Game 1 is scheduled for Friday night, 23 October, at American Family Field in Milwaukee, with 41,000-plus attendees expected. The series is best of seven.
The Brewers' previous World Series chance came in 1982, and the Rays' came in 2008 and 2020. The Brewers won 103 games in the NL and the Rays won 98 in the AL.
The Brewers rank 19th in payroll at 146.2 million dollars and the Rays 28th at 95.6 million, against a league average of 181.9 million dollars.
Both teams ranked in the bottom third of MLB in home runs but in the top five in stolen bases and sacrifice bunts, and both led the league with a .258 batting average.
The 122nd World Series pits the Milwaukee Brewers against the Tampa Bay Rays, and neither franchise has won the title before. Game 1 is set for Friday night, 23 October, at American Family Field in Milwaukee, where 41,000-plus attendees are expected. The Brewers won 103 games to lead the NL and the Rays won 98 to lead the AL. Milwaukee swept the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-0 in the NL Championship Series, while Tampa Bay beat the Cleveland Guardians in the ALCS. For the Brewers this is their second World Series chance after 1982, and for the Rays their third after 2008 and 2020.
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Milwaukee is the smallest media market in MLB, a city of fewer than 600,000 people, and the Brewers rank 19th in payroll. The Rays are 28th, with only the Cleveland Guardians and the Miami Marlins spending less on salaries. Milwaukee's 2026 payroll is 146.2 million dollars and Tampa Bay's is 95.6 million, against a league average of 181.9 million. The New York Mets had planned to spend 346.7 million dollars, the Los Angeles Dodgers 339.3 million and the New York Yankees 308.3 million, and none of those three reached the World Series.
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Both clubs ranked among the bottom third of MLB in home runs, yet the Brewers had the most hits in MLB and both teams led the league with a.258 batting average. Each also ranked among the top five in stolen bases and sacrifice bunts. Rays slugger Junior Caminero's trot after his first postseason home run, a two-run shot in the pennant-clinching 7-3 win, lasted 38.7 seconds, the longest tracked uninterrupted postseason home run trot since MLB Statcast began measuring in 2015. Rays manager Kevin Cash, who played in MLB from 2002 to 2010, described the balance between celebration and respect:
“You don't want to cross the line of showing up the other team.”
Rays shortstop Taylor Walls, who led the American League in sacrifices this season and stole 21 bases, discounted the idea that the approach is new:
“I wouldn't say we're really reinventing anything.”
Demand for Game 1 has been intense, with fans offering items ranging from boats to baseball cards in pursuit of a seat or a standing-room pass. Much of the frustration traces to a 2015 Brewers promotion that sold 1,000 Timeless Tickets at $1,000 each. The non-expiring ticket entitled its owner and up to three others to the best available seat at any future home game, subject to availability. Many owners tried to redeem them for Game 1 and were offered seats far from what they expected, and one fan said the club offered only a seat at the very top or standing room. The club's president of business operations, Rick Schlesinger, said several hundred fans had signalled they wanted to redeem their tickets. His statement added:
“We subsequently erred in our internal communications on the logistics of fulfilling the requests.”
The series is best of seven and could run four to seven games, with the first game on Friday night, 23 October. Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski, 24, holds the MLB record for the fastest pitch at 105.5 mph (169.78 km/h). The Brewers' bullpen posted the second-best collective earned run average in the regular season, behind only the Yankees.
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Game 1 is set for Friday night, 23 October, at American Family Field, with 41,000-plus attendees expected. Neither franchise has won a World Series, and both finished the regular season with the best record in their league.
AI text based on reports by The New York Times, AP NEWS, watson.ch/ and other publishers. Published .