If Major League Baseball does commit to re-starting the season, the Rangers will train for it in Arlington, general manager Jon Daniels said Tuesday.
During a conference call with reporters, Daniels said it was the club’s desire to train at Globe Life Field, even if that means it ends up playing intra-squad games as prep for the shortened season rather than full-scale exhibitions against opponents. Manager Chris Woodward indicated the Rangers were leaning towards training in Texas last week.
If a deal is reached between the players and owners, a spring training 2.0 camp could start in early June with a target date for opening the season around July 4.
“Our preference would be to be here,” Daniels said. “My understanding – at least at this point - is that we’d get the ability to decide. If that holds, we would hold it here.”
There are multiple reasons for the decision. The Rangers would like to get accustomed to their new stadium at Globe Life Field, which Woodward said last week could create an advantage for them over opponents when the regular season rolls around. Also, the weather in Arizona, which would be the other option, gets oppressively hot in the summer. The Rangers, as you may recall, now have a retractable-roofed stadium to provide them plenty of creature comforts.
The advantages to Arizona would be that there would be more space with which to work, though with a 50-man pool of players, that might not be as necessary. Also, there could be several teams training in Arizona, which would make it easier to schedule exhibitions.
The Rangers could augment their workout facilities by using Globe Life Park for some activities, Daniels said. He mentioned batting practice, weight workouts and throwing programs. The field has been converted to football dimensions and stands sit in what used to be the outfield.
Daniels also said there have been at least some preliminary conversations with other clubs about potentially playing some exhibition games either in Arlington or at another club’s home stadium. But that would potentially create additional early challenges on travel and hotel safety.
Briefly: You may not be able to get into Globe Life Field any time soon to watch baseball, but, for a fee, the Rangers will gladly show you around the place starting June 1. The club announced “First Look” tours that will be limited to groups of 10 people and will require social distancing protocols and face masks. The tickets will range in price from $15 for children 4-14 to $25 for an adult paying full price. Information is available on the Rangers website: Texasrangers.com
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