Gone, and probably forgotten

By David Mullen

This marks the final season of Major League Baseball at Globe Life Park, previously known as Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Ameriquest Field in Arlington and The Ballpark in Arlington. Through the decades, after opening on April 11, 1994 at a cost of $191 million, the stadium has been home to a few memorable moments, but for the most part will be rather forgettable.   

The first regular season game was a 4-3 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers, played in front of a crowd estimated to be more than 48,000 fans. The game was delayed by rain, which is ironic, since the stadium suffered from a rather dubious distinction. It was just too hot to sit in the left field upper deck for day baseball, and even during night games that temperature could be well over 100 degrees. The intense heat is often blamed on the Rangers not being to attract All-Star players, especially pitchers. 

With the help of a diving catch from fan favorite Rusty Greer, left handed starter Kenny Rogers pitched the first perfect game in Texas Rangers history there on July 28, 1994 against the California Angels. It was home to the first regular season interleague game in MLB history on June 12, 1997, when the Rangers played the San Francisco Giants. But that game is most remembered for the horrific traffic jams surrounding the park, forcing most fans to arrive as late as the fourth inning and miss the pregame ceremonies.

The stadium, designed by David M. Schwarz Architectural Services of Washington, D.C., did have some distinctive elements. The outside was made of brick. In dead center field, a large green expanse known as Greene’s Hill (after former Arlington Mayor Richard Greene), proved to be an excellent backdrop for hitters. Above center field was a four-story office building that always seemed a bit out of place.

It was home to some great hitters like Ivan Rodriguez, Juan Gonzalez, Adrián Beltré, Michael Young and Josh Hamilton. Alex Rodriguez and Rafael Palmeiro also starred there, but their careers were tainted by performance enhancing drug use.

The park hosted the 1995 MLB All-Star Game in front of 50,920, won by the National League 3-2. The unique feature of the game was that American League pitchers held National League batters to just three base hits, but all three were home runs.

Sarcastically referred to as “No Flags over Texas” because of the proximity to the theme park next door and the lack of championships, the first postseason games were played at the park in 2010. The Rangers beat the New York Yankees in six games to make their first ever World Series. In arguably the most exciting game played at the park, on October 22, 2010, the Rangers beat the Yankees  6–1 when now Yankee Rodriguez made the final out.

Then The Ballpark in Arlington, it hosted games 3, 4 and 5 of the 2010 World Series against the San Francisco Giants and games 3, 4 and 5 of the 2011 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Rangers would lose both series and “No Flags over Texas” remains in place today.

Scenes from the 2002 Disney movie “The Rookie” starring Dennis Quaid were shot there. It was the story of journeyman pitcher Jim Morris, who made his MLB debut in September 1999 in Arlington as a member of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays   

On July 7, 2011, firefighter Shannon Stone from Brownwood, attending a game with son Cooper, reached over the left field wall to grab a baseball tossed to him by Hamilton. Initially conscious, he would die on the way to the hospital. A tarp was added between the left field wall and the seating area. A bronze statue of the Shannon and Cooper was unveiled at the stadium entrance in 2012.

Is the stadium iconic? No. There were parts of the right field corner that could not be seen from home plate. The double-decker right field seats seemed out of place, more of a testament to old Tigers Stadium in Detroit. In fact, retro elements were all throughout the ballpark. But the concourse level was comfortable and could serve as an area for fans when the weather got inclement. 

The Texas Rangers will open their new retractable roof ballpark next to the current stadium, called Globe Life Field, in time for the 2020 season. It will have a technology-advanced synthetic turf field designed to withstand the Texas heat when the roof is open. Being built for $1.1 billion, the new park will have approximately 40,000 seats. 

Globe Life Park will remain open to events other than baseball. Paul McCartney and Billy Joel will have concerts there. The XFL will play games there next year. But for the most part, the park will go down as a quirky stadium with few fond memories.