Tarmac by day, ballpark by night for Rangers

Texas Rangers fans passing through Dallas Love Field Airport on Tuesday morning were in for a pleasant surprise.

Normally at home at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Delino DeShields, Chris Martin, and Hunter Pence made the trek to Dallas to try their hand at the roles normally held by Southwest Airlines employees at the Love Field homebase.

“The thing I really like about it is you are interacting with so many people. Southwest makes a big impact on the whole nation, everywhere they fly to, and all of these people,” Pence said. “Any opportunity to have some interactions like that where you can change someone’s day [is great]. And I think the attitude and the spirit here is always impeccable.”

While waiting for her return flight to Nashville after a visit to the area, Kathryn Chappell was shocked to see players from her favorite team at the airport. The 14-year-old even had her Texas Rangers cap handy for Martin, DeShields, and Pence to sign.

“I went to two of the games while I was here. Mostly to see [Mike] Minor, because he’s my favorite,” Chappell said.

But that didn’t stop her from being overcome when she met the Rangers contingent at her gate.

“I was crying meeting [Hunter] Pence,” Chappell said.

Rangers Captain and the Six Shooters were also on hand as the group greeted customers, assisted with the boarding process, and even headed onto the tarmac to help with pushback for the flight to Nashville.

For DeShields, who took over the scanning of boarding passes for flights to Austin and Nashville, checking out the cockpit was a highlight of the day.

“It’s very complicated in there, so it’s impressive to see the pilots and how they make sure everybody gets to where they need to go safely,” DeShields said.

DeShields also took notes during the pushback process, when the Southwest employee he was working with explained that planes are pushed backwards away from the gate by external power.

“Starting with security, all the way to pushing the plane off, it’s a team effort to make sure passengers get to their destination safely. Make sure everybody gets on board on the right plane,” DeShields said. “I definitely have a little more appreciation for everything they do. It was a really good experience.”