Update: Season defining game media

The homer call from Eric Nadel on KRLD 1080 AM.

Quick thing: After watching this video, I absolutely do not remember hearing the homerun music the Rangers play or the fireworks. That's how loud it was. :)

Season defining game

How many times can you legitimately say you went to a season-defining game for your favorite team?

It was a sign that I wasn't scheduled to work today or tomorrow. It was a sign two of my friends from work said they'd go to the game. It was a sign it happened to be dollar hot dog night. It was a sign we were playing the hated Angles. The gods were telling me to go to the game.

Going to the game, I was expecting Double-A Rough Riders pitcher Michael Ballard to be getting the starting nod. Surprisingly Warner "Mad Dog" Madrigal made the Wednesday start and pitched 3 solid innings giving up only 1 run.

Eventually, the Rangers manufactured a lone run and Chris "Hulk" Davis couldn't do anything with Angels pitching tonight. It got to the seventh inning and Javier and Jesse went to grab some cokes and use the restroom, so I sat alone in our seats in left field. Juan Rivera, fucking Juan Rivera, hit a 2-run bomb pretty close to where I was. We were right next to the Angels bullpen and the next section a few rows down was where the homer landed. The dude that caught the ball, "this fucking guy..." would not throw the damn thing back on the field, yet he was wearing a Rangers hat and jersey shirt. It's one thing to go to a Rangers game and catch an opposing team's homerun ball but it's completely different when it's the fucking Angels and you're wearing Ranger gear from head to toe. Needless to say I joined the chorus of "throw it back" and gave him the big boo. Fucker.

So we were down two runs going into the ninth with Fransisco Rodriguez, the All-Star closer coming into the game. We had the ninth spot up but there was just an unexplainable energy wrapping the stadium. I felt it. I'm sure others felt it. So I looked at Javier who was cheering for K-Rod to save the game for the Angels and said, "Dude, I bet you five bucks we win this game." Of course he agreed. Who wouldn't with K-Rod coming in to shut down the game?

So Razor Ramon Vazquez comes to bat and gets a walk from a strangely erratic K-Rod. Kinsler struck out. Catalonotto hit a grounder which ended up being a fielder's choice, but luckily it moved Vazquez to second. So we have a runner in scoring position, the tying run at the plate and two outs.

Michael Michael Michael Michael Michael Young came up and drove a single through the third base-shortstop hole which scored Vazquez. So the game on the line with Josh Hamilton coming up to bat. Young steals second after a fouled off hit-and-run attempt. The count 3 balls 1 strike. I looked at Javier and said, "He's gotta throw him a fastball. It's 3-1. It's gotta be a fastball." Next pitch Hamilton jacks it into the right field stands for a walkoff homerun.

All I know is I was jumping up and down and screaming at the top of my lungs and clapping until my hands turned red. Watching Hamilton round the bases and jump into the pile of Rangers at home plate literally gave me goosebumps. It was that electricity within the stadium, within Texas Ranger baseball that's never been here before. It was something that I'll never forget. I remembered going to big Mavs games or the Stanley Cup playoffs when the Stars would win a game and Gates and I would be walking in the halls of the American Airlines Center and people would be chanting after the game. "Let's go Stars...(clap clap clap clap clap)" would be echoing throughout the stairwells. I remember saying to Gates, "Why can't it be this way at Ranger games? Why are people at the ballpark always so apathetic?"

Tonight as we were walking in the hallows of the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, aka The Temple, people were cheering and chanting for the Rangers. As much as I sound like a puss for saying it, my eyes teared up. Tonight I finally heard the sound I'd been dying to hear for most of my life. Tonight the electricity and excitement I feel from watching every Ranger game no matter how insignificant had spread throughout the entire stadium. Tonight put Ranger baseball on the map.

Opening day recap

I know it's been a couple of days since the Rangers home opener and my post about Opening Day, but it's taken me a while to get back to writing. I anticipated something spectacular for the Rangers home opener and while not spectacular in some people's minds - it was amazing in mine.

These are 40,000 of my closest friends.

First off, let's get the score out of the way. Yeah the Rangers lost 8-1but they have won two of their first three series, including the first home series with the Orioles.

I think that this year the getting to the game was more adventurous than actually being at the game.

Luckily I was able to ask for Tuesday off so I was able to get myself stoked for the home opener. My best friend and roommate (Kris) Gates wasn't so lucky. Although his boss said he could go to the game, he was super intent on being at work and actually knocking out a huge chunk of the paperwork on his desk because of an impending deadline.

