World Series at Arlington, first time at one site since 1944
NEW YORK (AP) — The World Series will be played entirely at the Texas Rangers’ new ballpark in Arlington, Texas, as part of a bubble agreement between Major League Baseball and the players’ association, the first time the sport’s championship will be played entirely at one site since 1944.
The Division Series, League Championship Series and World Series all will be part of a bubble designed to minimize exposure to the coronavirus, which limited the regular season to a 60-game schedule for each club and caused 45 postponements.
Off days were eliminated for the Division Series and League Championship Series, which will stress pitching depth among starting rotations and bullpens.
“It tells you the talent of the whole team, and it’s what we do for 162 games,” Philadelphia Phillies manager Joe Girardi said. “There might be a little bit more offense just because of that.”
No off days may impact teams' decisions on how many pitchers to carry for postseason series.
“It will probably affect everyone’s pitching staff. It probably depends on the depth of your bullpen," Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker said. “Every game is important during that streak. You might have to carry an extra pitcher when you ordinarily wouldn’t have because you see off days as a rest day.”
The two traditional off days were retained for the World Series.
First-round best-of-three matchups in a postseason expanded from 10 to 16 teams this year will be held entirely at the higher-seeded clubs. The final eight teams will shift to bubble environments.
“The agreement attempts to balance players’ experiences and concerns while making the accommodations necessary to best ensure a safe, healthy and successful conclusion to the 2020 season,” union head Tony Clark said in a...
