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April 8, 2009

Join us for a live in-game chat tonight

9:56 AM Wed, Apr 08, 2009 |
Richard Durrett   E-mail   News tips

Once again, we'll have the chat room up on the blog this afternoon so we can have a lively discussion during tonight's Rangers-Indians game. I'll be updating how things are going at the ballpark and answering your questions. So check back on the blog later today and let's chat while we all watch the second game of the season.

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April 7, 2009

Fan photo gallery from Opening Day

5:26 PM Tue, Apr 07, 2009 |
Richard Durrett   E-mail   News tips

grantopeningday09.JPGI know many of you took your phones or cameras to the ballgame on Monday. Why don't you share some of those photos with other fans?

I'll keep updating this blog through Wednesday if you'll send photos that you took while at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington for Opening Day. You can email me at rdurrett@dallasnews.com.

The photo to the right is of Grant P., who is 3 years old, enjoying a hot dog at his first Rangers game ever.

Flip the page for photos from other fans.

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Opening Day 2009: Will you marry me?

12:17 PM Tue, Apr 07, 2009 |
Richard Durrett   E-mail   News tips

marriagekids.jpgThat was the question posed to a surprised Dericka Kitts, 32, from Haltom City after the seventh-inning stretch at the ballpark yesterday. Brandon Young, 23, got on one knee, ignoring the peanut shells around him, and proposed to Dericka with the help of the Rangers' scoreboard. (Here's the happy couple, a few innings before they were engaged).

Dericka, of course, said yes. The couple is to be married in Jamaica in the summer. Dericka excitedly told me about her day over the phone today. I'll let her tell you in her words:

Opening day was my birthday. That never happens. I always go to opening day, so we bought eight tickets. My dad, David, my boyfriend, Brandon, and best friends Mindy and her husband, Amerin, Kelly, Charles and Caleb.

We both (Dericka and Brandon) bought Michael Young jerseys because Brandon's last name is Young and I thought that would be cool.

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How many games will the Rangers win in 2009?

10:00 AM Tue, Apr 07, 2009 |
Richard Durrett   E-mail   News tips

I wanted to wait until after opening day to ask this question to see how much impact the first game of the season might have on everyone's thoughts.

Before spring training began, we set the over/under of Rangers' wins at 79. I'm going to move that number to 81, forcing you to choose whether the team is below or above .500.

I'll take the over. I think this team wins 83 games, finishes second and is in contention late into the 2009 season.

Why? The hitting will produce as usual. This team's defense will be better. Can the pitching hold up? I think to win 85 or more games, the team has to stay healthy and the starting rotation has to pitch better than expected. And that hasn't been the case in recent years. So I'm not ready to pick this club for more than 85 games. Monday's win, though, is a good start. You can check out some other DMN staffer picks. Evan Grant, over at D Magazine, predicts 84 wins. So does Jeff Wilson as the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

BTW, I think this team goes 14-8 in April. How's that for a good start?

Your turn. How many games will the Rangers win this season? What will their April record be?

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April 6, 2009

Send us a photo from Rangers opening day

8:00 PM Mon, Apr 06, 2009 |
Richard Durrett   E-mail   News tips

If you were at Rangers Ballpark at Arlington on Monday, we'd like to see you. You send it to us two ways:

If you used your phone camera, just email me the photo at rdurrett@dallasnews.com and I'll get some of the best ones up on the blog on Tuesday. Just be sure to list all the names of the folks that are in the photo.

Or you can upload your photo to our photo gallery.

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Rangers rout Cleveland, 9-1, on opening day

3:41 PM Mon, Apr 06, 2009 |
Richard Durrett   E-mail   News tips

millwood06.jpgThat's a good way to start the season, isn't it? Discuss:

• Kevin Millwood. He gave the club seven innings of one-run baseball. That's what this club must have from its starters on a more consistent basis (especially Millwood and Vicente Padilla) to have a chance to succeed this season.