About noon I drove to downtown Dallas to pick him up from work and I waited outside his office in my car in a fire lane no less with a police car nearby.

And I waited.

And waited.

Finally he came out the front doors and hopped in, quickly swapping his work shirt for a Rangers t-shirt he found at some sporting goods store.

Driving down I-30 towards Arlington wasn't a big deal until Norm Hitzges on 1310 The Ticket started talking about the Rangers and their bad spending habits earlier this decade. This got Gates and I into a conversation about Alex Rodriguez which turned into an argument over whether the $250 million was justified to actually get him to come to Dallas.

In the middle of our conversation I notice some traffic barrels quickly coming up ahead. There was no sign. No warning. No "left lane closed ahead." We drove over a small hill and 'BOOM!' traffic barrels.

I did my best to merge into the lane to the right of me, but just my luck - an 18-wheeler was boxing me in. I hit my brakes and was trying to avoid hitting the barrels but more importantly avoid having the semi sideswipe me.

My supreme driving skills kept us from crashing but we didn't get away unscathed as I hit one of the traffic barrels with my driver's side mirror. Luckily nothing was damaged.

After that close call we decided to grab some fast food since ballpark food is just way too expensive. We settled on Whataburger.

Unfortunately, I followed Gates' directions and went north on Loop 360 until we hit Whataburger about 10 miles down. Nevertheless, a quick bite to eat and we were back on the road towards the ballpark with half an hour to go before game time.

A quick note for those planning on attending a Rangers game: if it's a big game (opening day or against the Red Sox or Yankees) get there really early - especially if it's a day game.

Our usual parking lot, which we used many, many times last year, was occupied with the vehicles of actual employees of the business so we had to take our precious hunk of metal to a different lot. Much to my dismay, it took another half hour to find a lot about a good couple of blocks from the ballpark.

We have begun our annual pilgrimage to the Mecca for Ranger fans.

So we parked and made it through the gates halfway through the first inning.

I bought my customary program, but with the game having already started my tradition would have to be put on hold. We had decent seats on the third deck, in fact I had the aisle seat and Gates had to squeeze next to some guy who looked offended that we actually had seats next to him.

That's one of the big things that really bugs me about Ranger games. When there's a big game (see above) you always have idiots show up who aren't really Ranger fans but are there because a.) they want out of work or b.) they have nothing better to do.

"See, there's a baseball game going on. OVER THERE!"

You can spot posers anywhere at a big game and I found an abundance of them.

I even came up with some determining factors about poser fans. Let me channel my inner Jeff Foxworthy:

Rule #1: You might be a poser baseball fan if you have on clothes from a team not actually playing in the game you're attending.

Rule #2: You might be a poser baseball fan if you have on clothes from a sport other than baseball.

Rule #3: You might be a poser baseball fan if you have on an MLB team hat that's got colors that don't accurately represent the team.

Rule #4: You might be a poser baseball fan if you stay quiet the whole game.

Shhh. My hair's growing in.

Rule #5: You might be a poser baseball fan if you leave in the middle of a close ballgame to grab some snacks.

Rule #6: You might be a poser baseball fan if you were clothing that represents players no longer with the team. The only notable exceptions are Hall-of-Famers and team legends. (example: Nolan Ryan and Rusty Greer, respectively).

Rule #7, and quite possibly the most important: You ARE a poser baseball fan if you can't take the time to stop and appreciate the beauty of actually being at a game.

The most appalling aspect of the game to me was the clothing, as you could probably have deduced from my rules.

Ok, so the Texas Rangers played the Baltimore Orioles...

• I saw a multitude of Boston Red Sox and New York Yankee hats. I saw a Detroit Tigers hat.

There were two men dressed with Pittsburgh Pirates jerseys and hats. One can be an exception because he was wearing Roberto Clemente's #21.

A small boy wore a long sleeve red Under Armour shirt with a Dwayne Wade Miami Heat jersey.

One guy walked by the concession stands in a Marion Barber Dallas Cowboys jersey. (Possible exception since it is Dallas and the ballpark is near the site of the new Cowboys stadium).

Rangers are playing second fiddle again...

Hundreds of people were still wearing Mark Teixeira jerseys. If they were true Rangers fans they would've burned them because a Ranger who decides he doesn't want to be a Ranger anymore so he stops playing, should have his jersey burned. Ditto for the people wearing Alex Rodriguez Ranger jerseys.

The one Ivan Rodriguez jersey was awesome. He's not a Ranger anymore but he never wore out his welcome. The guy is a Ranger legend.

The second weirdest attire we saw was a guy who was wearing a David Justice Atlanta Braves jersey.

