
Not everything about the venue was great. As is true in most of the new stadiums with retractable roofs, you feel as if you are inside a very large parking garage. Then there is the lame mascot race. The Rangers claim that the “Racing Dots” are MLB’s first mascot race. It doesn’t matter. The thrill of racing dots is incomprehensible. The fans in front of me said they were big fans of Washington’s Presidents Race. After seeing what they have to endure each game, I can only imagine that they pine for a good set of racing mascots. Like dead presidents. Or sausages.
Even with the heat outside, the racing dots and a Nationals 5-0 loss—extending their losing streak to four games—all in all it was a very enjoyable evening. Thanks to all my new-found friends for their Texas hospitality.
Twenty-four down, six to go!
Here are the ballparks still to be visited. Let me know if you’d like to join me on one of these journeys.
- Arizona Diamondbacks – Chase Field
- Detroit Tigers – Comerica Park (I’ve seen it, but not to watch a ballgame)
- Los Angeles Dodgers – Dodger Stadium (I’ve had offers from friends in LA to join them to see the Dodgers. I’ll probably try and get my daughter Claire to fly down from the Bay Area for a visit with me as well, especially since she’s been there multiple times. I’ve seen more ball parks with my daughter than with any other individual. I do love her so!)
- Miami Marlins – Marlins Park (Hey, maybe I should wait a few years and I could also work in a visit to the Donald Trump Presidential Library. Or not.)
- New York Yankees – Yankee Stadium (I know—how can I not have made it to Yankee stadium yet?! Just goes to show I’ve never been a big Yankees fan. I’m actually saving this for last.)
- Toronto Blue Jays – Rogers Centre (Candice and I are planning a trip to Toronto, perhaps next year.)
More to come . . .
DJB
*I do have some rules for this quest. First, drive-by viewings don’t count. I have to actually see a game. I use to buy a hat of the local team to prove I’d been there, but it was suggested that I have enough caps so that’s no longer necessary.
Finally, demolitions have wreaked havoc with these plans. I decided—in a totally arbitrary way since I am the commissioner and umpire for this game—that if I’ve seen a team in their home ballpark that has since been demolished, then it counts against my list. After spending many misbegotten days of my young adulthood in Atlanta Fulton County Stadium, I don’t intend on visiting the Disneyland that is now home to the Atlanta Braves. What type of team uproots its stadium from the traditional home of its most loyal fan base. That’s a rhetorical question, as two-thirds of the owners in MLB have done it at one time or another.
MORE TO COME... 