• Elvis Andrus. The young shortstop made his major league debut a memorable one. He had an excellent day defensively and came through with a double and a run scored in the second.

• Jarrod Saltalamacchia. He was good behind the plate, kept the pitchers focused and delivered at the plate. What more do you want from your catcher?

• Bullpen. C.J. Wilson and Frank Francisco got all six batters they faced. Both had a strikeout. All five Cleveland hits in the game were singles. Wow.

• Ian Kinsler. He was putting up MVP-like numbers before getting hurt late last season. What a way to start 2009. Three hits.

• Who else impressed you?

Share your thoughts now. I'll be back. I'm going to see how the team felt about it. If you want to see the replay of the live game blog, click here.

(Photo by Louis DeLuca / DMN)

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Opening Day Memories: John Blake

8:00 AM Mon, Apr 06, 2009 |
Richard Durrett   E-mail   News tips

The Rangers Executive VP of Communications shares some of his top Opening Day memories with Texas:

• April 8, 1991 vs. Milwaukee at Arlington: The sitting President of the United States, George Bush, threw out the ceremonial first pitch at Arlington Stadium, culminating a week of meetings and many arrangements to host a current President. Nolan Ryan was 5-4 loser despite 9 strikeouts in 7.0 innings.

• April 1, 1996 vs. Boston at Arlington: New Ranger Ken Hill gets the opening day start and goes 8.2 innings to defeat Roger Clemens, 5-3. The Rangers swept the 3-game series en route to their 1st playoff appearance in franchise history.

• April 4, 1989 vs. Detroit at Arlington: Charlie Hough throws a complete game shutout to beat Jack Morris, 4-0. It was the beginning of a 17-5 April that featured some great Nolan Ryan performances.

• April 8, 1985 at Baltimore: A 4-2 loss to the Orioles at Memorial Stadium. The game was played in the snow. It was my first game working for the Rangers after six seasons with the Orioles. It was a little weird to be in the visitors clubhouse.

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April 5, 2009

Going to Opening Day? Send us a photo!

6:34 PM Sun, Apr 05, 2009 |
Richard Durrett   E-mail   News tips

If you are at Rangers Ballpark at Arlington on Monday, we'd like to hear from you. Actually, we'd like to see you!

There are two ways to do this:

If you are using your cell phone, just email me the photo at rdurrett@dallasnews.com and I'll get some of the best ones up on the blog (maybe even during the game, if you'll send them to me). Just be sure to list all the names of the folks that are in the photo.

Or you can upload your photo to our photo gallery.

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Here's an Opening Day guide from the Rangers

5:49 PM Sun, Apr 05, 2009 |
Richard Durrett   E-mail   News tips

The Rangers sent out this release about the schedule and information for Monday's opening day game with the Indians at 1:05 p.m. at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. Here are the key points:

TICKET SITUATION: Obstructed view seats and standing room tickets do remain for Monday's game and are expected to be available at the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington on Monday. All other reserved seats have been sold.

ARRIVE EARLY: Rangers parking lots will open at 8:00 a.m., and fans are encouraged to arrive early to enjoy the festivities. Rangers Ballpark in Arlington gates will open at 10:00 a.m. with the Rangers batting practice beginning at 10:30 a.m.

CASH PARKING: The majority of the cash parking lots are located on the north side of Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. Limited cash lots are available on the back ends of Season Lots A, B, and C on the south side on Rangers Ballpark. For Monday's home opener, additional parking is available at Six Flags Over Texas, and utilizing the main Six Flags entrance to access this convenient parking option and avoid congestion is recommended for cash parking customers.

DEPARTING RANGERS BALLPARK: Immediately following Monday's game, Bud Light will present a concert by Roger Creager on the North Lawn of Rangers Ballpark. Fans holding tickets to the opener may wish to allow time in their schedules to enjoy the concert and allow the traffic congestion to subside.

