I had a conference in Dallas from Monday to Wednesday of this past week. The conference ended at 12pm on Wednesday, which gave me the opportunity to attend that afternoon’s Texas Rangers game at Globe Life Field. To attend a game at baseball’s newest stadium approximately 1,500 miles from where I grew up was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. Luckily for me, the timing worked out, and I got to go to the game. And, boy, was it wild.
First, it goes without saying that the state-of-the-art stadium, which stands right next to the former Globe Life Park (it’s now called Choctaw Stadium) is gorgeous. With the roof closed and the air conditioning roaring through the ballpark, I couldn’t even tell that it was over 90 degrees outside. The ballpark itself had plenty of Texas flare and the insulated atmosphere actually made it much louder than the modest afternoon crowd would suggest. I should also mention that I had the opportunity to sit in a suite thanks to someone I met at the conference, but I did my classic lap around the concourse and found most viewpoints of the stadium to be quite pleasing to the eye. Overall, I have Globe Life Field as my sixth-favorite MLB stadium I’ve been to, only behind the classics (Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Wrigley, San Francisco, and St. Louis). That’s high praise coming from a baseball history junkie.
The game itself was all Rangers. Brayan Bello and the Red Sox hopped out to an early lead, thanks to an Adam Duvall crush shot over the left field fence in the first, but after a six-run bottom of the second, it was all Rangers. Jonah Heim and Mitch Garver went back-to-back in that second inning, the rookies Josh Jung and Evan Carter added homers of their own, and the team as a whole scored a whopping 15 runs in a 15-5 drubbing of Boston. It was the sixth time Texas had scored 15 runs or more in a single game this season, and it honestly didn’t seem like they were trying that hard to do it. The Rangers boast the highest batting average and totals runs scored of any American League team in 2023 at .266 and 815, respectively, and are six homers shy from being the top slugging team in the AL this season. That entire lineup can really hit, from MVP candidate Corey Seager to true slugger Adolis Garcia to bounce-back free agent signing Marcus Semien to the catchers to the rookies and to everyone in between.
The pitching is the obvious issue in the Lone Star State, specifically the bullpen, which has a notoriously horrendous blown save-save ratio as of late and doesn’t seem to get any better. That, on top of the Rangers’ dog fight for an AL playoff spot with fellow western contenders Houston and Seattle make it tough to imagine how this potent Rangers lineup can fare against the best of the best in the playoffs, but if they can get there, they have a chance. Watching hit after hit fly off the Rangers’ bats on Wednesday and marveling at how consistent their lineup is from top to bottom gave me a weird sense of optimism of them slugging their way through the postseason. Again, they have to get there first and, with a battered pitching staff, it could be tough, but I’d watch out for the Rangers if they’re in October. Anyone can pitch, but not everyone can hit.
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