Finally, the weirdest thing we saw was an older guy wearing a Chan Ho Park Texas Ranger jersey shirt complete with a Chan Ho Park #61 baseball cap.

Aside from all of that, I had a great time.

Gates and I continued our tradition of screaming "Deep in the Heart of Texas" in the fifth inning and then doing a jig when they played "Cotton-eyed Joe" afterwards.

We also had our first beverages of the season.

I wanna go where everybody knows my name...

Tastes good on a humid afternoon.

My blue dot won the dot race after it pushed that show-boat red dot out of the way.

The ballpark dogs were delicious so was the soda in the souvenir cup.

Gates bought his first Ranger jersey, albeit a Bat Boy #05 jersey. He was enamored with the thing. It's a road jersey with 'BAT BOY' on the back. He bought the #05 because his favorite team the Chicago White Sox won their last World Series in 2005 and Gates still follows Journey's lyrics and hasn't stopped believin'.

He can now attend Rangers games in proper Ranger attire.

He was actually a bat boy last summer. At least that's the line he's using to pick up the ladies.

But by far the one thing I'll remember most were all of the families at the game.

While waiting for Gates to buy his jersey, I stood in the centerfield plaza and just watched people walk by, take pictures with Nolan Ryan's statue or just play games.

But one man impressed me the most.

He looked around to make sure he wasn't in anyone's way then he tossed a baseball to his toddler son who caught it. I couldn't help but smile because that's exactly what I picture the perfect game to be like. Maybe I watched Field of Dreams too many times but there can't be a better feeling than playing catch with your dad, even if you aren't young enough to fully comprehend it.

The kid then launched the ball back at his dad who nearly missed it. He looked at his son with the "holy cow you can throw pretty hard!" look. Then they continued to toss the ball back and forth to each other as Nolan Ryan's statue looked on from above.

I guess I was watching for too long because finally the dad looked up at me with a smile on my face. I could see in his eyes that he too understood because his face softened, he smiled a bit and kept playing catch with his son.

As we walked back to the car I couldn't get that image out of my head - the perfect way to spend the home opener: playing catch with your dad.

About that time we walked past the Dr. Pepper Little League ballpark and I saw another pleasing site. A man had his son up on his shoulders as they walked back to the car. Both of them had on Ranger jerseys: the dad had Brandon McCarthy and the little boy had Michael Young.

That's what it's all about.

Despite that horrendous way to get the home opener started with the near wreck and the missing of the first half inning, the day finished out strong because I saw what I wanted to see: families enjoying the game as a way to develop their relationships.

It definitely overshadowed the Chan Ho Park fanatic.

Dude, Chan Ho Park sucked!

Something magic in the air

I know the Major League Baseball season officially began when the Boston Red Sox and the Oakland A's duked it out in Japan, but for me opening day really starts when the Texas Rangers play their first game at home in Arlington. Finally the time has come Tuesday when they square off against the Baltimore Orioles.

When I was younger I never really paid attention to opening day. Heck, I never really paid an extreme amount of attention to baseball. I just knew how the Rangers were doing. I still remember the day Opening Day officially mattered to me.

My family was living in Lubbock in 1999 and for some unknown reason my brother and I had that Monday off from school so we kicked it at home. That's when we looked at the paper and realized Kevin Brown (then newly-signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers fresh off his Padre World Series run) was facing Randy Johnson (then newly-traded signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks from his half-season stint with the Houston Astros).

My brother and I were so hyped up we were literally jumping up and down in anticipation of the baseball season. The game started and after a couple of innings we quickly lost interest as any kids would do. That is until a commercial aired for Triple Play 2000.

We stopped jumping around and our jaws dropped to the floor. See when we first got the Playstation (later dubbed PS1) our first game was Triple Play 1998 and we loved that game to death. To think, two years later we were to salivate over the possibility of playing baseball with updated rosters and much improved graphics.

We wasted no time.

"MOM!"

We both ran up to her and pleaded for her to take us to the mall and buy us Triple Play 2000. Normally my mom was one of those mothers who hated buying video games for her kids, probably because she saw what Super Mario Bros. and the original NES did to us.

That's when something strange happened - she said yes.

I remember that as being the first time, as a teenager, that I thought my mom was simply awesome. No fighting. No arguing. No pleading. No doing chores to get it. She just said yes. A simple answer that sent her two sons into a screaming frenzy to get ready for a trip to the mall.

