On Monday, MLB released the 2020 abbreviated schedule as the club will try to play a sixty game season. There were a few things that stuck out like how many night games or how many road trips would the Rangers take. The full sixty games are out and here’s a look at some of the highlights of the new schedule.

Your #Rangers 2020 schedule. The club gets to start opening day at home against Nolan Arenado and the Rockies. Rockies will also take part of the two exhibition games on the 21st and 22nd. pic.twitter.com/SXAEwWWSDi

— Alex Plinck🏳️‍🌈 (@aplinckTX) July 6, 2020

Rangers will have Opening day at Globe Life Field

Originally, the Rangers first series of the season was to take place in Seattle. After the Mariners’ four-gamer, the Rangers were to head home to open Globe Life Field on a Tuesday afternoon against the Angels. The new schedule has Texas opening at home on Opening Day against the Colorado Rockies. In addition, the Rockies and Rangers will play two exhibition games on Tuesday the 21st and Wednesday the 22nd. Texas heads to Denver the 14th-16th completing an eight game season series against Colorado (six regular season games and two preseason games). The next question remains, will fans enjoy opening day from home or in person?

#TexasRangers hosting the Colorado Rockies at Globe Life Field on July 24 @ 7:05CT pic.twitter.com/vx5WXrDtaB

— AllThingRangers (@AllThingRangers) July 6, 2020

Notice the time change for home games

Opening Day remains a regular night game 7:05 start. However, in August, the Rangers’ night games will begin at 8:05 rather than 7:05. Saturday home games remain at 6:05, and Sunday games remain at 1:35. Texas’ September games go back to the regular 7:05 start time. One significant noticing factor, the latest the Rangers will play on the west coast is 8 pm, and the earliest during the week is a 1:10 start time on September 3rd against the Astros. The later home games will serve as a compromise with the rest of the division.

From the schedule release:

"Per agreement with Major League Baseball, the Rangers will play 8:05 p.m. CT weekday night home games versus teams in the Pacific time zone with those clubs starting weekday night home games against Texas at 6:05 p.m. PT/8:05 p.m. CT."

— Jared Sandler (@JaredSandler) July 6, 2020

An Astros-filled September

The Rangers and Astros will play ten times, a given with the season’s division-heavy format. The catch is that the Rangers and Astros will play ALL of their ten games in September (38.5% of their September games will be against the Astros). In the past, the Rangers and Astros would either not meet in the final month or rarely meet. It was a past criticism I had, especially with two bitter rivals. The schedule makers heard me loud and clear. Texas plays all four of their AL West foes in September and plays the other three in August. Rangers and Astros fans, buckle up.

The schedule is not as balanced as predicted.

Many of us thought that ten games against each division opponent and twenty interleague games (with five teams in a division) meant an even amount of games against everyone. For example, the Rangers would play two games on the road and at home against NL West teams and five home games and five road games against AL West foes. The schedule doesn’t translate to that, and I think the most prominent reasons would be travel and difficulty scheduling even games. The Rangers have their two-and-two series against the Padres and Diamondbacks along with three and three series against the Rockies. However, the club does not travel to Los Angeles to take on the Dodgers, and the Rangers head to San Francisco without the Giants coming to Globe Life Field (sorry Hunter Pence).

Texas makes one visit to Oakland (for three games) while the Athletics play seven games at Globe Life Field. The roles reverse for Seattle with two trips to T-Mobile Park while the Mariners play one series at the new palace. The Rangers travel to Houston for six games and Anaheim for four while the Astros visit Globe Life Field for four, and the Angels head to Arlington twice in a total of six games. Keep in mind sixteen of the club’s thirty road games happen in September.

According to research from MLB advanced media, the Rangers will travel the most air miles in the league this year: 14,706. … Houston has second most 13,954.

— Evan Grant (@Evan_P_Grant) July 6, 2020

At this point, players, coaches, and fans may stare with a slight look of confusion only to show gratitude a baseball season is upon us. The Rangers are four days into Summer Camp with a few weeks remaining. The season begins a stretch run with a lot of excitement in the air, let’s hope the momentum stays positive come Opening Day.