All fans parking in Rangers parking lots will receive exit maps upon entrance in order to assist with convenient departure. These maps can be used throughout the 2009 season.

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April 4, 2009

Quick poll: Fans like new scoreboards

7:00 PM Sat, Apr 04, 2009 |
Richard Durrett   E-mail   News tips

rightfieldview_jpeg.jpgIt's certainly not scientific and the folks at Gallup would tell me I didn't have a high enough sampling, but I did talk to about 30 fans in various parts of the ballpark for the first few innings of Saturday's game.

I couldn't find one fan that said he or she didn't like the new scoreboards. None of them felt it took away from the classic feel of the ballpark, either. A handful did say they wished the video board in left field was bigger. I agree. But as we discussed the other day, the Rangers don't have the capability to show videos that large because they aren't wired for HD in the park that way. The long-term plan is a big scoreboard around the Southwest sign in left-center.

Louise and Dan Livermore, from Arlington, have attended games and sat in the right field seats. They were excited to at least by able to see some sort of replay for the first time ever. "I like being able to see the diagrams with men on base," Louise said. Dan prefers the manual scoreboard, but said he doesn't mind the new one, either.

Anicetus, Sabrina and Jeremy Fernando were out in the center field bleachers on Saturday. They pointed out that if you wanted any additional information on the hitter, you had to turn all the way around and find the Coca-Cola scoreboard in center. Now, with the ribbon scoreboard, information is listed around the stadium and they don't need to take a chance on getting whiplash. "I also like that you can see the out-of-town scores on the ribbon," Anicetus said. "It's hard to see them on the scoreboard (in left) from out seats."

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Opening Day Memories: Chuck Morgan

10:00 AM Sat, Apr 04, 2009 |
Richard Durrett   E-mail   News tips

We'd like to hear about your memorable opening day experiences with the game almost here. Feel free to share your stories in the comment section.

Public Address announcer Chuck Morgan shared some of his most memorable Rangers opening days:

• 1983. "It was my first opening day and it just happened to fall on the night that Houston was playing for the NCAA Championship (the famous loss to Jim Valvano's N.C. State team) and we had 15,000 people in the park. We beat the White Sox, though, and had a great first week. Morgan said he was a little nervous, but doesn't remember making any major mistakes that first game.

• 1991. "President Bush threw out the first pitch. It was a lot of work to get ready for that night, but it was worth it." Nolan Ryan lost that game. You can read Gerry Fraley's game story from that night if you flip the page.

• 1994. "The first game here at the ballpark. I remember driving up that morning saying, 'Man, am I going to be good enough to work at that place.' It was a special game to open the stadium." You can read Fraley's story about the opening of the ballpark if you flip the page too.

• 1997. "The year after we had won the division was neat. There was a lot of excitement about the club."

• 1996. "That was special too as I look back on it because we got off to a great start that year and that's what it takes here. That was a great year and that's why it stands out."

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April 3, 2009

New seats provide closer view

11:30 AM Fri, Apr 03, 2009 |
Richard Durrett   E-mail   News tips

rangersbrickseats.jpgI walked around Rangers Ballpark in Arlington yesterday and even sat down in one of the new padded seats behind home plate. The Rangers added two rows behind home plate (and some seats down the first- and third-base lines) during the off-season. You wouldn't think that two rows would make a huge difference, but it sure does feel like fans a much closer to the action. (You can see how the brick looks in front of the seats by this photo on the right.)

Despite tough economic times, the Rangers were able to sell the 88 seats behind home plate. I also walked behind the new second row (to what used to be the first row) and the view is fine from there, though you don't get a table to sit drinks and food on. There's also a new netting to protect fans behind home plate.

The area between the new wall and home plate isn't very far, so it should help catchers on passed balls, but we may see a handful of balls go into those first two rows behind home plate and wonder if those could have been outs if not for the new seats.

