Texas Rangers players working out at Globe Life Field have started taking batting practice on the field, and the early returns might come as a surprise.
Especially considered who said it Monday on a conference call with local beat writers.
“It’s playing big as hell,” right fielder Joey Gallo said.
Gallo, of course, is one of the game’s most powerful hitters. His home runs routinely travel further than 430 feet. No one in the home-run porch at Globe Life Park was safe when he batted, including popcorn vendors.
So when Gallo says a ballpark is playing big, even in batting practice during the coronavirus pandemic, people need to listen.
“It’s definitely going to be a pitcher’s park,” Gallo said. “We are trying to get those fences moved in a little bit. It’s a little deep, I am not going to lie. It’s a little deep out to center. Us hitters are getting a little nervous about that.”
Gallo said that the roof has been closed for the on-field hitting, and he wonders if conditions will favor hitters if the roof is open. His feedback is different than during the offseason, when players hit in a media event as said the ball was jumping.
Globe Life Park was a notorious hitter’s park, in part because of the jet stream that helped carry balls out to right field. Home plate at Globe Life Field faces a different direction, and the south wind that helped create the jet-stream effect might not be as much of a factor.
Globe Life Field is three feet shorter down the left-field line than at Globe Life Park, but the Globe Life Field outfield wall is only eight feet high as opposed to 14 feet for the out-of-town scoreboard at Globe Life Park.
The left-field power alley is 18 feet closer to home plate at Globe Life Field, but center field measures 410 feet at its deepest point as opposed to 407 at Globe Life Park. And the alley in right-center is seven feet closer, but the right-field corner is one foot deeper.
No matter.
Gallo said that he told general manager Jon Daniels the fences need to be moved in. It was hard to tell whether Gallo was joking or being serious. “We said it, and hopefully you guys will write about it and we’ll get them moved in. We’ll see,” he said.
Gallo is also a right fielder, and he offered rave reviews for Shaw Sports Turf playing surface. It isn’t as spongy as the synthetic turf the company designed for Chase Field, the home of the Arizona Diamondbacks where the Rangers played last season.
He said players felt soreness in their backs and legs after just a two-game series. So far, he has had any issues after running at Globe Life Field.
“Everyone was sore in a different way, and that’s when we started getting nervous,” Gallo said. “I don’t know what they did different with our turf. It’s harder, which is good. It doesn’t feel the same. Ours feels significantly better.”
Gallo said that the group working out locally remains focused on getting ready for a season and there is confidence that games will be played.
The latest reported plans calls for teams playing in their home ballparks. If so, teams could learn what Gallo reported Monday.
“It’s definitely playing bigger than our old ballpark so far,” Gallo said. “I’m getting nervous. I’m a home-run hitter. That’s what I’m relying on.”
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