The Los Angeles Dodgers completed the second half of their six-game road trip over the weekend with three contests against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field.
It was the Dodgers’ first look at the Rangers’ new home, which opened this past July. “It’s actually a beautiful ballpark. The turf itself, the playing surface is comparable, pretty similar to Arizona so that is fair, we’re used to that,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said before the series opener.
“The mound is actually retractable for concerts. I don’t think it really has any impact on a baseball game. But the outfield is quirky. The wall in left-center field, center field, right-center field, there’s some nooks and crannies there that you got to kind of, and I know George is on top of it.
“It’s playing bigger than people have expected so I think that’s probably why some of the home run numbers for the home team are down. So just kind of taking batting practice and see how the ball flies and the lighting and background and all that stuff.”
As Roberts noted, the ball hasn’t been flying out of the yard at Globe Life Field this season. The stadium’s home run park factor of 0.61 is by far the lowest in the Majors.
That wasn’t the case this weekend, however, as the Dodgers and Rangers combined to hit eight home runs during the their three-game matchup.
Cody Bellinger was responsible for two of those, who also came away impressed by Globe Life Field. “Really nice stadium, great facilities in here. Probably the biggest stadium — at least in center field, right-center and left-center,” he said. “It’s a big ballpark but it’s a beautiful stadium.”
With recent reports that Globe Life Field has emerged as the favorite to host the World Series this year, the Dodgers ultimately could make a second visit to the ballpark later in October.
Should that come to fruition, Roberts isn’t concerned his players will struggle to hit home runs in the spacious ballpark. “We still hit a couple [Saturday] night. It’s a level playing field for both clubs,” he said.
“As far as the bubble, if that’s what put in front of us, I’m all for it. If it’s playing games here in the World Series, I’m all for that too. You’ve still got to find a way to beat that opponent, not the ballpark.”
Texas bubble could host Dodgers, National League playoff teams
In addition to Globe Life Field potentially being the site of the 2020 World Series, Major League Baseball is strongly considering a bubble format for the postseason.
While nothing is set in stone, the league has identified Southern California and Texas as two potential hubs. American League teams that qualify would report to the former, while National League clubs are expected to travel to the latter.
The Dodgers are 4-1 in Texas this season, having previously swept the Houston Astros in a two-game series at Minute Maid and taking two-of-three from the Texas Rangers over the weekend.
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