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April 2, 2009

Some thoughts on concession food

4:43 PM Thu, Apr 02, 2009 |
Richard Durrett   E-mail   News tips

The Rangers announced several new food items and plans for the 2009 season today. The menu, put together by Delaware North Companies Sportservice, includes additional concession stands and "value meals." Among the items:

• Fans can buy a hot dog, soda and either chips or fries as a value meal. If you get chips, it costs $5.75. If you chose fries, it's $6.75.

• The ballpark is no longer offering Hebrew National dogs. They are using Sherrif Blaylock (it has nothing to do with Hank). As my boss, Barry Vigoda says, if it's not Nathan's, who cares which company it is? The new company is a local one and I tasted a dog today and thought it was pretty good. In fairness, it's been too long since I had a Hebrew National dog, so I can't really compare them.

• There are more beer options at the park this season. That's always good news. In fact, a local company -- Rahr & Sons -- has come up with a beer that will only be sold at the ballpark. It's called Texas Red and is a lager. A 24-ounce is $8.50. There are other Texas beers -- some in bottles and some on draft -- that can be purchased at various locations in the park. The 12-ounce bottles are $6.25.

• Fans can purchase beer (16 ounces) for $5 and bottled water (20 ounces) for $3. That's cheaper than last season.

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New scoreboards are ready to go at the park

3:40 PM Thu, Apr 02, 2009 |
Richard Durrett   E-mail   News tips

rangersribbon.jpgI went to Rangers Ballpark in Arlington today as the Rangers offered the chance to see the new scoreboards in action. A few thoughts:

• The ribbon boards (shown in the picture on the right) that run behind home plate and in parts of the outfield (and in the home run porch) add some much needed color and life to the place. I love the classic look of the ballpark, but this does not take away that feel. It does add another dimension to the fan experience. The balls, strikes and outs are easy to see (they are in the outfield and behind home plate, so the pitcher and those in the outfield seats can see it clearly).

• The video board, which replaced the manual scoreboard in left field, does give more fans a chance to see a replay. I just wish it was bigger. Once the ballpark gets up to speed with more equipment and the ability to go HD inside the park, a bigger video board will go in the outfield where the Southwest sign is just below the roof line. There's no doubt the video board in left is better than what they had, but it's still a little small. Chuck Morgan did a nice job with the out-of-town scores, making sure they are visible and still look similar to what the club had before.

• In total, fans will get more information in an easier-to-read format. That's important. No matter where you are sitting, you'll see balls and strikes and all the key information about the hitter and pitcher. That's good stuff.

Flip to see a picture of the video board in left.

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The Rangers want you at the park early on Monday

11:29 AM Thu, Apr 02, 2009 |
Richard Durrett   E-mail   News tips

Rob Matwick, VP of Ballpark Operations, wants fans to come early on Monday. Obviously, that would help alleviate some of the traffic concerns as the game time approaches.

Parking lots will be open at 8 a.m. and the gates at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington will open at 10 a.m. with the Rangers batting practice beginning at 10:30 a.m. The club will also be using part of the Six Flags parking lot as a cash lot (they won't be honoring Six Flags passes). The cost is $12 for cash parking, same as last season.

You can check the best routes and where you should exit and enter at by clicking here (it's on the Rangers web site).

The club and Arlington police don't expect former president George W. Bush's arrival to alter security for fans.

BTW, the Rangers have agreed with the Cowboys to have fans for Cowboys games park in the Rangers lots during Cowboys games (when it doesn't interfere with anything at the ballpark. Matwick said the club is doing everything it can to avoid playing on the same date with the Cowboys and have talked to MLB and the NFL about that).

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April 1, 2009

Would you eat a 4,800 calorie burger at a game?

5:00 PM Wed, Apr 01, 2009 |
Richard Durrett   E-mail   News tips

You can order one, for $20, if you're at a minor-league baseball game in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I'm sure the Rangers won't be serving a Nolan Ryan beef burger that large.

