One-site World Series set for Globe Life Field in Arlington

Major League Baseball on Tuesday unveiled a 16-team playoff bracket featuring four rounds of playoffs, including single-sites for the final three rounds, including the World Series.

The playoffs will open on Sept. 29, MLB announced. The World Series will be played in its entirety in Arlington at Globe Life Field, starting on Oct. 20.

Reports have been circulating for the past two days that fans might be allowed inside the stadiums on a limited basis for the final two rounds.

The American and National leagues will both send eight teams into the postseason, with first- and second-place teams in each of MLB’s six divisions guaranteed automatic berths.

Outside of the guaranteed slots from each division, two more teams from the AL and another two from the NL will make the playoffs.

All games in a best-of-three, Wild-Card round will be played at the home park of top four seeds in each league, according to a news release from MLB.

After that, games will shift to neutral sites “due to health, safety and competitive considerations.”

Each of four division series are best of five.

AL Division Series games are set for Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles and Petco Park in San Diego, with NLDS games scheduled for Minute Maid Park in Houston and Globe Life Field in Arlington.

After the divisional round, all series are best of seven.

The ALCS will be played at San Diego’s Petco Park, while the NLCS and the World Series will be played at Globe Life, the home of the Texas Rangers.

With the Rangers at 17-30 on the season leading into tonight’s series opener at Houston, it’s highly unlikely that they will make the playoffs.

It’s the first time in 76 years that baseball has held the World Series at one site, according to the Associated Press.

The World Series was last played at one site in 1944 at Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis, where the Cardinals beat the Browns 4 games to 2, the AP reported.

A young man by the name of Stan Musial, age 23 at the time, aided the Cardinals in the series victory with a .304 batting average. One of Musial’s teammates was Debs Garms, who played in the minor leagues for the Missions in 1935 and 1936.

The AP also reported that New York’s Polo Grounds hosted all the games in 1921 and 1922, in the last two seasons that it was the home of both the New York Giants and Yankees. The Giants won both titles.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred on Monday told reporters that fans potentially could be allowed to attend the ALCS, the NLCS and the World Series games, but likely with reduced capacity.

To this point in a season shortened to 60 regular-season games by the coronavirus pandemic, fans have not been allowed in major league ball parks.

Entry into the stadiums has been restricted to players, coaches, essential stadium staff and media.