“Take me out to the ball game” is my blog on major-league ballparks and the wonders of witnessing America’s favorite pastime up close.
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By Bobby Ross Jr.
So you want to be a true major-league baseball fan.
With my friend Steve Holladay and his son, Griffin, at a Texas Rangers game this week.
Understanding the unwritten rules for supporting your team will help.
For instance, a new fan might ask: “Is it ever appropriate to leave a game early?”
The quick, easy answer, of course, would be: “No!”
But at some point, you may find yourself in a real-life game situation that prompts you to inquire — even as play continues on the field — “Should I stay or should I go?”
Let’s circle the bases with some hypothetical examples:
With friends at last night’s Rangers game in Arlington, Texas.
There were Angels in the outfield but not too many fans in the bleachers, as the Monday night game drew 18,401 fans to Ghost Town Park — er, Globe Life Park — in Arlington.
Why the small crowd? Weather probably played a role, with rain in the forecast and temperatures in the low 60s. The Rangers’ injury situation — including the loss of key pitchers Yu Darvish and Derek Holland— has hurt confidence in the team’s chances. Moreover, even if the weather were perfect and the team on a winning streak, weeknight games during the school year tend to draw fewer fans than usual.
But for the baseball faithful who made it to the ballpark — including a group of friends and me — last night’s game was a wonderful experience.
Here are five tips for enjoying major-league baseball in a nearly empty stadium:
“Take me out to the ball game” is my blog on major-league ballparks and the wonders of witnessing America’s favorite pastime up close.
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By Bobby Ross Jr.
Ray. People will come, Ray.
They’ll come to Iowa for reasons they can’t even fathom. They’ll turn up your driveway not knowing for sure why they’re doing it. They’ll arrive at your door as innocent as children, longing for the past.
“Of course, we won’t mind if you look around,” you’ll say. “It’s only $20 per person.”
They’ll pass over the money without even thinking about it — for it is money they have and peace they lack. And they’ll walk out to the bleachers, sit in their shirtsleeves on a perfect afternoon.
And they’ll find they have reserved seats somewhere along one of the baselines, where they sat when they were children and cheered their heroes. And they’ll watch the game. And it’ll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters.
The memories will be so thick, they’ll have to brush them away from their faces.
People will come, Ray.
The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball.
America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time.
This field, this game, it’s a part of our past, Ray. It reminds us of all that once was good and that could be again.
Ohhhhh, people will come, Ray. People will most definitely come.
Every fan dreams of this. We look at Spring Training now, and we know the season is coming. It would only be appropriate that once baseball truly begins again, we celebrate with the ultimate indulgent celebrations. Imagine it: 30 stadiums in (roughly) 30 days. What a way to live! People would write novels about you.
Sounds terrific, but I must take issue with one point: I’d write my own novel.
“Take me out to the ball game” is my blog on major-league ballparks and the wonders of witnessing America’s favorite pastime up close.
• • •
By Bobby Ross Jr.
I won’t bury the lede or attempt to keep you in suspense.
With Keaton, Brady, Kendall and Tamie outside Wrigley Field in 2006.
This is a no-brainer really: The legendary Wrigley Field — home of the Chicago Cubs — ranks No. 1 on my bucket list of a dozen major-league ballparks I’ve yet to experience.
The 101-year-old Wrigley — known for its ivy-covered outfield walls — was built in 1914 and ranks as MLB’s second-oldest ballpark after Boston’s Fenway Park.
In 2006, my family and I actually visited the outside of Wrigley and posed for a photo under the famous red sign. But the Cubs were out of town, and we did not get to see an actual game.
Faith. Family. Fastballs. 