I went to see the Diamondbacks in the World Series and a Stephen King novel broke out

The last time the Arizona Diamondbacks played in the World Series, in 2001, I covered it by watching the games on TV and writing about the broadcast.

That was a great series, one of the best ever, and maybe even better TV, so it was a lot of fun. In the years since I’ve written about any number of sporting events, and every other kind of event, on TV. I’ve attended some big games, too, like Super Bowls and a Final Four. I am not chained to the couch and remote all the time, after all. Just most of it.

But I’d never been to a World Series game in person. And Game 4 of the 2023 series between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Texas Rangers seemed like the perfect time to finally do it. I had an interview with a Fox Sports vice president at Chase Field in the afternoon, so why not stick around for the game?

Sure, yeah. This was awesome! I was finally going to see a World Series game at the ballpark.

And then a Stephen King novel broke out.

The Rangers' 11-7 Halloween win was scary

Fitting, I guess, since it was Halloween. Although if it was a horror novel, the Diamondbacks were the resilient vampire who refuses to die. At least for a while.

Still. Pardon the phrasing that you’ll doubtless read about the game, given the night and the nature of the Rangers’ 11-7 win, but this was just scary bad baseball for much of the time.

This is where I’d usually say it was also terrible TV. I can only imagine that for most of the game, it was.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not complaining. Anyone who complains about going to a World Series game ought to get a beer dumped on their head. Warm beer.

But if I’m honest, I do wish Arizona hadn’t been down 10-0 at the end of the third inning. I mean, it was great! For about 10 minutes! And then for about 10 more later!

I’ve written about and told anyone who would listen that when you cover a game it’s a lot different than watching it as a fan. You don’t root for teams so much as you root for a good story — something exciting, something unusual.

This was unusual, at least.

But I couldn’t help pulling for Arizona, at least a little. I live here, after all. And the longer they play the more I get to write about them, although Tuesday night that became one of those careful-what-you-wish-for situations.

There's nothing quite like being at the ballpark

Don’t get me wrong, I got into it — on occasion, anyway — like everyone else. I roamed around beforehand. I watched the Fox studio crew joking around before the pregame show started. I saw enough motorcycle police to escort the president of the United States lead Rob Manfred, the commissioner of baseball, to the stadium. Why? I have no idea.

I really tried to soak up the whole experience. I even ate a Pork Belly Banh-Mi Dog, described on the sign as a footlong all-beef hot dog, house smoked pork belly, gochujang barbecue, cucumber, jalapeño and pickled carrots on a “New England hot dog bun.” It was every bit of that. Although for $21.99 it ought to be. (It was tasty, if a little filling. And it was tricky to get all the ingredients crammed into one bite. Worth it when you did, though.)

I watched Fox Sports’ drone flit around inside the ballpark, getting those crazy rising and diving shots that seem to defy logic.

I admired the bunting. Not a player laying down a bunt, but the red, white and blue decorations hung around Chase Field. It’s old-timey enough to feel important. It really makes it look like a World Series and not just another game.

I watched from my seat in the overflow press seating, out beyond left-center field, as someone ran onto the field, only to be grabbed by security — they never show that on TV, so as not to encourage it. The public-address announcer warned that not only will you be ejected, “you will be arrested and taken to jail.”

Noted.

No exit: The DBacks won't let Greg Schulte quit

Corbin Carroll and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. gave fans late life

But as they sing during the seventh-inning stretch, it’s root, root, root for the home team, if they don’t win it’s a shame. And the reason it’s a shame isn’t necessarily because the Diamondbacks lost, though if you’re an Arizona fan it certainly didn’t help.

It’s more because the Rangers took the air out of the game, and the crowd, so early. Whatever electricity there was inside Chase Field, and there was a lot, fizzled out around the time Texas went up 5-0. By the time it was 10-0, well, inevitability set in.

Though when Arizona finally put up a fight in the eighth inning, scoring 4 runs, the crowd got into it again, yelling “Corbin! Corbin!” when Corbin Carroll hit and that was pretty exciting. These were fans who were ready to explode, and not given many reasons to. Lourdes Gurriel Jr.’s 3-run home finally gave them one. A couple more runs in the bottom of the ninth inning fired them up again.

Maybe they’ll have more chances in Game 5. Maybe it’ll be great TV. But it won’t beat being there.

When do the Diamondbacks play again?

All games are on Fox.

• Game 5: Wednesday, Nov. 1, at 5:03 p.m. (Arizona time) in Phoenix.

• Game 6 (if necessary): Friday, Nov. 3, at 5:03 p.m. (Arizona time) in Arlington, Texas.

• Game 7 (if necessary): Saturday, Nov. 4, at 5:03 p.m. (Arizona time) in Arlington, Texas.

Reach Goodykoontz at bill.goodykoontz@arizonarepublic.com. Facebook: facebook.com/GoodyOnFilm. X, formerly known as Twitter: @goodyk.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Seeing World Series Game 4 in person on Halloween was downright scary