Rangers to Host Rockies in 2022 Home Opener At Globe Life Field in Arlington, Monday, April 11

By Texas Rangers Communications

Posted on April 06, 2022, April 06, 2022

The Texas Rangers today announced details for the team’s 2022 home opener with the Colorado Rockies on Monday, April 11 at 3:05 p.m. It will be the team’s third opener at Globe Life Field and 51st overall since the franchise moved to Arlington for the 1972 season. The Rangers are celebrating their 50th anniversary in Texas throughout the 2022 season.

Information for the season opener:

TICKET AVAILABILITY: As of Wednesday, several thousand reserved tickets remain for the 2022 home opener with the Rockies. Tickets can be purchased at texasrangers.com, by calling 972-RANGERS and at the Globe Life Field box office, which is located adjacent to the Southeast entrance.

CEREMONIAL FIRST PITCH: The Rangers are honored to welcome a very special individual to throw the ceremonial first pitch on opening day. Orion Jean, a sixth grader at Alma Martinez Intermediate School in Mansfield, Texas was selected as Time Magazine’s 2021 Kid of the Year in February for his extraordinary community initiatives. Over the last two years, Orion has collected and delivered 100,000 meals, 500,000 books, and thousands of additional toys to children affected by the COVID19 pandemic. The “kindness ambassador” was featured on the March 7 cover of Time and was interviewed for the magazine by internationally-known actress and activist Angelina Jolie.

Catching Orion’s first pitch will be Hall of Fame catcher Ivan Rodriguez.

TEXAS TOSS: This year’s Texas Toss honors the man who is responsible for bring Major League Baseball to North Texas. Arlington Mayor Tom Vandergriff spent more than a decade working on securing a MLB franchise for his city. That dream became a reality on September 21, 1971, when American League owners approved the shift of the Washington Senators to Arlington, Texas for the 1972 season. Mayor Vandergriff, who passed away in 2010, had the honor of throwing the ceremonial first pitch at the Texas Rangers’ first game at Arlington Stadium just seven months later on April 21, 1972. With the franchise celebrating its 50th season in Arlington, Mayor Vandergriff’s son Victor and grandson Parker will participate in the Texas Toss on opening day.

The Texas Toss will be caught by Tom Grieve, who was a member of that first Texas Rangers team in 1972 and is retiring after this season after 55 years as a player, executive, and broadcaster with the franchise.

NATIONAL ANTHEM—A LOOK BACK 50 YEARS: On that historic opening day on April 21, 1972, Tom Vandergriff’s daughter, Vanessa, at the time a student at Arlington High School, sang the Star Spangled Banner before the Rangers’ 7-6 victory over the California Angels. Nearly 50 years later, Vanessa Vandergriff Watters, who has been a professional singer and actress during a long career, returns to perform the National Anthem at the Rangers home opener. She will be accompanied by her sister Vivian Vandergriff and niece Katherine Parker.

SALUTE THE FLAG: The colors will be presented by the Texas Rangers Honor Guard, and a large United States flag will be unfurled in centerfield by members of the Texas Rangers front office.

MORE ACTIVITIES: There will be on-field introductions of both the Rockies and Rangers. Joel LaGrone will sing Texas, Our Texas prior to the Texas Toss. The Texas Tenors will perform God Bless the USA during the seventh inning stretch.

TIMELINE: Globe Life Field parking lots will open at 10:00 a.m. and ballpark gates will open at 12 noon on opening day. The Rangers encourage fans to arrive early on opening day. Rangers’ batting practice begins at 12:10 p.m. followed by the Rockies at 1:10, and the pregame ceremonies are scheduled to start at 2:35 p.m.

SEASON OPENER NOTES: The Rangers are 25-25 overall in home openers, losing four of five and six of the last eight, including a 6-2 defeat to Toronto in 2021. The breakdown: 12-10 at Arlington Stadium; 12-14 at The Ballpark in Arlington/Globe Life Park; 1-1 at Globe Life Field. This is the second time in three years at Globe Life Field that Colorado has been the opening day opponent. The Rangers defeated the Rockies, 1-0 in the first regular season game ever in this park on July 24, 2020, when fans were not permitted due to the COVID19 pandemic. In addition to Colorado, Texas has opened the home schedule with a National League opponent on two other occasions, losing to Philadelphia in 2014 and the Chicago Cubs in 2019.

REST OF HOMESTAND: The Rangers will also play the Rockies on Tuesday, April 12 at 7:05 p.m. and continue the season’s first homestand with a four-game series versus the Los Angeles Angels. The clubs meet Thursday and Friday, April 14-15 at 7:05 p.m., Saturday, April 16 at 6:05 p.m., and Sunday, April 17 at 1:35 p.m.

On April 15, the Rangers will celebrate two historic milestones, the 75th Anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking Major League Baseball’s color barrier on April 15, 1947 and the 50th Anniversary of the club’s first game as the Texas Rangers on April 15, 1972 at California. Full details of the ceremonies will be announced in the next few days.

Tickets for Rangers 2022 home games can be purchased at texasrangers.com, by calling 972RANGERS, or at the Globe Life Field box office, which is located adjacent to the Southeast entrance.