I'll never forget coming home with the open game (I opened it to read the instructions on the way home) in hand as we raced to my room to play it. I still remember taking out the disc and reading "Nobody remembers who has the most bunts in a season" on the inside of the CD cover. Now for some weird reason, neither one of us picked our favorite team. As the Rangers icon kept scrolling by, we kept trying to determine which two teams would represent our Opening Day.

Matt settled on the Cubs. Dodgers for me.

For the next hour or so we gasped at how truly awesome the game was. There were arcade-like "booms" whenever the hitter would catch the ball on the sweet spot. All of the players looked awesome for the graphics at the time and the gameplay was as easy to figure out as any other game.

After an hour or so, we ended nine innings in a tie 1-1 game. I kept wiping my hands on my pants to keep the controller from slipping through my fingers and Matt lurched closer to the TV clutching the remote anticipating every pitch. He's always intense when he plays anything competitively.

He came up in the top of the tenth inning and I shut him down. I came up to bat with my 8, 9 and leadoff hitters. I honestly don't remember who 8 and 9 were because Matt quickly disposed of them. But I'll always remember Devon White. It helps that he used to play for the Midland Angels back when he was in the minor leagues and my uncle used to drink with him sometimes. But that day he was my hero.

Matt threw a pitch and I used "X" to swing since I wanted a basehit to keep the inning going. It went dead center but it really didn't have enough distance. If I'd have used the square button for power it definitely would've cleared. Nevertheless, the ball continued toward the wall until Matt used his centerfielder to scale the wall.

The ball fell just to the side of the fielder's glove but it had just enough distance for a game-winning homerun.

I pumped my fist and grinned. I wanted to jump up and scream and wag my finger in my brother's face but I knew better. He didn't take losing well.

After a slam of the controller, he concluded our Opening Day 1999.

Ever since then Opening Day actually meant something to me.

Then in 2006 my dad asked if I wanted to go to the Rangers home opener. I jumped at the chance since it was my first Opening Day to attend. Matt couldn't go for some reason, I think his baseball committments kept him from going.

That year I learned a very valuable lesson: don't let anyone else handle obtaining Opening Day tickets.

My dad told me he'd wake up and order the tickets online before he went to work. So at 6 a.m. I expected him to have gotten tickets.

I called him around lunchtime.

Did you get the tickets? I asked.

No. He was going to wait until he got home from work to order them.

I called later on that night after giving him time to get off work and get home.

Did you get the tickets? I asked.

No. He had to eat dinner first.

I was so furious I was screaming at the top of my lungs. If you know me, you know it takes a lot to get me upset. This was one of those hot buttons.

I ended up talking to my dad about 10 p.m. that night and he said he got tickets in the upper-deck. They were in the second-to-last row.

Now for all the time I spent pissed off about the tickets I actually had an amazing time. It's really something to witness an Opening Day. I remember walking up to our seats and I could hear the introductions of former Rangers who were in attendance. Guys I grew up idolizing.

Jeff Russell. Rusty Greer. Bobby Witt. And Steve "BOOOOOOOOCHELLLLE!"

The Rangers happened to get their rear ends handed to them by the Red Sox, but I didn't care. I saw an Opening Day game and I saw a David Ortiz homerun to the Homerun Porch.

Dad said it would be our tradition every year to go to a game. He got it half right.

The next year we made plans to go to Opening Day again but for some reason dad couldn't go. I was devastated. This was supposed to be a tradition. It was supposed to be our thing. That's when I realized I was an adult. No one was stopping me from going myself.

I talked with my brother and we decided to make it a little family trip. Mom was in. Then we started adding more and more people. My aunt and her friend were in. My mom's friend was in. My friend was in. So I readied myself for buying tickets for six people for Opening Day.

At this point I was working for the OA and I'd been saving up so I was all set to go. The day tickets went on sale I skipped class at UTPB and went to the most reliable computer I could access - the work computer.

As I ran into the OA newsroom my co-workers looked at me in puzzlement. Maybe it was because I showed up when I wasn't scheduled to work or maybe it was because I was fully decked out in my Rangers jersey, hat and "Live Strong" rip-off bracelet that MLB had made for each team the year before. I remember them laughing when I told them why I was there, but I didn't care. I was on a mission.

I was in the newsroom a full half hour before tickets officially went on sale so that I could prep myself for where I wanted to sit and to make sure the system would bring up the website. Then with a few minutes to go I went to www.time.gov to make sure the computer time was to the second of the official time.

With less than a minute to go I opened up the system clock and watched as each second ticked away. By this time I'd already gotten to the Rangers website and all I had to do was click to order tickets.

5.

4.

3.

2.

1.

I hurridly clicked on order tickets, clicked "best available," clicked six tickets and typed in the encryption password.

