#30: Texas Rangers Ballpark at Arlington [My Final Stop]!

This is it. The post that I've been waiting for ... my final baseball stadium. I have to say, its still a little surreal to me. Maybe because the big fanfare didn't accompany it, maybe because no one really knew what a monumental day this was for me, maybe because I've been going to games for so long with this goal in mind that its hard to believe it is actually over and I've really accomplished the goal that I set out to. Whatever the reasons though, I did it and I couldn't be happier! All right, enough reminiscing (I'm sure there will be plenty of that in the future), and on to the good stuff!
We got to the ballpark a bit early, to make sure we had plenty of picture-taking time (and also because my dad wanted to see the new Cowboy's stadium which is being built right next to the ballpark). I must say, I'm so glad that my last ballpark wasn't a crappy stadium!! The Rangers Ballpark at Arlington is beautiful, the outside especially. I love the red brick exterior - everything about it is classy.Its kind of hard to see, but I really liked the sign on the outside that welcomes you to the ballpark. Off we went, through the season ticket holder line (gotta love those craigslist steals!), and into the ballpark. Again, I went to the Team Store, in hopes of finding a baseball to add to my collection, but again, I was disappointed by the fact that they didn't have the one I was looking for. Oh well, I'll order it online and not have to worry about packing it in my suitcase! The store was out in Centerfield, so here's a shot of the view on the way back ... isn't it beautiful?! Then we made our way to our seats ... all the way down front. I was giddy with excitement as I walked down and showed the usher our tickets, knowing that this time, I could actually sit there legally, and not have to worry about someone asking me to move! It was awesome. Simply awesome. This was definitely the right way to finish my tour - right down front, close to everything. I'm secretly glad that the Rangers aren't very good so I didn't have to pay an arm and a leg to make it happen! The tickets said "Row 5" but you can see that the camera/media pit was right in front of us, so we were really on Row 2, with no one in front of us (I actually sat on that front for at the end of the game). The dugout was just to our left, and the on-deck circle was just to our right. Literally right in the action. Every time a left-handed batter got up to bat, we thought maybe he'd hit a foul ball directly at us. It never happened, but that's probably a good thing because knowing my luck, I would have been pelted in the face with it like on "Fever Pitch." Dad talked to one of the ground's crew guys before the game and asked if he could get a ball for me (I think he explained to him this was my last stadium or something) and he told us that we'd have to get it from one of the players or something. Just before the game started, one of the Mariners' came trotting into the dugout and my dad looked at him and motioned to him, and next thing we knew, the guy threw him a ball! Nice! Of all the games I've been to in my ENTIRE life, I've never actually come away with a ball. Go figure. Some people go to one game and get a ball, but me? Nope. Not until my last game, that is. Well, my last stadium to check off my list - I am certainly not done going to games!!
The game was great - until the Mariner's came back and won ... but we still had fun, especially once it cooled off. It was so dang hot in Texas! But it turned out to be quite a nice evening, and though the home team didn't win, it was still an exciting game. Especially with sitting that close to all of the action! This is my mom's favorite - Ichiro's stance ... cracks me up. But hey, it works for him, so I'm not making fun! Near the end of the game, someone hit a foul ball and it landed in the media pit in front of us. One of the grounds crew got the ball and casually looked back at me and tossed it back. To me! My very own real ball. I know, I already had one from my dad earlier, but this one was mine. All mine. He threw it right to me, and now it has a spot in my baseball case. An official MLB ball. Hooray! Too bad it wasn't the super cute grounds crew guy that I was pretending not to watch during the whole game, but hey, I'm not really complaining! ;)Everyone around us must have thought we'd never been to a baseball game in our lives by the way we were taking pictures ... but it wasn't nearly as many as all the Japanese taking pictures of Ichiro! Little did they know that I'd actually been to a LOT of games, and this just so happened to be a very important day in the history of my baseball-going days. I'm so glad that mom & dad were there to share it with me. I never thought the day would come that I could actually say that I have now officially been to a game in every single MLB ballpark! Wow. I feel like the luckiest girl alive!