Sunday afternoon, I had the entire day wide open to explore and visit some baseball experiences in nearby Austin, Texas. I took the roughly 80 mile trek northeast from San Antonio, where I was staying in advance of a business campaign for work (ArcBest), to Austin on a beautiful, sunny, Sunday morning. The construction along I-35 in and around the City of Austin was impressive – huge overpasses and mega-highways are in the process of being constructed. It took about an hour and a half to arrive at my first stop, which was just north of the Downtown Austin area – Dell Diamond, home of the Round Rock Express.

If you haven’t figured it out by now, I am sort of fan-obsessed with Nolan Ryan. I told this story to Mike Coffin of the Corpus Christi Hooks, that I jokingly informed my Mom (at roughly age 10) that when I turned 18, I wanted to change my name to Nolan Ryan Roby. That never happened obviously but the fan obsession with Nolan Ryan remains for me. Ryan was a larger than life baseball player with a blazing fastball and tough as a cowboy attitude on the mound. I admired his pitching prowess and respected his ability to show up year after year and produce. Right there, in the front gate area of Dell Diamond is a statue of the one and only, Nolan Ryan.

Dell Diamond is the home field for the Round Rock Express, the AAA Affiliate of the Texas Rangers. When I arrived Sunday morning, a local car company was hosting a driving event for local Texas teens. And in an adjacent parking lot, there was a holiday lights thing going on. I mean after all, it is the off-season. And the gates and entrances to Dell Diamond, understandably were locked. No worries, I took a stroll around the front and left field side of the perimeter, snapped a few photos, and then was on my way to my next stop – the University of Texas – Austin. Or as most refer to it, UT.

It was a short few exits south before I landed on the campus of the University of Texas – Austin. I found a parking garage next to the baseball field and headed over to check out UFCU Disch-Falk Field, home of the Texas Longhorns Baseball team. How many Major League Baseball players have played at the University of Texas – Austin? How many NCAA National Titles have the Texas Longhorns Baseball teams won? How many legendary coaches have skippered the Longhorns Baseball teams over the years? How high can you count?

I started at the front gate area and wound my way around the perimeter of the Disch-Falk Field. The stadium was closed Sunday morning, again understandable. No worries, there was a convenient sidewalk with some great views of the UT Baseball accomplishments, as well as a pretty cool view of the field from roughly the centerfield angle. The sun was now helping me out photography wise and I got some cool photos of the field and the UT championship banners.

On the back side of the baseball stadium, parked conveniently next to each other were these two UT media buses. You can see the classic UT burnt orange colors dressing them up. I’m not sure what the back story is on them, but they looked cool enough to photograph and research. Both buses were equipped with a “second floor” for the camera crew and equipment. Pretty neat media transportation.

As I had one hour of paid parking, I took a second swing around the Disch-Falk Field to see if there were any retired jerseys or statues or plaques. There was a field dedication plaque on the wall near the ticket office. And I found a row of former coaches immortalized near the front gate area. Here they are:

After satisfying my itch to visit the legendary UT Longhorn baseball field and stadium, I sat on a park bench in front of the Disch-Falk to plot out a few more Austin baseball experiences. Here are a few I settled on:

Sharing the complex with Downs Field was Mabson Field, a smaller youth baseball size field. I ran into some local folks working on the field for an Eagle Scout badge. I grabbed a few photos before getting into my car and plugging my hotel in San Antonio back into the GPS.

This was my second trip to Austin, Texas in my lifetime. About 15 years ago, roughly, I visited the city with a friend of mine who I knew in Rhode Island, who actually went to the University of Texas – Austin. On that trip, we toured the University, we took a stroll down the famous 6th Street shopping area, went on the bridge with the Stevie Ray Vaughn statue, and visited a ton of other local Austin hangouts that he was familiar with.

On this trip, I focused on baseball experiences and ballparks and fields – and wow, did I have a blast in Austin. Seeing the statue of Nolan Ryan at Dell Diamond was awesome. Touring the perimeter of Disch-Falk Field and see the Texas Longhorns championships and field, that was amazing. Learning about Downs Field and its place in Negro Baseball League history, that was so incredible. And getting around the city for a few other baseball fields and experiences, that was so worth the drive. Overall, it was a memorable set of Austin baseball experiences visiting several baseball fields, stadiums, and complexes in beautiful Austin, Texas.