APRIL 5 at 3:05 p. m.— 1st time that “real live” fans were permitted to be in the stands at Globe Life Field. All of the Rangers 2020 “home” games were played in front of “cardboard fans” due to the COVID Pandemic. For the first time there was very much in evidence the major thing that was so missing from baseball— THE FANS, and all the big and little things they bring to make the atmosphere right!
The day was “perfect,” with sunny skies and “temps” in the mid-70s.
About 3:00 p. m., the crowd sang the National Anthem— ROBUSTLY—as if they had not done it for a year or more!
“The Rangers are UNDEFEATED (in their home park) and are playing the Blue Jays, a team they should be able to beat, despite being disparaged by sportswriters! (But, what do they know?)
We are in a new park, a new cathedral—GLOBE LIFE FIELD (no longer ‘Park’).”
But, we had to keep in mind that despite the fact that this was “opening day” for Globe Life Field, it was not “opening day” for MLB. Toronto had a record of 2 or 3 wins and one defeat, while the Rangers were not nearly that “high.” (one win) Vladimir Guerrero was
Vladimir Guerrero was playing, but not for the Rangers, and it was “JR.” and not “our old VLADIE.”
Our “starting hurler” was “Foltynewicz—#20,” not exactly an old, familiar name in this part of Texas—maybe not even in any part of Texas.
The lead-off hitter for Toronto was #24, Marcus Semien, and he struck out—a big K!
The second hitter was Cavan Biggio, a familiar name in Texas, since his Dad was a “star” for the Astros! Biggio walked!
“We have good seats but have decided not to be ‘season plan’ purchasers this year. Good ol’ Stub Hub will be our ‘go to’ guy, because ticket prices have increased dramatically, and we don’t like the ‘lay-out’ of the new stadium as well. If ‘our Rangers’ get and stay ‘hot,’ we will probably like the new field just fine and wish we had season tickets! The Rangers sold 38,000 tickets for this game and are calling it a ‘sell-out.’ The new stadium holds fewer fans than the old!”
“We look around and see many masks, but fairly quickly, many are being left to dangle, even when no food or drink is in sight. We see no one enforcing any ‘mask rules.’
As Viv and I study the list of Ranger starters and role players, we do not see many familiar names or ‘stars.’ My wife’s favorite this year is Isiah Kiner-Falefa; I suppose mine at this time is Solak. I have seen him play before this day and was pleasantly impressed!
We notice that Joey Gallo has started the season well, hitting .500 so far and still blasting them ‘high, fast, and far!’
Our new player, Dahl, seems to have ‘promise,’ and Lowe (leading in RBI) impresses me!
Trevino at catcher looks good, but I miss Robinson Chirinos, at one time my prediction for a ‘future Hall of Famer.’ (I have a ball autographed by him!) And, Kyle Cody looks like a pitcher ought to look!”
I won’t bore you with a play-by-play of this game, which the Rangers lost 6—2. Six different hitters were hit by pitches, while Toronto was scoring one run in the 1st and three in the 2nd! They picked up another in the 6th and another in the 7th. Texas got one in the 4th and one in the 9th and were not ever “really” in the game! Kiner-Falefa knocked 2 of their 5 hits—and Lowe, Trevino, and Holt added one each!
Brett de Gues pitched well with no runs allowed during his 8 outs, and our “starter” did record 7 Ks!
“My wife and I love baseball, especially in the open air of the park, and plan to make more games this season,” BUT, we were glad we did not pay $200 per ticket for the home opener. Our recliners were comfortable, and nachos were cheaper out of our pantry. Plus, we did not stand in line for restroom breaks!
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