The World Series comes to Arlington on Tuesday night, but the Texas Rangers will only be spectators — thanks to the American League's worst record.
It's the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Tampa Bay Rays who'll face off in the "bubble" at the Rangers' new home, Globe Life Field. Each survived a tough seven-game series to get there.
Roughly 11,000 fans will be able to watch in person, scattered around the ballpark with empty seats taped off between them. That's a quarter of the stadium's capacity, an effort to socially distance while COVID-19 cases are surging again in surrounding Tarrant County.
The NBA and NHL used more restrictive bubbles, with no fans, to complete their seasons. While football has been allowing some limited crowds, Major League Baseball, including the Rangers, kept the stands empty (except for cardboard cutouts) throughout the season.
That meant fans at last week's National League Championship Series between the Dodgers and the Atlanta Braves were the first to see a game at Globe Life Field. The Braves won the game, but lost the series.
Opening night of this one-of-a-kind World Series starts Tuesday at 7:09 p.m.
Got a tip? Email Rick at rholter@kera.org. You can follow him on Twitter @rickholter.
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