Rangers Smartly Take Rare Wednesday Off to Avoid World Cup Match

The Texas Rangers are going dark on a day normally reserved for getaway day games. But there’s a good reason why.

A general view of Globe Life Field from behind home plate. | Jim Cowsert-Imagn Images

Ordinarily, the Texas Rangers would play on a Wednesday.

During the hum of a 162-game season, Wednesday is either the final game of a three-game series that started on Wednesday and leads to a getaway off day on Thursday or part of a three-game or four-game series that ends on Thursday. But not this week.

On Wednesday, the Rangers will get a rare Wednesday off and finish their three-game series with the Minnesota Twins. There’s a good reason why.

Why Rangers- Twins Are Off on Wednesday

Japan's Junya Ito in action at the World Cup in Arlington, Texas. | Tim Heitman-Imagn Images

The Rangers and Twins, along with Major League Baseball, opted to take the day off rather than deal with the FIFA World Cup match set to be played next door at AT&T Stadium — or Dallas Stadium as FIFA insists it be called — next door to the Rangers’ home at Globe Life Field.

The match between England and Croatia is set for 3 p.m., which would have overlapped with the Rangers’ traditional time for a getaway game, which is 1:35 p.m. Or, if one prefers, the usual 7:05 p.m. start time for a weekday night game, with a Thursday off to rest, would have likely caused massive congestion around both GLF and AT&T Stadium.

MLB makes the schedule but the Rangers, along with the other 29 teams, can provide feedback on dates that may feature conflicts with other events. FIFA and MLB likely coordinated as much as possible on scheduling since World Games are being held in several MLB cities, including Toronto.

The Rangers will have an odd day off one other time during the World Cup, which is Friday, July 3. The Rangers will host the Detroit Tigers in a three-game series over four days. The off day on a Friday, normally reserved for a series opener, is the same day as a Round of 32 match in the knockout stage of the World Cup.

Arlington will host nine games — five in group play and four in the knockout stage — but those are the only two that impacted the Rangers and forced non-traditional days off. The rest will be on planned off days or when the Rangers are on the road.

MLB and the Rangers usually must make allowances for the Dallas Cowboys when their games overlap in August and September. Both MLB and the NFL do a good job of coordinating around schedules but there can be overlaps on occasion.

One notable overlap was not planned. The Rangers hosted the 2010 World Series. Game 4 of the series was on a Sunday, the same day as a Cowboys-Jaguars game. The Cowboys hosted their game at noon, and the Rangers hosted the World Series at 7 p.m.