9. Globe Life at Arlington - June 7, 2017

Planning this trip was a lot of fun. Unlike most of my visits, I wasn't going alone.

I've talked about my plan to visit all 30 stadiums to a lot of people. Some of my friends were interested in joining me on a trip or two. They aren't going at it the same way I am, but if they can knock a couple of ballparks off their list, why not?

So this trip included my friends Damian, Chris and Evan. I just became good friends with them over the last year so this was a big test to our friendship. And, luckily, we came back alright.

The view of the field from our seats

It took months of planning. Trying to find a week off of work for four people is crazy. We also had to buy the plane tickets, hotel rooms, game tickets and rent a car. We broke up the expenses over the course of a couple of months to make it easier on our wallets. Everything was booked by April and the countdown began.

Regardless of when you visit Texas, it's going to be hot. If you're walking around, visiting the historical stuff or bar hopping, make sure you bring lots of water.

Anyway, this is about the stadium, not Texas as a whole. Before we saw the baseball game, we took a tour of AT&T Stadium, the monster of a stadium where the Dallas Cowboys play. Even as an Eagles fan, it was impressive. Playing catch on the field was a great experience.

Oh, you want to hear about Globe Life Park? I guess I can talk about that, too.

We got stuck in a bit of traffic on our way to the stadium. Leaving for a 7:05 game at 5 is not a good idea. Rush hour exists everywhere. We took a couple of backroads and parked in a cheap side lot for like $17. The outside looked like a warehouse, similar to Fenway Park. But, this was more modern.

After hearing the news that the Rangers are looking for a new ballpark, I was expecting this place to be a dump but it wasn't. It was actually really nice. Walking around the concourse, you could see outside. Unfortunately, it didn't include much. Just a bunch of parking lots and Six Flags Over Texas.

In center field, there's this cool structure that is three levels with balaconies for people to watch the game. I have no idea how to get there but I would look into it if you ever visit the stadium.

We sat in the upper 200s, down the right field line. We didn't care exactly where we sat as long as we got into the stadium and saw a game. We splurged for the Astros game, but I'll get into that in the next post.

The center field structure I referenced

The game featured a pitching matchup between Yu Darvish and Zack Wheeler. Both pitchers went at least seven innings.

The game was tied at 3 heading into the ninth inning after Robinson Chirinos hit a two-run home run in the eighth. The Mets took a 4-3 lead after a throwing error and Matt Reynolds scores from second base. Addison Reed closed the game in a 1-2-3 inning.

Jay Bruce hit two home runs, a two-run homer in the fourth and a solo home run in the sixth. He had 75 percent of the team's RBI. I've seen the Mets three times now and this could be the worst offense this team has had in years. The Rangers were also missing Adrian Beltre, Mike Napoli and Jonathan Lucroy.

The coolest thing about the game was that it was dollar hot dog night. They weren't the best hot dogs but slap a little mustard and chopped onions on it and it's perfect. I had four. Don't judge.

Overall, Globe Life Park was a good stadium. After the game, my friends and I discussed where we would rank it and after minutes of discussion, I put it in my top five. The only negative was the lack of things to do around the stadium. You have Six Flags but that's about it. Oh, there is a WalMart down the road.

If you need to cross this off your list, get a ticket in the upper sections. I don't see a reason to spend the extra money on a field level ticket.