You've got Blue Jay fever. You've got the travel bug. A health insurance plan won't help you, but perhaps frequent-flyer points will. Canada's only Major League Baseball team has qualified for postseason play for the first time in 22 years, a long drought that has fans excited enough not only to fill one of baseball's biggest ballparks (Toronto's Rogers Centre) but to catch the boys in blue on the road. Here's a handy guide to help you get to Arlington, Tex., the home base of the Blue Jays' first-round opponent, the Texas Rangers.
The stadium
Though it sounds more like an industrial park than a baseball mecca, Globe Life Park in Arlington is a jewel-box beauty of brick and sunset-red granite set upon a gentle green rising. Opened in 1994, the stately, charismatic facility boasts Bermuda grass, dozens of cast-stone longhorn-steer heads, an old-style home run porch in right field and an office tower in centre. At the park's concession stands: Try the Boomstick (a two-foot-long, one-pound all-beef hot dog topped with chili, nacho cheese, grilled onions and jalapeno peppers). Try the Sausage Sundae (a scoop of mashed potatoes dusted with parsley flakes, a scoop of smoked brisket and a scoop of macaroni and cheese between a split sausage with a cherry pepper on top). And try the Pepto-Bismol.
Get tickets
At press time, more than 4,000 tickets were available for Game 3 of the best-of-five series, while more than 6,000 seats remained for Game 4. (Note: If either the Jays or the Rangers sweep the first three games, the fourth game – as well as the fifth, scheduled for Toronto – will not be played.)
Getting there
Arlington, a suburban city of some 380,000 people in the northeastern part of the state, is serviced by Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, the third-busiest airport in the world and the largest hub for American Airlines. As the ballpark is not serviced well by public transit, you'll need either to drive to the game from the airport (about 15 minutes) or pick one of the many nearby hotels, some within walking distance.
Staying there
The Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metropolitan area is sprawling. You can't swing a 10-gallon hat without hitting a hotel. But because of Globe Life Park's isolated locale, best bets include the Courtyard Marriott, a chain outfitted for families and business people that is a Jose Bautista throw's reach from the ballpark.
After the game?
Playoff games are scheduled for Sunday and Monday (if necessary), but travellers have other options than just balls-and-strikes watching. Close-by attractions include Six Flags Over Texas, a theme-park colossus that boasts Batman the Ride, an intense thrill of tense turns and corkscrew descents that'll have you all "Holy G-force, Batman!" Nearby Dallas and Fort Worth boast art galleries, museums, aquariums and zoos. Of note are the Perot Museum of Nature and Science, the Southfork Ranch (a theme park celebrating the primetime soap opera Dallas) and the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza, a respectful, informative centre dedicated to the legacy and assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
More sports
The Jays are scheduled to face the Rangers on Sunday evening (Oct. 11, 7:10 p.m., local time), which affords sports fans the chance to catch an NFL game at nearby AT&T Stadium, where the marquee football franchises New England Patriots and Dallas Cowboys will hut-hut-hut it up against each other in the afternoon at one of the league's most impressive facilities. As well, the state's other American League baseball team, the Houston Astros, has also qualified for the playoffs. The underdog team – a possible second-round opponent of the Jays – will host the Kansas City Royals on Oct. 11 and (if necessary) Oct. 12 at Minute Maid Park, a fetching ball yard less than a four-hour drive from Arlington.
Brad Wheeler