On the same day that the sports world marked the one-year anniversary of the NBA halting play after Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19, the Texas Rangers announced that when they open the 2021 MLB betting season at Globe Life Field, it will be to a full-capacity crowd. Both of the Rangers’ final two exhibition games, plus their regular-season home opener on April 5, will have every seat for sale.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott lifted the state-wide mandate on mask-wearing, but fans in attendance at Globe Life Field will be required to wear masks. After the home opener, the stadium will offer socially distanced sections for fans who want them.
But those sections will be limited, with most of the stadium operating normally from the start of the season.
The Rangers are the first and so far only team to return to full capacity. The other team in Texas, the Houston Astros, announced that they hope to ramp up to full capacity by the end of the season, but they begin April with limited seating.
Maryland has announced that the Orioles will begin the season at 50% capacity. The Rockies, using a special variance granted by the state of Colorado, upped their Opening Day capacity to 42.6% this week (21,000 fans).
Health Protocols Still in Place
The Rangers will require everyone entering the stadium to wear a mask. They will also have masks on hand to give out to anyone who doesn’t have one.
They also plan to keep the roof open for all games to improve the ventilation of the stadium. However, team officials were quick to point out that if rain forced the closure of the roof, the stadium does have a state-of-the-art ventilation system.
All stadium transactions will be cashless, and there will be plexiglass dividers at the top of the dugouts and bullpen areas to keep fans from having contact with the players.
Online sportsbooks predict the Rangers to finish last in the AL West, so beyond the home opener, fans are unlikely to sell out the stadium.
Mets are World Series Champions?
Unlike the Rangers, the Mets are expected to be good this season. Online bookmakers have the over/under on Mets’ regular-season win total at 90 1/2.
But they are not so good that they should be practicing an upcoming World Series celebration in the middle of March, which is exactly what they were caught doing on Wednesday.
In a video shot by the New York Daily News, you can hear a coach shout to the players on the field to celebrate, and then the players do exactly that – throwing their gloves in the air and shouting and jumping as if they just won the Series.
The Mets explained that it was a 27-outs drill, where the goal is to make 27 consecutive outs without making an error, and the team was just celebrating that accomplishment. But in the video, there is no ball, and there is no movement of the players toward a ball that needed to be caught. There is only the celebration.
No word on if there was champagne in the locker room.