I had tickets on the lower third base side!

But there were only four. (I found out later for some weird reason you can only order up to four tickets online for a big game).

I thought to myself, "I can get better seats than this."

I clicked back and repeated the process.

This time the servers were busy and I was on the outside of the process looking in. I tried calling the box office but only got a busy signal. I had given up four great tickets because I thought I could do better. There is a reason there is a "best available" option button and I was too dumb to think about why exactly I had clicked it.

I kept trying and trying for 30 minutes. I clicked order tickets. Server busy. Order tickets. Server busy. For a straight half hour I did nothing but click the mouse. Somewhere near the end of my misery Nax walked by and I told him what happened and he just chuckled his Nax chuckle and walked off.

After a while I figured I'd just try the next game to see what would happen.

I was in.

I was able to order six tickets.

They were good second deck seats.

I bought them without hesitation. I wasn't about to let the trip slip through my fingers again.

Although we didn't make the official Opening Day last year, we had a great time at the game. There was only one problem - it was the coldest recorded game at the Ballpark in Arlington. For nine innings we sat in 40-degree weather cheering on our team.

Due to some weird circumstances Matt, my friend and I sat about two sections over from my mom, her friend and my aunt. I videotaped my mom dancing the YMCA like a fool underneath the Starbucks sign as she tried in vain to get on the Jumbotron. It was weird sitting at a baseball game with heavy blankets draped over our laps, but it was completely worth it.

On the field the Rangers played the Red Sox again and I think we even came out on top that time. I just remember Sammy Sosa hitting his first homerun back with the Rangers as we all leapt to our feet and screamed as fireworks lit up the cloudy sky.

My friend Laura and I ended up walking through the halls of the stadium at one point to get some food and I knew she could see why I loved going so much. That's when I think I figured out something about myself as I told her about why I love going.

For me the games are a trip back in time.

I sit in those seats and I remember going to Opening Day with my dad and having that bond form as you watch your favorite team play your favorite sport.

I remember my mom posing with former Rangers players at the old ballpark. The one picture she absolutely adores is the one with her and her "man" Rafael Palmeiro. No matter how many times we told her he was married to a Cuban woman and had kids and was a Viagra spokesman - he was still her man.

I remember going summers with Matt and my dad and taking a cooler full of bottled water, Sprite, sandwich fixings and a bag holding our recently purchased fully cooked chicken.

The days when we had ICI Paints backpacks and collected every program.

The days when I would keep score for an inning and then get mad because I'd be missing the game so I'd quit. But now that's become a tradition as my one-inning-filled-in souvenir programs will tell you.

The days when we'd get to the park a couple of hours early to try and get autographs or to catch a batting practice homerun.

Or almost catch one...

Once we were in left centerfield during Rangers batting practice. My brother, my dad and I all had our gloves on waiting for that one moment. Then Pudge Rodriguez, our favorite player, came to the cage to hit. It's a magical feeling sitting there as a kid with your dad and your brother waiting on a ball that will most likely never come. So you hang on the railing half-heartedly with your glove dangling from your hand. Each crack of the bat sends your head shooting up only to see it was a groundball or has been hit in the opposite direction as where you're at.

Then there's always that moment that puts butterflies in your stomach even a decade letter as you reminisce. The moment when you're favorite player hits a homerun ball in your direction. Your heart starts to race, your hands suddenly become drenched in sweat as you fight to hold your glove up in the air. Your little neck flies up and finds the ball as it magically starts to descend toward the spot you're standing in.

At that moment, my dad picked my brother up and Matt had his little pudgy arm outstretched as Pudge's homerun ball kept getting closer. Then some thoughtless moron runs from halfway down the section and juts his hands in the way of Matt's glove causing the ball to hit off of them and bounce a few rows up the bleachers where some little girl just so happens to walk by, picks up the ball and says, "Hmm," then walks away with the ball.

Then the idiot says to us, "Almost had it."

Even though we don't remember what he looks like and Pudge doesn't play for the Rangers anymore, there's still heartbreak every time we go to the game and remember that magical moment horrifically altered for the worse.

And that's what going to Ranger games is. It's relieving moments of glory and moments of heartache. The moments that made you a fan in the first place.

Like the time we sat in the upper deck for the Rangers' first ever playoff game in 1996 and played the New York Yankees. We were down 2-0 already as the Division Series came back to Arlington but there was still hope. There was hope when Juan Gonzalez smashed a homerun into the left field seats. But then hope flutters away and heartache settles in when you realize your team lost again.

