"It's the Hand We've Been Dealt" Texas Rangers Set to Open Globe Life Field Under Unique Circumstances

Opening Day is usually filled with excitement, anticipation, and a certain level of optimism. Fans tailgate, grill their food, drink their beer, and make their way into their favorite team's ballpark, ready to cheer for their favorite baseball team in hopes of an Opening Day victory.

But not this year.

The COVID-19 pandemic not only forced the baseball season to be delayed well into July, it's forcing the game to return without paying customers in the stands. No fans will be catching foul balls or home runs. There will be no waves in the later innings. Children will have to wait to meet their heroes or get their autographs. Yes, baseball will be played in 2020, but a crucial aspect of its charm will be missing.

This comes as a huge disappointment for the Texas Rangers, who have been waiting for months to show off Globe Life Field, their brand new $1.2 billion ballpark. When the Rangers and Rockies take the field on Friday night, it's certainly not what the club envisioned for the opening of their new home.

"I think to some degree there will be a level of satisfaction, but also a certain level of disappointment because we have a fantastic building," said Rangers Executive Vice President of Business Operations Rob Matwick. "We’ll have teams on the field playing games that matter, games that count. But we won’t have our fans here to enjoy it. It will be a mix of emotions. It's no season like I have ever experienced."

Baseball will not look or feel the same this year. Health and safety protocols and one-year rule changes will transform the identity of the game on the field. And while the intensity level of each game is expected to rise, there will be no fans to carry that tension with their cheers or boos.

The Rangers wanted to give fans an opportunity to still feel involved or represented somehow. They came up with the DoppelRanger program, where fans can purchase a two-dimensional cutout of themselves that will be placed in the lower bowl with all proceeds benefiting the Texas Rangers Foundation.

Several ballclubs, including the Rangers, are also resorting to playing artificial crowd noise and cheers to combat the tomb-like atmosphere of tens of thousands of empty seats. This idea of pumping in canned cheers has become quite polarizing among fans. Some like it. Some don't. Rangers public address announcer Chuck Morgan has spearheaded the project at Globe Life Field and sympathizes with the fans that aren't fond of it.

"In some ways I agree with them," Morgan said. "It's not what we want to do. But if we didn't have any sound effects, the place would be pretty dead. It would very quiet. It's not going to be perfect, but we're going to do our best. It's the hand we've been dealt. Maybe somewhere down the line not too far, we can do some of the normal things in a ballpark."

While covering one of the Rangers' intrasquad games at Globe Life Field, I experienced what the ballpark is like when the artificial crowd noise is there and when it is taken away. Outfielder Scott Heineman clipped the foot of catcher Robinson Chirinos on a force play at the plate. A canned cheer played and was followed by the standard crowd murmur that is played continuously. Once everyone saw Chirinos on the ground in pain, everything was shut off.

Now, fans usually get pretty quiet when someone is injured. But not like this. There's no replicating the deafness that came over the ballpark if fans are present.

Chuck Morgan's team will do everything they can to replicate the feel of 40,000 fans in the stands. Michael Gruber will have the daunting task of pumping in the crowd noise. His repertoire is considerably deep, however, with 42 sounds provided by MLB and 80+ files he created himself from previous Rangers games and other audio fans sent to him. He also intends to add more sounds to his list as the season progresses.

Gruber is no stranger to multitasking, having entertained thousands upon thousands of fans during his time at 96.7/1310 The Ticket and at Dallas Stars, Dallas Mavericks, and Frisco RoughRiders games.

"It will be a bit of a challenge, but after multiple intrasquad games and a couple exhibition games, I’m feeling pretty comfortable with it," Gruber said. "I’m a lifelong Rangers fan and Chuck has been a hero of mine for forever. I know what a Rangers game is supposed to sound like. So this opportunity just feels like a culmination of all my experiences hopefully paying off!

"We’d much rather have fans making the noise, but until it’s safe to do so, Chuck Morgan and I want to be the standard-bearers for the rest of the league. ...I would never promise perfection because this is still a live environment, but I’m not afraid of it. I’m motivated and excited!"

As plans for the baseball season were being discussed, the Rangers were preparing for the possibility of hosting fans when the season began. Currently, the state of Texas allows stadiums to be filled to 50 percent of their capacity. When the state first opened up stadiums to fans back in June, the Rangers started developing plans and safety protocols for hosting fans amid a global pandemic.

However, Major League Baseball prioritized caution over potential gate revenue. In a conversation between Commissioner Rob Manfred and Rangers co-owner/co-chairman Ray Davis, MLB felt it was better for teams like the Rangers and Astros (also in Texas) to get the season up-and-running before they begin to weigh any serious risks of hosting fans.

"I think it's an intelligent approach; the Commissioner just felt like it was smart to proceed cautiously," Matwick said. "Let's get through summer camp, let's get the season started, and then we'll make an evaluation to determine whether we feel comfortable allowing fans."

Manfred did allow a small group of people to attend Friday's opener. 150 Rangers employees will be allowed to attend the game without their families. Of course, they will have to wear masks and be socially distant. They will sit in the classic suite level along the right field foul line toward first base.

It's a very small reward for the 11,000-plus workers who put in over six million man hours to construct Globe Life Field.

No, this isn't what the Rangers envisioned for the grand opening of Globe Life Field. On Friday night, they will make the best of it. After all, a baseball game will still be played at the ballpark. But the Rangers are looking forward to when they are able to host their fans and give Globe Life Field a proper welcome.

“If we get down the road and we are allowed to have fans in, we could have another small-type celebration," Morgan said. "But I think the big Opening Night for this ballpark would be 2021 when we can have 40,000 people here and it can be celebrated the way it should be.”

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