Play Ball! Is It Time to Bring Major League Baseball to Lubbock?
Are you tired of driving 5 hours to Dallas to pay $500 in tickets, parking and beers just to watch an unbelievably crappy team get the snot stomped out of them day after day?
Well, what if you could get that same Major League Baseball experience right here in Lubbock, without the 5-hour drive? Well, turns out there's a team for sale!
Picture it: It's Opening Day 2027, and the West Texas Matadors are taking the field at the brand new Bart Reagor Memorial Stadium against the hated East Texas Rangers. Lubbock Mayor Wes Nessman throws out the ceremonial first pitch, while Jace Jung leads off for the Rangers and hits a long home run which disappears into a prairie dog borrow complex in the parking lot.
Well, I know the odds of a major league baseball team relocating to the Hub-a-plex are remote, but think about the implications of having the nations eye on Lubbock in a manner that doesn't include the words "catalytic converter theft capital." The fanbase would stretch from Albuquerque to Amarillo to El Paso and even as far east as Weatherford. Plus, we already see the passion that Texas Tech Athletics generates among the locals population, so why can't lightning strike on a professional level as well?
Other than the fact that the price tag for the team would be around $3 billion dollars. Well, then, I guess we can't repave Broadway this year, kids...because it's time to PLAY BALL! I'm sure some wealthy local fat cat has that kind of cattle, cotton or oil money to write a very big check for Los Angels De Los Angels. Make it happen.
Now, all we need is a great new team name! How about:
The West Texas Tornadoes?
The Hub City Pitmasters?
The Lubbock Crickets?
The Gamblin' Gauchos? (Wait, that's been taken)
Los Perros De La Pradera De Lubbock?
I'm partial to the West Texas Matadors, as it pays homage to Texas Tech and it just sounds really cool. That's a much more impressive name than the Houston Astros...nerdy space geeks.
Go, Matadors!