What’s in a Ballpark Name?

The Ballpark in Arlington. For ten year (1994 -2004) that is what the stadium in which the Texas Rangers play was known as. They had some good times under that name. The franchise made the post season for the first time, they won their first post season game, They had Ivan Rodriguez, Rafael Palmeiro, Juan Gonzalez, Ruben Sierra and others to help them be successful. But it wasn’t enough to get them over the hump.

After that, the stadium naming rights were sold to a mortgage company named Ameriquest, and the renamed the stadium Ameriquest Field in Arlington. Nothing siginificant happened during that time, and the Texas Rangers were not good during that three season stretch. Ameriquest eventually went bankrupt, and oddly enough, a few seasons later, so did the Texas Rangers. Coincidence? I don’t know, but I file it under suspicious.

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Then the Texas Rangers changed the name of the stadium again, this time much to the liking of the Texas Rangers fan base, to Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. Under this name, the Texas Rangers enjoyed the most success the Franchise has ever seen. They won back to back American League pennants, they won their first ever playoff series, they went to their first and second ever World Series, and they were one of the best teams in baseball during that stretch (2010-2013). Players like the great Michael Young, Ian Kinsler, Josh Hamilton, Mike Napoli, Nelson Cruz, Cliff Lee and David Murphy just to name a few. So far it is the Texas Rangers glory years.

In 2014, the Texas Rangers once again sold the naming rights to the stadium, this time to an insurance company. Now I am not saying that the luck of a team is tied to the name of the ballpark, but just look at the results since the name was changed to Globe Life Park in Arlington. The Texas Ranger have used the disabled list a record amount of times, and they have had to use 50 players (30 pitchers including Mitch Moreland and Chris Gimenez) before the all start break.

One reason I like Rangers Ballpark in Arlington is it is a great name, and I remember going to that park during the Texas Rangers glory years. While I don’t believe in curses or hex’s or anything like that (mostly), I find it odd that the Texas Rangers have struggled with injury in a year that they have added a partnership with an insurance company to their ballpark. Just food for thought.