Last week, I was back in Dallas, Texas for work (ABF Freight) and decided to check out some more baseball experiences. According to a Google search of “baseball fields,” two Texas Rangers fields were listed – Globe Life Park and Globe Life Field. Curious, I thought and so I decided to take the short drive from work to Arlington to check out these fields. Arlington, Texas is also home of this giant spaceship looking stadium, aka AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys.

In a former professional life (I was a partner in a fitness equipment firm), I visited a warehouse in Arlington, Texas to photograph some used gym equipment. I mentioned to the warehouse manager that I was into sports, particularly baseball. He directed me to the Ballpark at Arlington and AT&T Stadium, which were less than 10 minutes from his warehouse. I wrote down the directions (this was circa 2012) and followed them right to the Ballpark at Arlington on Nolan Ryan Expressway. There in front of the stadium was a giant statue of one of my childhood idols, Nolan Ryan. As the park was closed (it was also in February), I drove the short distance down to the Walmart across from AT&T Stadium to take in the giant football stadium.

Fast forward to last Friday…I drove down to Arlington and parked between two giant structures. Globe Life Field, the current home of the Texas Rangers, and Choctaw Stadium (once called Globe Life Park, originally called the Ballpark at Arlington) and so began the walk down memory lane to see what I could remember from my 2012 trip. Here is what I found out along the way…

It is February, so I am mostly certain that baseball fields, especially professional and most definitely MLB level fields, are going to be closed. If you haven’t signed up for a tour, don’t have special privileges or you aren’t a designated employee or contractor, you are most likely not going to get into an MLB park off season. So was the case for yours truly on Friday afternoon. No worries, I took a ton of photos walking around the stadiums and just observed what I could from the perimeter. Been there done that. I started my journey at the new Texas Rangers baseball stadium – Globe Life Field.

From the parking lot, I found a sidewalk up to one of the stadium’s entrances. Outside the gate, there were a number of statues and memorial plaques. Honestly never heard of this person but apparently Tom Vandergriff is considered to be “the father of baseball in Arlington.” His statue was right there in full view, nice tribute. There was also a bronze statue of the celebration after the final out of the 2010 ALCS, which featured a huge win by the Texas Rangers over the NY Yankees, sending the Rangers to the 2010 World Series. It was the first World Series appearance for the Texas Rangers and this statue commemorates the joy of winning. After losing to the Giants in 2010, The Rangers would need to wait another 13 years to hoist the WS trophy, winning it in 2023 over the Arizona Diamondbacks. The bronze statue of the giant glove was pretty cool and reminded me of the one I witnessed in Milwaukee in front of the Brewers’ home park.

Globe Life Field had a really cool display of Texas Rangers Hall of Fame inductees, their stats, their jersey numbers, all encased in a huge stone rectangle for easy viewing. I walked around down the rectangle and back a few times, just reading and remembering the players from the Texas Rangers past. Names that stood out for me – Ivan Rodriguez, Josh Hamilton, and the great Nolan Ryan. I spent a lot of time at this part of the park and it was awesome reading the names, stats, and players on these plaques.

As I was walking to the front of Globe Life Field, I noticed a few military helicopters flying over the stadiums. Then, I heard a wicked loud boom. It scared the sh*t out of me. A few minutes later, I heard another one. I looked around and saw Texas Rangers employees and other civilians casually walking in and out of the stadium, no concern or worry or alarm whatsoever. As I was approaching the main gate area, two men in golf carts pulled up to talk to me. I asked them about the boom and humbly mentioned that I had just had a mild heart attack (kidding of course). The two laughed and said the stadium staff was testing fireworks and that they go off randomly and pretty much scare the sh*t out of everyone on site. The three of us had a nice laugh, as I awaited another loud boom to once again scare the sh*t out of me.

The front door of the main gate/ticketing area was open, so I walked in to gauge my chances of seeing the field. I was able to get a small glimpse of the field as I walked in and headed to the security desk. I did inquire with the security team about taking a photo of the field, but they said I would have to sign up for a tour. No problem, I figured I would ask. Been there done that, I turned around and left without a second thought. I turned my attention to Choctaw Stadium and a certain Nolan Ryan Statue which I was sure would be in the same spot as it was in 2012. So, I headed across the parking lot to the old Rangers ballpark, now called Choctaw Stadium.

Globe Life Field took over as the Texas Rangers home stadium in 2020. Prior to the 2020 season, the Rangers called Globe Life Park home. Globe Life Park was originally called the Ballpark at Arlington. To make a long story short, the Ballpark at Arlington/Globe Life Park was the home of the Texas Rangers from 1994-2019. Choctaw Stadium, its current name, has been retrofitted to accommodate a wide range of uses including professional football and soccer as well as concerts. It too was closed and locked up on Friday, so I preceded to just walk around the sidewalk areas and observe what I could. At the front gate entrance, I looked around for the Nolan Ryan Statue from my 2012 trip. I looked north, south, east, and west and then spotted a sign for the Nolan Ryan Expressway. And then, across the way, I spotted the statue.

For most baseball fans and players like myself, Nolan Ryan was a living legend. A player with skills far exceeding his peers. A player most cheered for, even though he was facing your favorite team. Nolan Ryan had a fastball that was unbelievable and a career like few in the history of Major League Baseball. Ryan is a Texas guy, born in Refugio (somewhere in the SE corner of Texas) played for the Rangers and Astros, worked for both organizations in various capacities, owned minor league franchises in Texas, and is without a doubt one of Texas’s greatest athletes of all time. This statue was in front of the Ballpark at Arlington and was moved to Globe Life Field (according to a Rangers employee I spoke to outside the stadium) for a new generation to honor one of the game’s greatest – Nolan Ryan.

I thought it fitting to end my trip to Globe Life Field and its predecessor across the street with the Nolan Ryan statue. I found my rental car and plugged in “closest Wal-Mart” into Google maps so I could check out AT&T Stadium again. Less than a mile away, was the Wal-Mart and the giant football stadium across the street. Man, that stadium is massive. I remember taking a photo from the Wal-Mart parking lot back in 2012 and took a similar one last Friday (see phot from earlier in the blog). Very cool trip down Memory Lane!

It was an incredible Arlington baseball stadium experience last Friday. I loved that the two parks were located so close to each other. And that the Ballpark at Arlington/Globe Life Park/Choctaw Stadium still had some baseball stuff lingering despite its retrofitting to professional football and soccer teams. I walked from one Texas Rangers park to the newest park in just minutes. Globe Life Field is massive, like its brother down the street – Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium. I walked maybe 25% of the grounds around Globe Life Field and saw a ton of great baseball stuff. I met some cool Rangers employees, got to read up on Hall of Fame Texas Rangers players and coaches, and observed beautiful statues and memorials. Best part, of course, was spending time in front of the Nolan Ryan statue, which is now located across the street from its original spot at the Ballpark at Arlington. Overall, it was an unbelievably satisfying Arlington baseball experience at Globe Life Field and Choctaw Stadium, formerly Globe Life Park, formerly the Ballpark at Arlington.