26 Seasons of Memories at Globe Life Park

By JOE MOCK

An abridged version of this story appears in USA TODAY Sports Weekly. All photo and text rights reserved

ARLINGTON, TEXAS  The home of the Texas Rangers has gone by a variety of names over its 26 seasons: The Ballpark In Arlington (1994-2004); Ameriquest Field in Arlington (2005-2006); Rangers Ballpark in Arlington (2007-2013) and Globe Life Park (2014 to the present).

Its replacement, under construction a block south, will have a familiar name:  Globe Life Field. It opens March 31, 2020.

The 26 seasons here have seen exhilarating highs, like back-to-back World Series years in 2010 and 2011, and even a tragedy, when fan Shannon Stone died after falling over the railing in left field reaching for a ball in 2011.

As the Rangers prepare to bring down the curtain on their longtime home with a series against the Yankees, here are the strongest memories of six people intimately familiar with the ballpark.

IT’S BASEBALL TIME IN TEXAS

Chuck Morgan’s voice is the most familiar sound heard at Globe Life Park. Except for a year spent with the Royals in 2002, he’s been the only public address announcer for Rangers’ home games since the current ballpark opened.

Morgan, perhaps best known for his melodic “It’s Baseball Time In Texas” to start every game, fondly remembers the franchise’s first taste of success. “It wasn’t winning a pennant, but to win that first American League West title in 1996 was a special moment.”

The team entered the game against the Angels on September 27 needing a win or a Mariners loss to clinch. The contest in Arlington dragged on for 15 innings, with the home team falling 4-3. In the meantime, Seattle lost, handing the title to the Rangers. “We didn’t know what to do,” Morgan recalls. “We won the title but didn’t win the game. We wanted to celebrate and do fireworks, but we’d just lost.”

Texas would go on to lose the first round of the 1996 playoffs to the Yankees, as would happen again in 1998 and 1999.  It would then be 11 years before the team played in the postseason again, and this time, the team was stocked with the talent – and the fans were ready. “When we had Championship Series and World Series here (in 2010 and 2011), the Texas crowd responded like I always knew they would. They made so much noise that the Cardinals couldn’t hear on the bullpen phone in Game 5 in 2011. That was pretty cool.”

One aspect Morgan won’t miss about Globe Life Park is the heat in the summer. “Back in the ‘80s, I was the first to coin the phrase that ‘A day game in Texas is Fan Abuse Day.’ It’s still like that. This is a beautiful ballpark, but when you have day games in the summer, it’s just not a pleasant experience. I’m glad our fans will finally get to enjoy a game (in the new retractable-roof stadium) where they won’t have to worry about sweating through their clothes, or sitting through a two- or three-hour rain delay.”

He added that “I think there’s a tendency when you move into a new ballpark to change everything. The one thing I want (in the new park) is when it comes to the game, it will feel to fans like a Ranger game – that there’s still ‘Cotton Eye Joe’ in the 7^th, the Dot Race, (and) when a player hits a home run we’ll still play ‘The Natural.’”

Also see our list of the Biggest Moments in Globe Life Park History

FROM THE GROUND UP

Dennis Klein first worked on the Rangers’ ground crew at Arlington Stadium while he was in high school. He was on the staff when the team opened its new park in 1994.

After a stint helping establish the playing surfaces at new Minor League parks in Round Rock and Corpus Christi, he returned to Arlington for good in 2006. His official title with the Rangers is Director of Major League Grounds.

He vividly remembers the hectic times surrounding the back-to-back seasons when the Rangers played in the World Series. “Those years were great. You came to work every day knowing your team had a chance to win.”

The team’s success drew a lot of attention from the national media. “The playoff runs were just crazy because all of the MLB Network and Baseball Tonight folks started showing up. We had to make sure all of them got their spots (on the field) for their pregame shows. It was hard keeping the playing surface as consistent as possible with all of the chaos around.”

When the Rangers move down the block to their new stadium, the playing surface will be artificial. “For what we want to use that building for – baseball, concerts, trade shows, dinners, graduations, high school and college baseball – it made sense to look at artificial surfaces. We want to use that building to its maximum potential.”

Klein doesn’t want fans making the mistaken assumption that the fake stuff doesn’t need maintenance. “There’s still a lot to maintain. We’re going to be watering the surface forever to keep it comfortable for the players. And we spend most of our time on dirt anyway, and everything that is dirt in the old stadium will still be dirt in the new stadium.”

WORN MANY HATS

Tom Grieve holds a distinction that no other person associated with the Rangers can claim:  he was a player for the franchise when it moved from Washington in 1971 through 1977; he served as the team’s general manager for 11 years starting in 1984; he’s provided color commentary on Rangers’ TV broadcasts from 1995 through the present.

