Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
World Series at 1 site part of playoff bubble
NEW YORK — 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 affect 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 statement.
The World Series will be at Globe Life Field in Arlington, a retractable roof stadium with artificial turf that opened this year adjacent to the Rangers’ old ballpark. The American League Championship Series will be at San Diego’s Petco Park, and the NLCS at Globe Life.
The AL division series will be at San Diego and Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium, and the NL division series at Globe Life and Houston’s Minute Maid Park.
MLB has not made any determinations on whether spectators will be allowed but is hopeful some percentage of seats can be filled in Texas.
Texas is last in the AL West at 17-30 entering Tuesday, with little chance of advancing to the postseason.
“In the view of our infectious disease experts, the biggest risk of exposure for players and staff is contact with family members and friends who have been exposed to COVID-19 in their communities,” deputy commissioner Dan Halem wrote in a memo sent to teams Monday night. “Nearly all of the positive test results that have been reported for players and staff in the last month can be traced back to contact with an infected family member, domestic partner, or friend outside of club facilities.”
Halem said MLB and the players’ association were in the process of finalizing details of the agreement, which provides for players to be tested daily during the postseason.