Texas Rangers’ Globe Life Field Set to Make MLB History

It would be a thrill to write an article about the Texas Rangers playing in the World Series in their first season at the new Globe Life Field. However, the reality was known before the 2020 season began that it would be unlikely.

What wasn’t envisioned was the Rangers’ home ballpark playing host to the NLDS, NLCS, and World Series as a neutral site. This was all due to the coronavirus pandemic and strategies intended to ensure the playoffs cold be held in a way considered “safe” for players and their families alike.

By now you may have heard that this will be the first neutral-site World Series to occur since 1944. This depends on how you view the word “neutral.” The 1944 World Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and St. Louis Browns; they shared Sportsman’s Park as a home. It was there the series was played.

So if it was both teams’ home field during the regular season how was it really neutral?

The same instance occurred in both the 1921 and 1922 seasons, which saw the New York Giants defeat the New York Yankees for the title. Both championships took place at Polo Grounds, which they shared. In 1923 the Yankees opened up Yankee Stadium and finally got revenge on the Giants. It was the Yankees’ first World Series title.

So now we go back to 2020 and Globe Life Field. This will truly be a neutral series. The only teams that will have any slight advantage should they reach that far are the Houston Astros, Oakland A’s, Los Angeles Dodgers, or San Diego Padres, as they all played games there in the regular season and will have a better grip on how the field plays.

And not only will this be the first pure neutral World Series, Globe Life Field will share history with Minute Maid Park in Houston, Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles and Petco Park in San Diego as neutral sites for league divisional series and championship series.

No matter which team is your favorite, you really need to enjoy what you are about to witness because it is truly one-of-a-kind and may never happen again in your lifetime. You will have stories to tell about the weird and wild 2020 MLB season.