MLB taking postseason to Texas, California

Major League Baseball wants to go big in the postseason, and there's no bigger place to cap the pandemic-plagued playoffs than Texas, with the World Series set for 40,000-seat Globe Life Field in Arlington.

The division series, league championship series and World Series will be part of a bubble designed to minimize exposure to the coronavirus, which slashed MLB's regular season from 162 games to just 60 for each club, and caused 45 postponements.

The postseason－expanded from 10 to 16 teams－begins with the top four seeds in each league hosting a best-of-three wild-card series at their regular-season home field, starting on Sept 29 in the American League and on Sept 30 in the National League.

The best-of-five AL Division Series will be played at San Diego's Petco Park and at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles from Oct 5-9, while the NL Division Series will be at Globe Life and Houston's Minute Maid Park from Oct 6-10.

The best-of-seven AL Championship Series will open in San Diego on Oct 11, and the National League Championship Series will begin in Arlington on Oct 12, followed by Game 1 of the 116th World Series on Oct 20.

There will be no off days during the division series or the championship series, so the spotlight will be on starting pitchers and bullpen depth. The two traditional off days have been retained for the World Series.

"It will probably affect everyone's pitching staff; it depends on the depth of your bullpen," Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker told Associated Press. "Every game is important during that streak. You might have to carry an extra pitcher when you ordinarily wouldn't because you see off days as a rest day."

The World Series at Globe Life Field will be the first fall classic played entirely at one site since 1944, when the St. Louis Cardinals beat the crosstown Browns in six games at Sportsman's Park, where both teams shared the field.