Then they get swept the next game. You spend the rest of your life remembering that moment and each time you remember it, it makes you remember why exactly you hate the New York Yankees so much.

But sometimes those magical moments do happen.

One summer game we sat in seats my dad had gotten from work beneath the KRLD 1080 sign in the second deck. We were playing the Brewers and that meant one thing - getting the legendary Bob Uecker's autograph.

Of course as a kid I was always really timid to do things but Matt wasn't. He jumped at the chance to get Uecker's autograph. So my dad walked him around the concourse to just beneath the announcers booth.

I stayed in our seats and followed them with the binoculars. I still see Matt walking alongside my dad with his cap on and the little swagger in his walk that he had when he was little. Then my dad picked him up and the rest was as told to me:

"Mr. Uecker?" Matt yelled.

My dad had him raised as high as his arms would allow and Matt was still a good foot short of the window.

"Yea kid?" Uecker called from above.

"Will you sign my baseball?"

"Sure kid toss it up."

Matt heaved the ball into the booth and after a few seconds the ball dropped back into his hands with Bob Uecker's autograph signed in black Sharpie.

My dad had a look of suprise and Matt just glowed with excitement and wore the biggest smile I'd ever seen.

"I got it!" he yelled at me as they got closer.

Those times are magic. They get frozen in time. And as I told Laura last year, it's those moments I long to remember each time I set foot in the ballpark.

"You have to remember," I told her in the hallway, "I don't come to games with just anyone. If I bring you to a Rangers game you're like family to me."

And so the tradition continues on Tuesday.

There weren't any ticketing debacles this year. Mom and Matt aren't coming until the weekend opener. Dad is still in San Antonio. It'll just be my best friend Kris and I.

He's been to games with me many times but not to an opener. I know something will happen tomorrow and I am brimming with excitement. It'll be another moment in time to add to my memory because every moment there is magical if you believe.

My ticket for something spectacular. 1:05 p.m. Tuesday, April 8, 2008.

Section 338 Row 10 Seat 15.

This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship I am freaking stoked today. I didn't get much sleep and woke up with a bad headache but I GOTS ME SOME RANGER TICKETS! Baseball is back and for the next 6 months nothing will make me unhappy because I'll have my Rangers. Quick overview of the seats I got:

Tuesday, April 8 (Rangers home opener)
Orioles @ Rangers
Sec 338M
Row 10
Seats 14, 15

Friday, April 11 (Opening weekend)
Blue Jays @ Rangers
Sec 237
Row 3
Seats 1,2,3,4,5

Friday, May 16 (C.J. Wilson bobblehead night)
Astros @ Rangers
Sec 307L
Row 4
Seats 17,18

Saturday, June 7 (Michael Young bobblehead night)
Rays @ Rangers
Sec 339L
Row 2
Seats 11,12

Friday, June 27 (Hank Blalock bobblehead night)
Phillies @ Rangers
Sec 307L
Row 4
Seats 17,18

Friday, July 11 (Cap night)
White Sox @ Rangers
Sec 3
Row 1
Seats 1,2

Saturday, July 12 (Eli Young post game concert)
White Sox @ Rangers
Sec 307L
Row 2
Seats 18,19

Sunday, July 13 ($1 ice cream sundae/ umbrella day)
White Sox @ Rangers
Sec 339L
Row 2
Seats 11,12

Friday, August 1 (Cooler bag night)
Blue Jays @ Rangers
Sec 307L
Row 1
Seats 9,10

Thursday, August 7 (TOPPS baseball card night)
Yankees @ Rangers
Sec 307M
Row 10
Seats 4,5

Friday, September 5
Red Sox @ Rangers
Sec 307M
Row 10
Seats 4,5

Wednesday, September 17 (Autograph Wednesday/dollar hot dog night)
Tigers @ Rangers
Sec 307L
Row 3
Seats 1,2,3

Some quick notes about the early build of my ticketing schedule:
- Costs on tickets add up
- Strangely I got the same seats for the Yankees and the Red Sox games
- Damn, parking is like another $3 per game
- Going with cheap seats for all games except opening weekend because that'll be the Opening Day the family gets to come to and the first White Sox-Rangers game as it was last year. For those who don't know Gates is a huge White Sox fan and last year we got $45 seats for free from some awesome lady. I'm hoping the Rangers will sweep them again this year.
- This is by far not the only games I'm going to. There's still the impromptu games we'll go see. Mainly these games were promotions and on weekends so those are primo tickets.
- Gates and I are going to try and come up with our own unique Ranger fan thing to do a la the guys with drums at the Indians games.
- I will attend a game where the Rangers sweep another team and I will finally be able to take a BROOM! :-)

A Day of Love

Today, February 14, is a day to rekindle romances that have gone stale in the past few months. A time to appreciate the past and look forward to the future in your relationship. For some, the past, the present and the future look grim. Some see retribution lying ahead while others see rings being fastened to their fingers. While a few relationships have been destroyed recently, some are just beginning.