A staff dietitian with a doctors group wants the club to warn fans that the burger is bad for them. It is four pounds and had five beef patties, five slices of cheese, nearly a cup of chili and salsa and corn chips. Yikes.

The Rangers, by the way, will introduce new concession items to the media on Thursday. We'll let you know all about that tomorrow.

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AP poll: Fans aren't happy with cost of games

10:00 AM Wed, Apr 01, 2009 |
Richard Durrett   E-mail   News tips

That's certainly not a stunning admission. But the poll done by the Associated Press is interesting. Fans say the cost of going to a game is the top problem with baseball. Here is a portion of the article:

In other poll results released Tuesday:

• Nearly 60 percent of fans said no player who used steroids or performance-enhancing drugs should get into the Hall of Fame.

• 85 percent said all 104 names on the list of players who tested positive for drugs in 2003 should be made public. So far, only Alex Rodriguez has been identified.

• 60 percent said they were not interested in the World Baseball Classic -- the preseason tournament involving major leaguers that was won by Japan for the second time.

But the cost of tickets, concessions, parking and everything else added up to fans' main concern. The toll of attending a game was tops at 45 percent, followed by player salaries (29 percent), steroids/drugs (19 percent) and the length of games (6 percent).

This clearly wouldn't be a scientific poll, but do you think the cost of going to a Rangers game is high enough that you would go to a Frisco game instead? Are you cutting back on the number of Rangers games you're going to in 2009 because of the economy or is it something else?

While we're at it, do you think a player who used performance-enhancing drugs should get into the Hall of Fame? Were any of you interested in the WBC? (We asked this last week and judging by that response, most of you weren't).

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March 25, 2009

Some thoughts on baseball stadiums

1:50 PM Wed, Mar 25, 2009 |
Richard Durrett   E-mail   News tips

Russ Smith put together an entry on his blog titled Seventeen Ballparks and Counting, recalling the major league parks he's visited. He lists 17 of them and includes Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, which is visited in 1994. Here's what he says about it:

This terrific stadium opened a couple of years after Camden Yards and is very similar, although it has more restaurants, a ridiculous petting zoo and another confusing parking lot. I was fortunate to be sitting at a '94 contest in my buddy Jim Larkin's (now the co-owner of Village Voice Media, who then counted the Dallas Observer among his fat weeklies) season tix, third row, just to the left of home plate. Most memorable was that one of the Rangers' owners at the time, George W. Bush, was sitting just a row behind us, and we could hear him schmoozing with the parade of well-wishers, reciting arcane baseball statistics. That fall, he'd upset Ann Richards for the Texas governorship and... well, this article isn't about politics.

One benefit to covering the Rangers was I did get to visit a good number of parks. And there are some I'd like to see but haven't (starting with San Francisco's park). For me, nothing beats Fenway. It's the whole package of rabid fans, an old, classic park and fun gameday environment.

What are your favorite parks? How would you describe Rangers Ballpark in Arlington?

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March 6, 2009

Rangers tickets go on sale Saturday at 9 a.m.

10:00 PM Fri, Mar 06, 2009 |
Richard Durrett   E-mail   News tips

That's individual game tickets. The prices range from $3 (for children under 13 in the grandstand reserved) to $70 (Lexus club infield seats) for non premier games.

For details on how to purchase, turn the page.

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March 4, 2009

Chuck Morgan talks ballpark improvements

7:30 AM Wed, Mar 04, 2009 |
Richard Durrett   E-mail   News tips

Chuck Morgan didn't try to hide his smile at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington yesterday. The new scoreboards were busy going up and he's ready to see what all they can do to enhance the fan experience. I talked with him briefly about it:

Talk about how important you feel these improvements are to the fan coming to the ballpark.

