Rob Manfred made no sense while stumping for the Rangers' new stadium
On Nov. 8, residents of Arlington, Texas will vote on an important issue: whether to spend public money to fund a new, retractable-roof stadium for the Texas Rangers. Commissioner Rob Manfred definitely wants a new stadium for the Rangers, and he stumped for it in Arlington on Tuesday by saying some truly baffling things.
Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reported that Manfred began by saying that the warm climate in Arlington puts the Rangers at a “competitive disadvantage,” and then he went on to elaborate:
“From a playing perspective, the heat wears you down playing in it game after game,” Manfred said. “And it also makes it harder in getting players to play here.”
There’s a lot of silliness to unpack there, and it’s all under the banner of what Manfred is calling “competitive disadvantage.” He first mentions the heat in Arlington, which Manfred says wears the players down over the course of the summer season. When you label something like that a competitive disadvantage, you would expect to see evidence of routine poor play from the Rangers. But let’s look at their last six years: since 2010, they’ve finished first in their division three times, lost in the World Series twice, lost the wild-card game once, and lost in the League Division Series once. Unless the heat issues Manfred brings up only affect the Rangers during the playoffs, the lack of a retractable roof doesn’t seem to be bothering them.
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Of course, there was a long fallow period for the Rangers between 2000 and 2009, but considering what the new ownership group has done since they took control in 2010, the stadium doesn’t seem to be the reason for that. In fact, in the Rangers’ first six years in Globe Life Park (1994-1999), they finished first in their division four times (including the strike-shortened 1994 season).
And as far as players not wanting to play for the Rangers because of their blistering hot stadium, there doesn’t seem to be any evidence of that, either. They signed Adrian Beltre in 2011, and since then he’s become even better than he was before. Josh Hamilton voluntarily did two tours with the Rangers, and had his best seasons while playing half his games at Globe Life Park. Yu Darvish signed with the Rangers in 2012 after they won negotiating rights, and he’s been outstanding (injuries notwithstanding). In 2015, Cole Hamels waived his no-trade clause to play for them, and earlier this season Jonathan Lucroy did the same, after famously rejecting the Indians.
So neither of Manfred’s reasons for why the Rangers need a new stadium hold any water. And lost in all this is the Oakland Athletics’ situation with the Oakland Coliseum. They share it with the Oakland Raiders, which is terrible for both franchises. The stadium is literally falling apart, but the city of Oakland doesn’t want to build either team a new venue. If the Rangers are at a competitive disadvantage due to Globe Life Park’s lack of a retractable roof, then it’s time to invent a new term for what the Athletics are dealing with.
In July, Manfred said that new stadiums for the A’s and the Tampa Bay Rays were priorities. But stumping for the Rangers’ new stadium apparently comes first. And we shouldn’t forget: what Manfred is doing is asking Arlington residents to spend millions of their own tax dollars to fund a stadium they don’t really need.
You’d think he could come up with better reasons that they need a new stadium — or at least ones that aren’t so transparently silly.
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Liz Roscher is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at lizroscher@yahoo.com or follow her on twitter! Follow @lizroscher