I would like to wish a happy St. Valentine's Day to the one I love and who has been with me through the good and the bad, the sad times and the joyous. For it is today that one is giving me the greatest gift of all - a chance to begin anew.

So happy Valentine's Day to all of you pitchers and catchers and those few eager position players who have reported to Spring Training in either Florida or Arizona. Today is a day to recognize the people that are in your hearts throughout the year whether you see them daily or not. Today is the beginning of MLB Spring Training! Thank God! It's been too long since the final out of the World Series was recorded. Too long since the last time I was able to sit in those dark green chairs, smell the luscious grass and watch some baseball.

To think, in two short months, we will once again be able to hear "Play Ball!" and "HAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWTTTTTTTTTTT DAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGSSSSS!" and then see the toothy grin of a hot dog vendor (namely John Hunter). If only it was April...

The link to all top Spring Training news. MLB.COM

For coverage of yours and my Texas Rangers.
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Already the big news of the day for the Rangers is the move of prospect Chris Davis from third base back to his natural position of first base. Could this be a sign that the front office is set to award Jarrod Saltalamacchia the starting catcher position for the next few years instead of moving him to first base later on? The Rangers have too many talented catchers to have Salty blocking them in the major leagues (i.e. Taylor Teagarden and Max Ramirez)

The move does make a lot of sense though since the Rangers don't really have a major prospect at first base. Then if Hank Blalock comes back from his shoulder injury, he could possibly give time for more prospects to develop. Blalock has an option for 2009, so depending on how Elvis Andrus and Travis Metcalf develop Blalock could be on his way out. If Metcalf finds a bat as good as his glove he'll be a nice cornerstone to the infield. If Andrus develops quickly and as he should, maybe Michael Young makes a move to third base and Andrus moves up to shortstop leaving Metcalf as either a bench player, designated hitter or trade bait.

In other parts of the team, C.J. Wilson and "Everyday Eddie" Guardado are competing for the closer's job. C.J. did very well last year but Eddie brings lots of experience with him from Seattle. It's always a good sign when you have too many good arms in the bullpen because you know if you have the lead when it's time to go to the pen, you have a damn good chance at winning the ballgame. Now if the starting rotation would do what it should then the Rangers could have a kickass team and be geared up for the playoffs. There's only one problem.

Erik Bedard in Seattle.


Oh yea.

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone, except if I don't know you. In that case, go find someone else. :)

Nolan Ryan back to the Rangers

Good news.

Nolan Ryan is coming back to the Texas Rangers as the new club president.

MLB.com article.

The best day of the year...so far

I had such an amazing day today. To think I almost didn't go. I went to bed about 3:30 a.m. Saturday when I decided I wouldn't be a panzy about going by myself somewhere. I ordered tickets to the Texas Rangers Fan Fest and I woke up 4 hours later to go :-)

Here's some highlights from the day that was.....awesome.

My new friend Tony praying to the Ranger gods in the early morning mist. Actually he's still recovering from heart surgery and needed a breather.

The first autographs of the day. Rangers television broadcaster Tom Grieve (left) and former Rangers designated hitter Mickey Tettleton (right.)


Grieve signed my 1998 Texas Rangers postseason program courtesy my good friend Chris Gove.















While Mickey signed a Texas Rangers minibat circa 1998 courtesy my new friend Wayne Smith.
















After Tettleton and Grieve was my favorite Rangers outfielder of all time lovingly referred to by my brother Matt as Rusty "the Busty" Greer.


I handed Rusty the same 1998 postseason program Grieve signed and he quickly autographed it, stopped and began looking for himself in the team photo.
"Long time ago," I said to him.
"Yea..." he said almost sadly.
















And rounding out the first autograph session was Ray Burris, someone I'd never heard of but he was a really nice guy. It was definitely an honor to meet those four men.


I picked up a complementary card Burris was autographing.















I was invited to tag along with my new buddies Wayne and Tony. I found out Tony works at Frito Lay and helps develop new tastes for the snack foods, while Wayne used to own a sports card shop and both were master memorabilia collectors who kindly showed me the ropes today.