The first thing is the fact that the people in right field can see a replay for the first time. Since they've opened the ballpark I've heard, 'Chuck, I can't see a replay.' Now they can. They'll get a replay in left and we'll see how some of the other things we do on the video board will help. The other thing I'm excited about is the out-of-town scores. About 95 percent of the time, it will look like it did when it was a manual scoreboard. But it's going to have a diamond with men on base and how many outs. The ribbon panels will add to people making noise and getting into the game. We're also going to have a linescore behind home plate. The folks in right field have never seen a linescore. Another complaint was that fans say they can't find the ball, strikes and outs. It will be on the ribbon on the home run porch and always stay there and we'll take it off the main scoreboard and make the linescore bigger up there.

Are you worried this will take away from the classic ballpark feel of this place?

I think the ballpark still has that look to it and nothing we can do will hurt that. The out-of-town board will look like it has. It's not manual, but it's going to look old timey and look like a manual board. The ribbon panels add to the fan experience. I think it will still have that temple feel, especially with the brick in here.

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March 3, 2009

Here's the brick wall in front of the seats

8:46 PM Tue, Mar 03, 2009 |
Richard Durrett   E-mail   News tips

brcksrnagers_photo.jpgThe brick wall you see here is in front of the seats behind home plate and in front of the box seats down the first and third base lines.

I will say, it looks very nice and goes with the overall look of the park. The Rangers logo is in the middle of each panel (I hope you can see it OK in this photo I took with my phone).

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Here's what a front row seat looks like

8:07 PM Tue, Mar 03, 2009 |
Richard Durrett   E-mail   News tips

ballparkchair_photo.jpgThis is one of the chairs that will be installed in the first two rows of the new area at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

Only two chairs are left for season-ticket purchase and there are a few seats that will be sold for certain single games.

There are 88 seats total in those new front two rows and it does cut down on the foul territory behind the plate and down the lines. Rangers president Nolan Ryan joked Tuesday that he isn't sure how his pitchers might react if a foul ball just barely goes into the new seats instead of being caught for an out.

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Global warming to help the Rangers pitching staff?

9:36 AM Tue, Mar 03, 2009 |
Richard Durrett   E-mail   News tips

Sounds a little crazy, but Rudy Jaramillo made mention the other day of the jet stream moving, which could help the Rangers' pitching staff.

That piqued the interest of Keith Johnson, who posts on an environmental blog for The Wall Street Journal. Here's a clip from Johnson's post:

In one thing Mr. Jaramillo is right--the jet stream is apparently changing, edging north about one mile per year. That would be a mixed blessing for the beleaguered Rangers' pitching staff. As the jet stream moves north, the southern U.S. gets warmer and drier.

Warmer temperatures help the ball carry further, because warm air is less dense than cooler air. That was one reason Atlanta's old Fulton County Stadium was known as the "launching pad," where home-run totals skyrocketed during the hot, muggy summer months.

But drier air seems to put a damper on the longball. As another shell-shocked pitching staff in Denver found out, making baseballs more humid gives pitchers a better grip on the ball and limits the number of runs scored.

Either way, as Leo Hickman of The Guardian notes, climate change now offers a rich new vein of excuses for under-performing sports teams. Just wait until the season begins to start looking for them.

If only there was a roof at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

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February 26, 2009

Individual game tickets go on sale March 7

2:25 PM Thu, Feb 26, 2009 |
Pete Aldrich   E-mail   News tips

Individual tickets for all 2009 Texas Rangers games at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington will go on sale at 9 a.m. on Saturday, March 7.

Here are the details.

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January 28, 2009

Rangers mini-camp interviews

5:51 PM Wed, Jan 28, 2009 |
Richard Durrett   E-mail   News tips

It's a slow day in Rangersland, but I did want to make sure you saw Jason Parks' mini-camp wrap-up. He's got some excellent interviews with various Rangers and it's worth a read.

Parks asked Michael Main to explain what happens in mini-camp:

We would all get up and have breakfast at the hotel around 7:30 a.m. before leaving for the stadium. From there, we would just get ready and go over our schedule for the day. Mike Maddux ran all the meetings. We would then head out onto the field around 9:15 a.m. and stretch and throw. They had us split up into two groups. One group would throw bullpen [sessions] one day, and the other group would work on running/conditioning.

