The 2020 World Series will be held in a neutral venue for the first time in modern baseball history, Major League Baseball reported in revealing its postseason schedule.
Teams will settle into neutral venues following the opening rounds of the best-of-three wild-card series, which will kick off once the 60-game regular season concludes this month, Major League Baseball reported in a release.
The American and National League wild card rounds, which open Sept. 29 and 30, will take place in the home stadiums of the top four seeds in each zone.
Thereafter, the games will move to designated neutral sites. The MLB said that change was decided by “considerations of health, safety and competitiveness” in the face of the risks of the coronavirus pandemic.
The American League Division Series games will be held in Los Angeles and San Diego, at Dodger Stadium and Petco Park, respectively.
The National League Division Series games will be played at Globe Life Field in Arlington, home of the Texas Rangers, and at Minute Maid Park in Houston, home of the Astros.
The American League Championship Series will be held at Petco Park in San Diego, while Arlington will host the National League Championship Series.
The winners of both qualifiers will advance to the World Series, best of seven games, which will take place in Arlington from October 20 through a possible seventh game scheduled for October 28.
Major League Baseball’s 2020 season schedule was shortened from the traditional 162 games to 60 after the coronavirus pandemic delayed the start of the campaign, originally scheduled for late March, by four months. AFP (HN)