After the Tettleton/Grieve/Greer/Burris signing, we made our way up to the Diamond Club where Jamey Newberg, author of the Newberg Report, was hosting an autograph signing for future Rangers.

From left to right: Chris Davis, John Whittleman, John Mayberry Jr. (not pictured: Doug Mathis)

I got an autograph from each one of the young prospects on a baseball provided by Mr. Smith.











































Pictured: John Mayberry Jr. (top) and John Whittleman (bottom)














Pictured: Chris Davis (top), Doug Mathis (middle) and Mike Jeffcoat (bottom)














Sadly after the prospects' signings, Tony felt he couldn't continue and went home leaving Wayne and I to hustle after some more autographs. Here's where he taught me a little trick. First, some background info: you couldn't just go get autographs. You had to be given a ticket that meant "one" autograph from each of the players at the table. Well, Wayne and I went and waited in a line, got the tickets for the autograph, then jetted to another line and so on. Then we went to each line as we pleased knowing we had a guaranteed shot at an autograph.

We decided to go back to the Grand Slam Gift Shop in centerfield where we had gotten Rusty's autograph earlier. This time they had a few new faces.

From left to right: Jeff Russell, Jim Sundberg and Rangers broadcaster Josh Lewin.

Lewin signed my Fan Fest program...














and a complementary card.















Sundberg was kind enough to sign...

a card...














another card...














and a bat.














Russell signed...

a complementary card...














and four other cards provided by Mr. Smith.















The next hour afforded us the pleasure to meet...

Rich Billings...
...who kindly signed...

a bat...














...and a ball.
Pictured: Rich Billings (top), C.J. Wilson (middle) and Jason Jennings (bottom).

There was also the dynamic duo of Mike Jeffcoat (left) and Pete O'Brien (right)...

who signed...

a card (Jeffcoat)...














a bat (Jeffcoat)...














a bat (O'Brien)...














a card...














and more cards.















After going through this particular autograph line twice, Billings, Jeffcoat and O'Brien recognized us, yet they were classy enough to oblige our autograph requests. With no real plan for the 2 p.m. autograph, Wayne and I waited in the C.J. Wilson line. I've grown to be a pretty big fan of C.J.'s not only for the work he does on the field, but he's a really nice guy from all accounts. He set up a children's foundation and even organizes gaming events to benefit said foundation. This was really the only current Ranger I really considered getting.

C.J. rockin his Guitar Hero shirt.

In addition to the baseball he signed mentioned above, he also signed a complementary card.














After waiting nearly an hour for C.J.'s autograph, we headed back to the Grand Slam Gift Shop for another former Ranger with a dear place in our hearts - "Steeeeeeeeeeveeeee Boooooochelllllllllle."

The great Steve Buechele. And Dad, he's one year younger than you :-P

Although he was standoffish, Buechele did sign...

some old ass cards.














In addition to Buechele was Dave Hostetler.
who signed this ball...














and the complementary card.














And to round out the day, we finished off with the newest Ranger - Jason Jennings. The ball he autographed has been previously pictured.

All in all, the day simply could not have been any better. I got some great players to sign stuff and I met two really cool guys who showed me the ropes of a Fan Fest. I can't thank them enough for all their generosity and help in making it such a memorable experience.

Hunting for autographs reminded me of the great times my dad would take Matt and I to Ranger games when he lived in Dallas. One time we saw Ripken play and prior to the game were two humongous lines, but only one was fortunate to get Ripken's autograph. That may have been the time I chickened out of getting a first-grader's autograph. Good ol Molly Palmison, star of the former local Ranger commercials. Luckily Matt had the balls to get her autograph. Matt also got Mr. Bob Uecker's autograph one game against the Brewers. I remember watching Matt and Dad, through binoculars, walking to a spot beneath the announce booth. Dad put Matt on his shoulders and the rest has been told countless times.
"Mr. Uecker? Can I have your autograph?"
"Sure kid. Throw the ball up here."
Still has to be one of the coolest moments ever.
Then there were our first real autographs with our favorite baseball player Pudge Rodriguez when he was a rookie. It's almost been exactly 16 years since we got his autograph. February 2, 1992, Pudge did an autograph show in Midland and we showed up. Of course this was before millions of dollars, so he was a really cool guy to get an autograph from. Sadly, Wayne told me the millions must have gone to Pudge's head because he charges out the wahzoo for his John Hancock. Wayne said other notable autograph assholes were Mark Teixeira, Ferguson Jenkins and Alex Rodriguez.
Nevertheless, today has been etched alongside those memories of younger days. Although I wasn't with my family today, they were with me as I ran from line to line getting autographs. Until next Fan Fest!