We would eat lunch around 12:00 p.m. and then attend two meetings. Maddux would conduct the first meeting. He would discuss bullpen routines, etc. Then we would have our life skills meeting. For example, we would have real estate agents talk to us about buying a house or clubhouse personnel talk to us about clubhouse management. We had different people come in every day. It was cool.

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December 17, 2008

Photos of the ballpark changes

10:32 AM Wed, Dec 17, 2008 |
Richard Durrett   E-mail   News tips

If you click here for the story about the ballpark upgrades and then click on the link that reads Photo: Renovation plans and you can check out how the seats and scoreboards will look.

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December 16, 2008

New scoreboards, seats at ballpark

1:46 PM Tue, Dec 16, 2008 |
Richard Durrett   E-mail   News tips

The Rangers announced $4 million in ballpark upgrades at the club's annual media luncheon today:

• A full color Daktronics Pro Star Video Display Boards will replace the manual scoreboard in left field. The board will be about 12 feet high and 84 feet wide and shows replays and scores from other games. That means those of you in right field who can never see a replay should be able to do now.

• Three full color LED panels will be added to the park. One is on the lower suite level ribbon from foul pole to foul pole (the boards will be 3 feet high). The second is on the lower home run porch fascia and the other is below the Diamond Club in left field.

• There will be two rows of "premium" seats behind home plate (in front of what is now the current front row). That's up to 91 seats in the front sections between the two dugouts. That will reduce the distance between home plate to the screen from 60 feet to 52 feet (so that's a smaller foul territory). The seats will be wider for these two rows as well (I saw one and I will say it looks quite comfortable).

Those that are currently in the front row will have a chance to upgrade. But the price tag is steep: $175 per seat for season tickets (the Rangers note that the majority of MLB parks have premium seating behind home plate). That price includes complimentary food (buffet in the Diamond Club and soft drinks, bottled water and peanuts delivered to the seats). If those fans choose to stay in what would now be the third row, the price will drop to $45 per seat for season tickets (those seats were $71 per game last season).

Two other additions: The club will add 66 seats in two rows of a third base commissioners box that replaces the tarp well. Also, the home plate screen is wider, going from photo well to photo well near the dugouts. The previous screen was one of the smallets in the majors.

Your thoughts on the upgrades?

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August 15, 2008

Parking update for Rangers Ballpark in Arlington

10:48 AM Fri, Aug 15, 2008 |
Pete Aldrich   E-mail   News tips

Beginning today, parking lots and roads around Rangers Ballpark will be modified as the City of Arlington continues infrastructure improvements in the entertainment district.

Changes will affect fans accustomed to parking in Lots A and B south of the ballpark and utilizing Nolan Ryan Expressway between those lots for arrival and departure.

Nolan Ryan Expressway will no longer connect Randol Mill Road to Stadium Drive between Lots A and B. Lot A will be accessible exclusively from the north via Randol Mill Road to Nolan Ryan Expressway. Lot B will be accessed exclusively from the east via Stadium Drive.

Here's an updated map.

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July 9, 2008

The narration from Nadel

11:51 PM Wed, Jul 09, 2008 |
Todd Davis   E-mail   News tips

Thanks to quick work from DMN's Richard Durrett and the good folks at the Texas Rangers' flagship radio station KRLD-AM 1080 in Dallas, here's Josh Hamilton's ninth-inning home-run radio call from Eric Nadel.

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June 9, 2008

Why aren't folks going to the games?

12:12 PM Mon, Jun 09, 2008 |
Tim MacMahon   E-mail   News tips

Mike Heika's notes lead was a rather alarming trend about the Rangers' attendance.

Considering the Texas Rangers have never averaged fewer than 25,866 fans per game since moving to the Ballpark, Sunday's crowd of 20,258 looked sparse for a weekend afternoon.

