It has been an active offseason, both for me personally and in the league. My family and I moved into a new house in late September and also found out we were going to be an aunt and uncle once again. Our daughter took one last free plane ride to Minnesota for Christmas before turning 2 last week. Around baseball, the Yankees have signed about a billion dollars worth of players and left the last few slow offseasons lying in the dust. The Brewers unveiled brand new uniforms and logos for their 50th anniversary season. Rob Manfred also continued his unapologetic assault on baseball by introducing two more controversial measures at the minor league level: a full scale contraction and introduction of "robo-umps." Look for more detailed editorials from me on these issues as the season progresses, but for now I want to talk about our first Tour trip of the new decade: the new Texas Rangers ballpark.
Globe Life Field will be the first new MLB park to open since Suntrust Park in 2017, and officially opens for business in a little over two months to host a - you guessed it - country music concert. Erik and I have learned our lessons from our Miami and Atlanta trips in the dead of summer, and are planning on visiting Texas in April in hopes of some nicer weather. The stifling heat is actually a major reason the Rangers are moving into a new stadium after just 26 seasons at Globe Life Park in Arlington. The new stadium will feature a much-needed retractable roof, giving it an aesthetic that looks like a sort of mesh between their old park and the Astros' park. Speaking of Minute Maid Park, as long as we have to go to Texas, we'd like to get to an Astros game as well. There have been a fair number of renovations since our last visit during the O.G. Tour, including the removal of Tal's Hill in center field. In true Tour fashion, I'm sure we will also be jamming as much minor league baseball and breweries as possible into this trip as well. Stay tuned for more as the season starts.
Outside of our main trip, I never did make it to the new Green Bay Northwoods League stadium last year, so that is at the top of my list. Megan, Molly, and I are also planning to visit Erik's new house in The Hampsh' this summer, and we would love to go see a game in Pawtucket while we're there, for the final season of historic McCoy Stadium. Another trip that may be a long shot is attending the Field of Dreams Game in August. I still have several friends in Iowa from when I worked there, including one who is a huge White Sox fan and has family in Dyersville. So, if by some miracle we manage to swipe tickets to the 8,000 capacity game for less than a mortgage payment, we'll do it.
Pitchers & Catchers report in just 40 days, and as always, Go Brewers!!!
touch with baseball when his childhood heroes Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, and Jim Gantner retired but the Great Home Run Chase of 1998 reignited his passion. As a student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Erik became involved with the campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity. With this group Erik traveled to Portland, OR and Baltimore, MD to work on construction projects and help the group raise $25,000 to partially sponsor a house in Milwaukee. Also at UWM, Erik met Peter Nagel. The two attended their first Brewers game together during Opening Weekend 2003. Despite their failure to ignite the coals at their first tailgate, the two had a blast and were soon making weekly trips to the ballpark. Erik has gone on to several colleges and changed careers several times, and has moved all the way out to New Hampshire, but has always stayed true to his baseball roots by holding part-time stadium usher jobs. To this day he looks back fondly on his incredible cross-country journey.