In the classic baseball movie Bull Durham, Susan Sarandon’s rambunctious, philosophical, oversexed character Annie Savoy proudly proclaims, "I believe in the church of baseball." Deep in the heart of the Bible Belt, just outside Dallas in the city of Arlington, millions of Texas Rangers fans feel the same way ... and they prove it by visiting a place called "The Temple."

Well, a place nicknamed "The Temple," anyway. The Ballpark in Arlington -- which originally earned its quasi-religious nickname due to the quirky ersatz friezes incorporated into its design -- is one of the true treasures of Major League Baseball. Along with Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore and Cleveland’s Jacobs Field, The Ballpark was part of the new wave of fan-friendly, "old style" ballparks built in the mid-1990’s that, unlike Houston’s Enron Field, Phoenix’s Bank One Ballpark, and San Francisco’s brand-new Pacific Bell Park, are not yet besmirched by corporate assignations.

The Ballpark isn’t just for locals; it’s also an attraction to tourists in the Dallas area. Jim Woodward, a Methodist minister from the Columbus, Ohio, area, has attended major league baseball games in more than a dozen stadiums and says, "I like the Ballpark in Arlington. The best thing I can say about it after my visit -- and I think this is one of the highest compliments you can pay a ballpark -- is that it doesn't get in the way. It is designed in a way that the ballgame is the primary attraction, and as a baseball fan, that's why I go the game. To watch baseball."

According to Woodward, "History is an important part of baseball. The design of The Ballpark in Arlington seeks to evoke some of that history. I don't feel like I'm watching a ballgame in a shopping mall. It's the kind of place where I think Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb, and yes, [Texas Ranger legend] Nolan Ryan would have been very comfortable playing."

Ryan never had the opportunity to play in The Ballpark, as injuries forced him to retire just before it opened in April of 1994. Nonetheless, there is a statue of Ryan in the centerfield picnic area, and a street outside the stadium bears the name "Nolan Ryan Expressway," a nod to the Hall of Fame pitcher’s dominant fastball, known throughout his career as "The Ryan Express."

Even without Ryan, The Ballpark has been a good luck charm to the Texas Rangers franchise. While the team never won a pennant during more than 20 years in the old Arlington Stadium, the Rangers concluded their inaugural season in The Ballpark (1994) in first place in the American League West. Unfortunately, a player strike led to cancellation of post-season play, so Texas had to wait for their first trip to the playoffs. Since then, however, the Rangers have won their division in three of the past four seasons and established themselves as one of the consistently elite teams in baseball.

The Ballpark holds nearly 50,000 fans -- capacity is 49,178 -- and the Rangers reliably draw more than two million fans each year. While the steady winning surely plays a part in attracting such numbers out to the park, the stadium itself has popular attractions that also contribute to the draw.

Curtis Edmonds, an attorney living in Austin, writes on the Web review site Epinions that "Almost everything about the Ballpark is perfect. There's not a bad seat in the house. It's surrounded by acres of parkland and a ... lake named after the late Rangers broadcaster Mark Holtz. [...] It's decorated with Texas symbols: longhorns and lone stars ... Inside the outer wall on the north side are huge bronze box scores of important games in Ballpark history [including] the first game, the 1995 All-Star Game, [and] Kenny Rogers' [1994] perfect game."

The Ballpark not only recognizes key moments in the history of the Texas Rangers, but in the history of the entire state as a whole. As you approach The Ballpark from the outside, fans can see stone carvings on the sides of the stadium illustrating the history of Texas from the battle at the Alamo to the turn of the millenium. There’s even a 21’ x 7’ statue of a steer!

Grand Prairie resident Dena Carr Rambo says she lives about five miles from The Ballpark and tries to attend "two or three games a month." One of her favorite features of The Ballpark is the outfield area known as "Home Run Porch." Says Carr Rambo, "I love Home Run Porch at The Ballpark. It looks great from other areas of the ballpark and is a great place to sit. I like it that you can easily see -- or yell at! -- the Rangers bullpen. The only problem is that it is impossible to see the DiamondVision [scoreboard] when you’re sitting in the Porch area." Fortunately, though, the bullpens just beyond the outfield are raised five feet above the playing surface so fans can see who is warming up for each team.

There are several excellent options available to professionals like Carr Rambo, who frequently entertains clients at The Ballpark. The Diamond Club, open to everyone holding a game ticket, has a wonderful view of the field from full-length windows above the reserved seats in left field and can be reserved for banquets and group gatherings. Friday’s Front Row Sports Grill, with a complete Friday’s menu and a view of the field from above Home Run Porch, is open even when the Rangers are out of town and during the off-season.

That’s not all that available to fans and other interested parties. According to Ballparks.com, "Outside the park, visitors can wander up Nolan Ryan Expressway and stroll along the Rangers Walk of Fame, reading about each team in franchise history on the brick path beneath them ... Once inside, there’s a 17,000-square-foot baseball museum ... open year-round."

The Legends of the Game Baseball Museum has one of the most complete collections of baseball memorabilia outside the official Baseball Hall of Fame; in fact, more than 140 items on loan from the Hall of Fame are on display. The second floor of the Museum displays a history of the team dating back to its time in Washington, D.C. when it was known as the Senators, along with displays on early minor league teams from the area including the Dallas Spurs and the Fort Worth Cats. There is a reasonable admission fee -- $4 for youth, $5 for senior citizens, and $6 for adults -- to the Museum.

The outfield in the Ballpark has a series of idiosyncratic nooks and crannies intentionally reminiscent of the old Ebbets Field home of the Brooklyn Dodgers. The bleachers beyond the outfield walls are divided by a grassy spot in straightaway center which locals have taken to calling -- perhaps somewhat unfortunately -- "the grassy knoll." On a brighter note, in a nod to the team’s admittedly checkered history, the entire bleacher section in The Ballpark was taken in its entirety from Arlington Stadium before the old stadium was leveled in 1993.

According to local Dallas theatre personality Erik Knapp, a lifelong Rangers fan who attends about five games a year, "There really is no comparison between the ballparks. Arlington Stadium was a converted minor league facility. The Ballpark is leaps and bounds ahead of that. The atmosphere is the thing I like best about the new park. The players seem very close and the setting is very intimate. It has a nice, relaxing, nostalgic vibe to it." And, he adds with a laugh, "The hot dogs are great too!"

Indeed, let’s not forget ballpark food. Brad Cantrill, a law student living in Dallas, says quite correctly (also on Epinions) that "No good ballpark review would be complete without a trip to [the] concession stand ... [and] the ballpark has some of the best food I've ever seen at a stadium. Of course they carry all of the traditional favorites such as hot dogs, nachos, and burgers, but they also dig a little deeper to please a wider range of consumers."

Cantrill elaborates, "Imagine ordering a chicken fajita, or smoked sausage, or roasted chicken -- all of these are available at The Ballpark. My personal favorite however, is the soft ice cream. Served in -- what else? -- a plastic ‘ball cap,’ the soft ice cream is to die for."

Call it The Ballpark, call it The Temple; come for the food, the history, the ballgame. The new winning tradition of the Texas Rangers is tied inextricably to one of Major League Baseball's -- and North Texas' -- real treasures. The Ballpark in Arlington ... discover it for yourself.