But it's right on course with the 22,667 the team is averaging this season. If that number holds, it would be the lowest average attendance for the team since 1986 (20,877).

I understand that gas prices are ridiculous, the Rangers stunk it up in April and the Yankees and Red Sox have yet to come to town this season. But the worst attendance in 22 years? Yikes.

Josh Hamilton is the best story in baseball and might just be the best player in baseball. It's a bit surprising that his rise to superstardom has yet to put butts in seats.

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March 4, 2008

Select-a-seat event set for Saturday

2:19 PM Tue, Mar 04, 2008 |
Pete Aldrich   E-mail   News tips

The Rangers will hold a season ticket and mini-plan select-a-seat with Nolan Ryan at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington on Saturday, March 8 from 1 to 4:30 p.m.

Here are the details.

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February 29, 2008

Individual tickets to go on sale

11:07 AM Fri, Feb 29, 2008 |
Pete Aldrich   E-mail   News tips

The Rangers announced today that individual tickets will go on sale Friday, March 7.

Here are the details.

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January 24, 2008

Fan Fest schedule

5:15 PM Thu, Jan 24, 2008 |
Pete Aldrich   E-mail   News tips

Here's the schedule for Saturday's Fan Fest at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

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January 10, 2008

Some ticket prices go up

4:52 PM Thu, Jan 10, 2008 |
Richard Durrett   E-mail   News tips

After comparing the 2007 and 2008 ticket prices, here's the deal. The Rangers increased prices -- from $1 to $5 -- on seven of the 15 sections at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

But those were on the higher-priced sections. The bleachers, upper reserved, upper home run porch, grandstand reserved, lower reserved and Lexus Club Box seats stayed the same.

Here are the prices that increased:
Premium Infield: $75 (up from $70 in 2007)
Lexus Club Infield: $70 (up from $65 in 2007)
Lower Infield: $60 (up from $55 in 2007)
Lower Box: $50 (up from $47 in 2007)
Corner Box: $33 (up from $31 in 2007)
Lexas Club Terrace: $25 (up from $23 in 2007)
Upper Box: $20 (up from $19 in 2007)

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Rangers promotional dates

4:33 PM Thu, Jan 10, 2008 |
Richard Durrett   E-mail   News tips

The Rangers have many games with promotions, including five concerts on the patio:
April 12 -- pregame performance by Third Day
May 17 -- postgame performance by Robert Earl Keen (you'll probably see Evan Grant there)
July 12 -- postgame performacey by Eli Young Band
Aug. 2 -- pregame performance by MercyMe
The final concert is still to be determined.

The club will have 11 Tuesday home games where a child under 13 can get in free with each purchase of a regularly-priced adult ticket. That's all seating areas for Tuesday games expect Opening Day and Aug. 5.

Dog Day (one of my personal favorites...shout out to my mini-beagle, Macy) is Aug. 17, an afternoon game against Tampa Bay.

There are five fireworks nights throughout the season, but that does not include July 4 this season (the club is in Baltimore that night). Mother's Day, by the way, is rhinestone hat day.

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Rangers announce ticket prices

4:16 PM Thu, Jan 10, 2008 |
Richard Durrett   E-mail   News tips

For those wondering, the Rangers will make individual game tickets available to the public starting March 7.

The prices for games (non premier games, of whcih there are 12 in 2008) are on the club's website, which includes a map. Click here to take a look. But here are some of the more popular areas and prices:

Commissioner's Box: $100
Premium Infield: $75
Lexus Club Infield: $70
Lower Infield: $60
Lower Box: $50
Lexus Club Box: $45
Corner Box: $33
Lower Reserved: $25
Lexus Club Terrace: $25
Upper Box: $20
Bleachers: $16 ($6 kids 13 and under)
Upper Home Run Porch: $15
Upper Reserved: $15 ($6 kids 13 and under)
Grandstand Reserved: $6 ($3 mids 13 and under)

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