Opening Day 2010

This year for the second year in a row, me and Dad went to the Texas Rangers’ Opening Day at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. And for the second year in a row, it was absolutely awesome! When you read the next part, most of you will probably think that we are crazy, but Rangers baseball is mine and my dad’s passion, and Opening Day is the best day of the year, so you might as well savor ALL of it.

We got up at 4 a.m.- Left the house by 5:10 a.m.

Arrived in Arlington at 7:15 a.m. and ate breakfast at Cracker Barrell (very good, by the way).

After breakfast, pulled into the Ballpark parking lots at 8:30 a.m. After a long and anxious offseason, we were finally here- April 5, 2010, Opening Day! The day where no one is in last place, everyone is in first place, and everything is possible!

Gates did not open until 10 a.m. so we went to the Majestic Grand Slam gift shop and did some looking (no shopping, sadly).

After that, we went to the home plate gate, and got in line, and finally at 10 a.m.- the gates to the new season finally swung open!

There is just something special about walking into the ballpark on Opening Day. Just the fact that a new season is upon us with so much excitement and expectations- just makes for the whole experience that much more memorable. The buzz in the air in Arlington was ecstatic and exciting.

When the gates opened, we went down to the Rangers dugout and just sat there and watched pre-game warm ups and batting practice for about an hour. It was fun to see all those guys again back in action.

Our seats were on the first base side near the right field foul pole, not bad at all. Around 12:20, the pre-game ceremonies began. Chuck Morgan, the voice of the ballpark, introduced former Rangers, and the Rangers hall of fame players. Then, came the player introductions for both the visiting Toronto Blue Jays and the Rangers. Followed that was the national anthem sung by Neal McCoy, with four F-16 fighter jets flying over Rangers Ballpark at the end of the anthem, extremely cool. When the anthem was done, and the jets flew over, a parachuter parachuted into the ballpark from the sky to deliver the “first pitch” ball which Roger Staubach (Dallas Cowboys legendary QB) threw.

Finally… at 1:07 p.m., the 2010 baseball season began.

I really expected to win the game, but as the game rolled along and we got down 3-0, I started to doubt my expectations. We were being no-hit into the seventh inning, and if the Blue Jays pitcher would have finished the no-hitter, it would have only been the second no-hitter on opening day of all time. Bob Feller threw the only opening day no-hitter on April 16, 1940.

But… Going into the bottom of the seventh inning, something changed. Josh Hamilton mustered a walk, and FINALLY Vladimir Guerrero broke up the no-hit bid with a solid single into right-center field. That seemed to be all the Rangers needed to jump start the comeback, because the next hitter, Nelson Cruz, blasted a 2-2 pitched over the right-center field wall into the Rangers bullpen, and just like that- Blue Jays 3, Rangers 3.

Then again, in the 8th inning, the scrappy Blue Jays again took the lead, 4-3 with a bases loaded single into left field.

So there’s the story outline going into the bottom of the 9th inning, down by one, 4-3.

Leading off the ninth inning was Mr. Ranger- Michael Young, and he did what Michael Young does- he came through in the clutch, hitting a double into deep right-center field. After a Josh Hamilton strikeout, Vladimir Guerrero hit a single up the middle to put runners on the corners. Nelson Cruz, the hero from the 7th inning, stepped to the plate again and looped a ball over the first baseman’s head that ended up being a RBI double. So now we have tied the game 4-4, and have a chance to win it with runners on third and second with only 1 out. The Blue Jays then intentionally walked Chris Davis to load the bases for catcher, Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

That’s where I knew we were going to win. There was no doubt in my mind that somehow, some way we were going to get that runner home from third base. With the count at 2 balls and 2 strikes, Jarrod Saltalamacchia hit a ball to deep right- center field that dropped in between the Blue Jay outfielders, and the Rangers win the ballgame 5-4 in dramatic fashion, and the sell-out crowd of 50,299 broke out into complete deafening loudness.

The Rangers showed on the first day of the season, that even the very first game matters to them. They could have just given up and said, “Oh well, we still have 161 games to go.”, but no, that did happen. This team is special, and I believe that this 2010 season is also going to be something special, and I’m glad that the marathon to the postseason started this way.

There you have it, Opening Day 2010. Baseball is back, and as you can tell, I sure have missed it!