Even though it’s been 26 years, he vividly remembers the first opening day at the ballpark in 1994 when he was still the team GM. “My all-time number-one memory of this stadium is when Van Cliburn played the National Anthem. I’ve seen National Anthems for 50 years – some were good, some forgettable. But there’s never been an Anthem that was done with the dignity of that one. It was by the greatest piano player ever, dressed impeccably in a tuxedo, with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra behind him.

“I was completely taken with the whole spectacle. It had an incredible impact on me. It’s my number one memory and nothing else is even close.”

Grieve’s son Ben was a chip off the ol’ block, also playing in the majors, for the A’s, Rays, Brewers and Cubs. “Other than Van Cliburn, watching Ben play in this ballpark would be at the top of my list,” Ben’s father revealed.

Ben had a particularly successful game when he hit two home runs into the upper deck in right field in Arlington. “After he hit the second of the two home runs, someone came up from behind me and got me in a headlock,” Grieve said with a chuckle. “It was Tom Schieffer (at the time, Rangers President), who told me ‘One home run is OK, but two is going a little too far.’”

Even though Ben never played for the Rangers, his father added that, “It was always an incredible thrill for me to watch him play, and (to) know that my whole family was there. To think about him playing Little League, then high school, then seeing his dream of getting to the big leagues fulfilled here where he grew up, that’s right at the top of my list.”

The longest home run at Globe Life Park is a matter of some debate. “You’re relying on your memory, so it’s a matter of opinion,” notes Grieve. He feels a 2010 blast into the upper deck in right field is the winner. “In my opinion, the longest was the one hit by Josh (Hamilton), and no one can prove me wrong – and who the hell knows!”

He singled out Rusty Greer and Michael Young as being players who “played the game in a way that the fans loved them. (They) were admired by their teammates, by other players in the league, by our fans and (they were) important to our team.” While these two were revered in Texas, Grieve feels they didn’t get the respect they deserved by the national media. “If Michael Young had played in Yankee Stadium, he’d have been Derek Jeter. If Rusty had played there, he would’ve been Paul O’Neill.”

Even though dozens of star players have played on the grass of Globe Life Park, it’s a manager who is ingrained in Grieve’s mind. “I can’t think of this ballpark without seeing Ron Washington in the dugout, especially during the World Series years. When there’s an important run about to score, he’d be running in place and waving his arms maniacally like he’s a third base coach. We used to show that (on the TV broadcasts) and laugh and laugh.”

THE NEWBERG REPORT

Jamey Newberg began blogging his thoughts about the Rangers in 1998.  Along the way, the full-time attorney’s The Newberg Report was honored as one of the country’s top team-specific blogs by The Wall Street Journal.

For this article, Newberg said he “gave a lot of thought” to the events he witnessed at Globe Life Park that had the most profound impact on him. “I came up with five moments, and I bet they’re on others’ lists, too. I think the reason for that (is) I have cared passionately about this team for a lifetime, so when the very big moments arrived, they were so extra-meaningful for me and others you’ve talked to, because I’d waited for them forever.

“My son, who is now a freshman in high school, was with me for a couple of these, and I’ve had to tell him since then ‘Hey, I know that was the first time you experienced that. Same with your Dad. This doesn’t happen all the time, so cherish it, because it may not happen for another decade or two.’”

The first of Newberg’s vivid memories was the 1996 15-inning loss that Morgan spoke about above. “It was just surreal. I was probably there until 1:30 in the morning … because I wanted to see them celebrate. I was 27 years old and I’d waited my entire life for that. It was so weird because they lost the game, but celebrated on the field.”

His next cherished memory came in 2004, when “the team was surprisingly good. They had just traded Alex (Rodriguez), and there weren’t huge expectations because they’d turned over the roster, but all of a sudden … they went on a tear in early September when they were putting themselves back in the race.” Newberg attended a come-from-behind, walk-off win over Oakland, the team the Rangers were chasing. “The feeling inside the stadium was ‘OK, it’s on!’

“My third is everybody else’s number one,” he explained. It was Game 6 of the 2010 ALCS when the Rangers knocked off the Yankees to earn the franchise’s first trip to the World Series (that’s the photo at the top of this page). “It ended so poetically, with Alex (Rodriguez) taking strike three. Super Cool.” It was even more meaningful for Newberg because his son — six at the time — came up with a foul ball. “The best memories of any ballpark are family memories,” he added.

