The first pitch at Globe Life Field was as clear as day.
Instead of 40,000 cheering fans, the sound of a 92 mph fastball hitting Robinson Chirinos’ catcher’s mitt echoed throughout the ballpark as the umpire called strike one.
It was different.
Maybe it was the manufactured crowd noises, the absence of fans or the cardboard cutouts taking their place in the lower deck, but this was it. This is baseball in 2020.
It has been less than a year since the Texas Rangers bid farewell to Globe Life Park in hopes of giving Globe Life Field its Opening Day debut March 31, but those plans were scrapped when COVID-19 delayed the start of the season.