Text and photos by Joe Mock
All rights reserved
For two decades, we’ve provided a comparison of the two ballparks being used in that year’s World Series. It’s time for the 2023 edition!
Two teams hungry for World Series rings are facing off. The Arizona Diamondbacks last won the Fall Classic in 2001, in just the franchise’s fourth season of existence. Who can forget Game 7’s 150-foot game-winning RBI bloop by Luis Gonzalez in the bottom of the 9th off Mariano Rivera?
The Texas Rangers, meanwhile, have never won a World Series, including the franchise’s days in Washington before moving to DFW. They made back-to-back appearances in 2010 and 2011 (don’t remind me about Game 6 and 7 in St. Louis. As a Rangers fan, I was there, and I still have nightmares about it), but none since.
The Diamondbacks still play in the same stadium as in 2001, although the name has changed from Bank One Ballpark to Chase Field. The Rangers, though, are in a new ballpark. The retractable-roof Globe Life Field was built across the street from the site of the 2010 and 2011 Fall Classics. During those World Series years, the facility was in between corporate sponsorship names and was simply called Rangers Ballpark. It was later re-named Globe Life Park.
Even though the Rangers haven’t appeared in a World Series since before Globe Life Field opened, it’s not the first Fall Classic being held there. In the COVID year of 2020, MLB used the ballpark for the Dodgers-Rays World Series.
So as we’ve been doing every autumn since 2003, here’s our look at the “tale of the tape” of the two parks in this year’s World Series. As always, it’s a little tongue-in-cheek! By the way, the interior photo for Chase Field is from the 2023 NLDS and shots of Globe Life Field are from a regular season game in 2023.
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Inside |  |
Globe Life Field |
Chase Field |
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| The opening of the Rangers’ park was delayed because the 2020 schedule was pushed back due to COVID. The first game was 7/24/2020. | Year opened | The ballpark’s first game was also the franchise’s first game: 3/31/1998 |
| It was constructed in a parking lot across Randol Mill Road from Globe Life Park. | Site | It’s located in downtown Phoenix, two blocks east of the arena of the NBA Suns |
| This is a top-ten park in my book. It ranks 9th. | Our ranking among 30 MLB parks | Short on aesthetics, Chase Field comes in at number 28 |
| 40,300. The Rangers finished 16th in MLB in attendance in 2023, averaging 31,272 | Seating capacity | 48,405. The D-backs’ home average of 24,212 ranked 20th |
| Although the retractable roof was designed to allow sunlight to reach a grass playing surface, the Rangers opted for artificial. | Playing surface | Originally natural grass, but switched to artificial in 2019 |
| The most obvious is air conditioning, which can operate even when the roof is open. | Special feature | From Day 1, everyone associated this park with its swimming pool in RCF. |
| HKS, which also designed the Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium a couple of blocks away | Designed by | Ellerbe Becket |
| $1.1 billion | Cost to build | $354 million |
| 329′-372′-407′-374′-326′ The deepest point is 410′ just to the right of dead center. The exact dimensions honor various Rangers legends | Outfield dimensions | 330′-374′-407′-374′-334′ The deepest points are 413′ to the right and left of dead center |
| This is the second, but the first involving the Rangers. This was MLB’s “bubble” park for the 2020 World Series, Dodgers vs. Rays | World Series hosted | This will be the park’s second, with the D-backs upsetting the Yankees in 7 games in 2001 |
| Never. Never ever. | Last World Series won by home team | 2001 |
| None yet … but unless MLB gets peeved at the state of Texas over something (remember Atlanta?), GLF hosts in 2024 | All Star Games hosted | 2011, with the National League winning 5-1 |
| Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium, Globe Life Park, Texas Live! entertainment district, and Six Flags Over Texas are all in walking distance | Landmarks | Downtown Phoenix isn’t known for any world-famous landmarks. Sorry! |
| The biggest crowd ever here was 43,598 for a Morgan Wallen concert. The National Finals Rodeo was held here in 2020 | Other events | The biggest grossing concert ever here was Bad Bunny in 2022. It’s also hosted college football bowl games and women’s basketball |
| GLF is pretty much a hitters park, with 4% more runs scored than average and 11% more HRs. Both stats rank 6th of the 30 MLB parks | 2021-23 park factors Source: Statcast |
Chase Field is exactly average when assessing runs scored, finishing 16th. It yields 55% more triples than average, but 16% fewer HRs |
| Local fans helped sell out the postseason games in 2020 when the Rangers weren’t even playing. They are great sports fans | Filled with | If the 2023 NLDS and NLCS are any indication, D-backs fans are chaotically loud |
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Outside |  |