We try our hardest not to play team favorites here at the 643, but we must confess: we've suddenly developed a strong affection for the Texas Rangers. That's because we've found out that instead of offering yet another Cheap Fan Tchotchke Night (though we do love our bobblehead garden gnomes) they've been organizing something way better: a pre-game Joy of Scorekeeping class. The Rangers: making summer school awesome all of a sudden!
Team Marketing Manager Sarah Stone, an avid member of the Union herself (and frequent contributor to our gallery) runs the class. She covers the ins and outs of the scorebook, the notations, and even goes through a couple innings of scoring a practice game on YouTube. We exchanged emails with Sarah after she tipped us to the class, and she called it her "pride and joy," and spoke about how social media makes scorekeeping even more fun. We wholeheartedly agree. (Plus, to prove it, she got her class to follow us on Twitter. What a saint!)
Here's a video from FOX Sports Southwest showing Sarah hard at work spreading the gospel:
Team Marketing Manager Sarah Stone, an avid member of the Union herself (and frequent contributor to our gallery) runs the class. She covers the ins and outs of the scorebook, the notations, and even goes through a couple innings of scoring a practice game on YouTube. We exchanged emails with Sarah after she tipped us to the class, and she called it her "pride and joy," and spoke about how social media makes scorekeeping even more fun. We wholeheartedly agree. (Plus, to prove it, she got her class to follow us on Twitter. What a saint!)
Here's a video from FOX Sports Southwest showing Sarah hard at work spreading the gospel:
The Texas Rangers aren't letting the art of scorekeeping disappear. The team offers a class to those fans wanting to add a little bit of old-school fun to their trip to the ballpark. Sign us up! #NeverEverQuit #RangersInsider
Posted by Fox Sports Southwest on Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Reviews are rave. New Unioneer Susan, who recently took the class along with her husband, loved it, calling Sarah's teaching "enthusiastic and engaging." She shared some further thoughts with us:
"I recommend this class to anyone who loves baseball, and wants to have even more fun! Since the class, I have kept score of a couple more games I’ve watched on TV. I still have more to learn but am enjoying comparing my box score with the official box score to see if I got it right. I have a new hobby, or maybe I should say a new addiction!"
Heck yeah. She even sent along a couple pictures, including the one above, and a snapshot of her card and class loot too:
As you can see, class attendees get the full kit: scorebook from Academy Sports, pencil, well-made cheatsheet, and even a stylish sticker. And unlike our poor academic choices, this class won't crush you with student debt: it's free with a ticket to the game. (Susan highlighted that Sarah wraps the class up with 20 minutes to spare before first pitch, so you won't even miss getting to your seat with a hot dog in hand.)
Needless to say, we are huge fans, and if you're going to ballgames in Arlington you should definitely seek out the next class date and take all your friends, co-workers, children, and conveniently located strangers. Sarah says that they've also expanded the curriculum to offer pre-game classes on "History of the Rangers" and "Intro to Sabermetrics" too, so if you think Nolan Ryan was our greatest Secretary of State or that OPS is just somebody making a mistake telling you they made a mistake, you should probably make sure these are on your schedule. Don't forget your Trapper Keeper!
Needless to say, we are huge fans, and if you're going to ballgames in Arlington you should definitely seek out the next class date and take all your friends, co-workers, children, and conveniently located strangers. Sarah says that they've also expanded the curriculum to offer pre-game classes on "History of the Rangers" and "Intro to Sabermetrics" too, so if you think Nolan Ryan was our greatest Secretary of State or that OPS is just somebody making a mistake telling you they made a mistake, you should probably make sure these are on your schedule. Don't forget your Trapper Keeper!