Communism, capitalism, rocket science and baseball all once collided at a Rangers game

The Russian rocket scientists seated in George W. Bush’s suite at Arlington Stadium three decades ago understood the calculus of flying to the moon, but how a fly ball could drive in a run proved puzzling. The rules of astrophysics were a snap, but the rules of baseball proved hard to translate.

The 19 astrophysicists, who visited Fort Worth to install a massive “Soviet Space” exhibit at the Museum of Science and History, were VIP guests at the ballpark the night of June 19, 1991. They saw plenty of action as the last-place Kansas City Royals trounced the third-place Rangers, 15-2.

The rout of the Rangers included a balk, a grand slam, an out via the infield-fly rule, and too many foul balls to count.

“How do you know if it’s a ball or a strike?” the scientists asked.

“We had to explain baseball to these guys,” laughed Don R. Otto, the museum’s president from 1977 to 2003. “When you start explaining baseball to people who have never seen the game (much less tasted nachos), you realize how many rules, terms and exceptions there are.”

The strike zone, for example, is invisible, often subjective.

The batter’s box isn’t a container; it’s a rectangle outlined in chalk.

The on-deck circle bears no relation to the deck of a ship.

A “run” is both a verb and a noun. “When you hit the ball you run, but you don’t call it a run,” not until the runner crosses home plate.

Among the all-star Russian delegation was cosmonaut Konstantin Feoktistov, 65, a right-hander who threw the first pitch while the crowd of 29,462 cheered.

“He bounced it in,” recalled Otto. “The distance from the mound to home plate is farther than you think.” Yet Konstantin was pleased with his one-hop pitch, especially when catcher Mark Parent traded him a Rangers ball cap for his Soviet Space hat and signed the ceremonial ball.

“We got there early,” said Otto, a season ticket holder at the old stadium, which was torn down and replaced in 1993. “We were herding 19 Soviets. Very few had ever been out of the Soviet Union. These guys were each a specialist in something. The Rangers were warming up.

“George W.”— the team’s managing partner before he won political office — “came up and got into this conversation, talking about capitalism versus communism” and asking which was better,” Otto said. “They were pretty sure it was communism.” (In retrospect, the USSR collapsed six months later, during the final days of the “Soviet Space” exhibit. Some rocket scientists likely changed their minds.)

As the Rangers warmed up, Bush pointed to a coach in uniform pitching balls. According to Otto, Bush told the Russians, “That guy never plays a game. He makes more money than my dad does.” His dad, George H. W. Bush, was then earning $200,000 as the 41st president of the United States. Observing the scientists’ startled reactions, Bush added that he was planning to give himself a raise soon and would also earn a higher salary than his dad.

Baseball may not be rocket science, but that’s capitalism.

The Royals’ 20-hit barrage against the Rangers included the first career grand slam for slugger Kirk Gibson, a lefty well known for his iconic, walk-off home run in the 1988 World Series. He ultimately became a coach, then a manager and today is a color commentator for the Detroit Tigers.

As for the Royals’ winning pitcher Hector Wagner, the rout against the Rangers was his first and last Major League victory. “For one night, at least, Wagner had his moment in the sun,” wrote the Star-Telegram’s Simon Gonzalez. “He looked like the second coming of Cy Young.”

Losing Ranger pitcher Jose Guzman bounced back, winning the 1991 Major League Baseball Comeback Player of the year award with a 13-7 season.

Rangers Manager Bobby Valentine groused when sportswriters needled him about the “Royals wrecking crew.” Valentine pointed out that the Rangers were leading the majors in slugging (.417). The team was comfortably in third place in the American League West division, with a won-lost percentage of .547 and a 33-29 record. The team closed the 1991 season in third place, with 85 wins and 77 losses, a .525 winning percentage.

“Be nice if that happened again,” said Otto, noting the team’s current struggle to reach .500.

George W. Bush, of course, became governor of Texas in 1995 and the nation’s 43rd president from 2001 to 2009. Baseball may not be rocket science, but it can be a ticket on the way to the top.

Hollace Ava Weiner, a former Star-Telegram reporter, is an author and archivist who grew up in the Nation’s Capital rooting for the Washington Senators.