His fourth and fifth most impactful moments at Globe Life Park were Games 4 and 5 of the 2011 World Series, “which to me were all about Mike Napoli. The fans were so drawn to him, and you remember the chants ‘NAP-O-LI.’ The stadium was just shaking every time he came to the plate.” The Rangers’ catcher hit a three-run homer in Game 3 and the decisive RBI the next night. “Seriously, the stadium was rocking. You felt like you had to grab something to keep your balance.”

He conceded that “there’s nothing in these five that are quirky or unusual or that just apply to me, but these five moments were the culmination of me waiting decades for these things to happen.”

And there’s no getting around the fact that Globe Life Park can feel like an oven. “Even though it’s been a challenge to withstand the heat, I’m going to miss it. It’s been the home of the best moments in franchise history.”

Newberg decided to become a regular contributor of articles about the Rangers for The Athletic last year. That drastically reduced his online posts. “I’m still driven to write about the same things that I did for 20 years when I was on my own,” he remarked. “I feel a different accountability now that I’m writing for an established publication. It’s probably more journalistic than it used to be when I was just throwing my thoughts against the wall and fortunately a lot of people cared enough to read it. Now I try to dig a little deeper, and I’ve had a blast doing it.”

No doubt, he’ll continue to have a blast in Globe Life Field.

THAT BALL IS HISTORY

Eric Nadel has been doing play-by-play for the Rangers since 1979. He was the Ford C. Frick Award winner in 2014, thereby enshrining him in the “Scribes & Mikemen” exhibit in the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. His signature home-run call is “that ball is history.”

There’s no doubt that his most memorable moment at Globe Life Park occurred on October 22, 2010.

“Nothing compares to clinching the pennant in 2010,” says Nadel. “Defeating the Yankees, who were the defending World Series champions. Striking out A-Rod (Alex Rodriguez), who basically spurned the Rangers so he could get traded to the Yankees. And the way the ballpark exploded.

“The crowd was so overwhelming and I was so overcome with emotions, I couldn’t talk for about 45 seconds. It was probably the most emotional moment of my life. Not just my baseball life or broadcasting life, but my entire life. Period. I’d never experienced that much ecstasy.”

He’s quick to add a memory from a 2006 contest against the Astros: “the Gary Matthews, Jr. catch, which was the single greatest catch I’d ever seen.” Nadel recalls that at the time of that play, they had a guest in booth – legendary singer Robert Earl Keen. When Matthews made the impossible grab, “I could see Robert start to come out of his seat. He didn’t yell, but he started clapping. And if you listen to the radio call of the catch, you can hear Robert Earl Keen clapping in the background. I’ll never forget that.”

It was a very special evening for Nadel when Rangers pitcher Kenny Rogers threw a perfect game in 1994. “We knew the (player) strike was coming. I remember during batting practice, we were all talking about how we’re bummed out that we only have a few days left. Then Kenny went out and throws a perfect game and we all forgot about (the strike) for a while.”

Nadel added a forgotten aspect of that pitching gem. “The home plate umpire was Ed Bean, from the Minor Leagues because somebody was on vacation. I remember in the first inning, everything was being called a strike. At the end of the inning, I said to (broadcast partner) Mark Holtz, ‘This guy is calling everything a strike, so Kenny has a chance to be really good tonight.’ And sure enough!”

You might be surprised to learn the element of Globe Life Park that Nadel will miss the most. “It’s the Home Run Porch. Tiger Stadium is my all-time favorite stadium, and that is a feature they took from Tiger Stadium. It’s something that reminds me of the old ballparks of my youth.”

He also recalls how hard it was for batters to hit home runs into that upper deck in right field in the ballpark’s early years. “For our first several seasons, I actually kept a running list of the guys who hit it up there, because it was so significant. I think (Tom Grieve’s son) Ben Grieve was the first to hit two in one game, and we thought he was Superman!

“Now, of course, with the ball they’re using, pop ups go in there. So it’s not that big a deal any more, but it still looks great!”

ON THE BEAT

TR Sullivan has been a beat reporter covering the Rangers since 1989, first for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and for the past 14 years for MLB.com.

The writer has an appreciation of the aesthetics of Globe Life Park. “The outside façade of the park, especially at night, is absolutely beautiful. I don’t think there’s another ballpark that you can compare to the one in Arlington when you look at it from a distance. The outside architecture here is fabulous.”

Sullivan estimates that he’s attended about 1,700 games at Globe Life Park.  His list of memorable moments there includes the tremendous National Anthem by Van Cliburn in 1994 (“the greatest rendition I’ve ever heard”) and Game 4 of the 2011 World Series. He refers to Derek Holland’s performance that evening as “the best pitched game in Rangers history.”

And in 2007, “I thought (Sammy) Sosa’s 600^th home run was especially cool because he’s such a great guy and a lot of fun to be around that year. I was happy for him.”