Outside The Confines: Let’s talk about the new Texas Rangers stadium

You know I’ll get to topics relating to the reopening of baseball, and all the myriad thinkpieces circulating on why it is and isn’t a good idea, but before I do that, there’s a much more serious topic we need to delve into.

The new Globe Life stadium in Arlington, new home of the Texas Rangers.

The old stadium was lovely, and an open-air ode to hitters as well as a love song to old-style stadiums with its arches and flag swags abound. The new stadium. Well... the new stadium is different.

I, for one, think it looks like one of the many mega warehouses you drive by in Missouri when going from Kansas City to St. Louis, but the meme-hungry masses had another brilliant comparison.

Anyway, it’s not the most warm and welcoming or nice to look at building I’ve ever seen, but the added air conditioning will be a VERY nice touch on those hot Texas summer afternoons.

• Edwin Jackson is an alum of many, many teams, and Adam Berry took time today to revisit his no-hitter on its tenth anniversary.
• We talked about the creepy first Expos mascot on Wednesday, now Emily Waldon brings us the best mascots of the MiLB. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• Jon Taylor asks “How much less baseball will with get with the new extra innings rules?”
• Just how different is baseball going to look this year? Matt Martell looks at 13 big questions about the upcoming season.
• For a bit of a throwback to simpler times, Fabian Ardaya looks at the wild ride that brought Shohei Ohtani to MLB. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• Tony Wolfe looks at some unsigned players who could help teams on their expanded rosters.
• Would baseball be better played in a bubble? Emma Baccellieri talks to an epidemiologist about the upcoming season.
• Prospect expert Keith Law focuses on what player development looks like right now. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• The Johnson City Cardinals are the newest focus of the ongoing minor league series by Sarah R. Ingber, Davy Andrews, and Roger Cormier.
• Jayson Stark welcomes us to the strangest season ever. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• I will never not share a Rachael McDaniel story, and this week she’s talking about love and baseball.
• Meanwhile Jay Jaffe is excited for the opening of the Baseball Hall of Fame, even if there won’t be an induction ceremony.
• And of course this list wouldn’t be complete without including the newest piece at Baseball Prospectus focusing on Jackie Robinson, and this time it’s a story by Kamila Hinkson on Jackie’s response to protesters of the time.
• And just one more of these for the road.

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. Make it so.