Baseball is an outdoor game

With Rangers’ attendance down from previous seasons’ numbers, Dallas Morning News beat writer Evan Grant offered some potential explanations in his blog, including:

5. It’s hot: The biggest mistake made in building Rangers Ballpark was not building it with a roof. The second biggest mistake: Not retrofitting it so a retractable roof would be relatively cost-efficient down the road. The place is hot and uncomfortable. I am not motivated to go out there and plunk down money as a fan after May 1. I can’t imagine that, unless the team wins, many others would be similarly motivated.

First of all, this explanation completely ignores the fact that the weather has not gotten noticeably hotter over the 14 years the Ballpark has been around, and especially not from last season to this one, so that is hardly an explanation for a decrease in attendance.

I suppose it could have some merit as to why Rangers’ attendance is lower than the Astros, for instance, but frankly I don’t find that terribly compelling, either. More likely, I think there is a lagged effect to attendance, such that fans can convince themselves that “this year is the one” for a few years, after which they get down on the team and aren’t excited to go to games. And with the Rangers’ not having been in the mix late in the season since 2004, I think lower expectations finally are manifesting themselves in lower attendance numbers.

But really, that’s not the point. Pundits love to complain about the Ballpark’s not having a retractable roof, but honestly, to me that’s its best feature. I have been to at least a dozen Astros games since moving to Houston, and honestly, indoor baseball just has a fakeness to it (not to mention the more pragmatic concern that retractable roofs are beyond overused; I’ve been to Minute Maid Park in all kinds of different weather conditions, and not once has the roof been open).

And really, it’s not that hot for Ranger games, either. Most of the summer games are played at night, and by 7 p.m. it’s maybe 85 degrees and certainly is plenty comfortable by the third inning or so. Besides, people who live in the Metroplex are used to being outside in the heat. Six Flags is hardly suffering from it.

Baseball is an outdoor game. And for once, we can celebrate the Rangers’ lack of foresight.