One of the greatest things that I've been able to do over the years is to combine baseball and running.
So as I navigate a second trip here in 2024 through the ballparks in Texas which host collegiate summer baseball leagues games up to the major leagues, when I can go to a game and run a race, I feel like I've hit the lottery - even though I pay to do both!
I have a spreadsheet which has all of the dates down the first column and the teams on the first row, then all of the start times scattered for the entire season - through the end of July, some into August and a couple into September.
I also navigate two websites that specifically have race calendars and my preference is always to run in a town I never have before.
So this past Friday night, I was able to see the Round Rock Express play host to the Tacoma Rainiers at the Dell Diamond, which, by the way, is 25 years old.
It seems as if it was one of the early facilities where all of the seats were basically off the main concourse level, in a bowl.
Over time, this facility has held up well and still has a new feel to it.
The only thing that I recall is that the walkways directly behind the seats between the basepaths is very tight - maybe, at the most, can hold three people wide.
And because of that all of the concession stands - inside the bases, point to the inside - so basically the field is to your left or right while standing in line for some form of refreshment.
Yet, I still like it.
Plus it seems like it was one of the early of the newer ballparks at the minor league level that you could walk all the way around on the inside.
A personal note: Probably the second race that I had ever run was the Round Rock Express 5K in April 2003. It ran behind the ballpark in Old Settles Park, close to the grounds where Texas' public school state cross country meet is held, and it finished up the ramp coming from center field. Before finishing, you got to take one lap around the field on the warning track.
So in the last couple of posts, I've discussed ticket pricing a litle bit and Round Rock surely doesn't disappoint.
The only place under $20 where I could stick my butt in a seat was in the Home Run Porch in left-field. My ticket was $16 plus $3 in fees.
And Round Rock also had started doing graduated pricing within a particular section.
The front row was $40 while the last row was $23.
So the minor leagues want to scream "Come for entertainment," but push on to fans major league prices and policies.
For a Friday night fireworks performance, published attendance was 6,141.
And having the benefit of finishing this post on Monday, Saturday had 8,431 with the club pushing heavily a pitching duel between Dallas Keuchel and Max Scherzer.
(Keuchel, by the way, outdueled him going six innings without a run and seven strikeouts.)
Sunday Father's Day attendance was 5,378.
The seat that I purchased in the Home Run Porch was an aisle seat, which I like if I can get, but it was squarely behind a steel girder.
Luckily the game wasn't well-attended as noted (the Dell Diamond's capacity is 11,631), and I moved back and over and had a whole row to myself, which I thoroughly enjoyed.
I did see for the first time in memory back-to-back home runs from Jantzen Witte and Jax Biggers as the Express went up 5-3 in the bottom of the sixth.
Before I left, in the middle of the eighth with the score tied 5-all, Tacoma's Jason Vosler had tied the game with a two-run shot to right center field.
One of Round Rock's more interesting promotions on this evening was that if the Express pitcher struck out a batter in the top of the seventh inning, all hot dogs would go on sale for a $1 while supplies lasted.
Owen White took down Jake Slaughter in six pitches to send fans to the one concession stand that sold hot dogs and before the bottom of the inning the supply was gone. (I had eaten at my 239th career Whataburger before the game, but I could have gone over my calorie count for the day.)
I left a little early - and was glad I did as the game went into the tenth inning with Tacoma winning 6-5, but in researching things to finish the post I see that MILB uses the runner on second base to start the inning too.
Honestly, I haven't stayed long enough to see that done, and I'm glad that I missed it.
Round Rock, despite the $15 to park your car (the highest in Texas outside of the major league on a ball park lot), is still a fun place to see a game at.
And, oh, I drove up the road about 45 minutes on Saturday morning to Holland, Texas and ran a 30:15 time at the Holland Corn Festival 5K.
A satisfying combination.
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| Behind Home Plate |
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| From Down the Right Field Line |
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| From Left-Center Field Walkway |
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| From My $19 Seat in the Home Run Porch |
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