The "shortest and strangest season" in MLB history will finish with a "clash of coasts and contrasts" as Rays-Dodgers gets underway tonight in Arlington. The matchup pits L.A.'s "big spenders" against Tampa Bay's "bargain hunters." It also will "crown one region with an unofficial title no one saw coming: inter-sports champion of the pandemic era." Within the past month, the Lightning won the Stanley Cup and the Lakers won the NBA title; the Fall Classic "will be the third championship series for a big four North American sports league to be decided this fall" (N.Y. TIMES, 10/20).
Meanwhile, ESPN's Jessica Mendoza will becomes first woman to serve as an analyst for national World Series coverage when she calls Game 1 for ESPN Radio with Dan Shulman and Chris Singleton (THE DAILY).
The Dodgers will continue to "host World Series viewing parties with 60-foot screens" at the Dodger Stadium parking lot, as they did for the NLCS, with tickets costing $75 for the drive-in event. Concessions "will not be sold." Attendees "can exit their cars only to use the restroom" (L.A. TIMES, 10/20). ABC's Jimmy Kimmel: "That’s right, this quarantine has gone on so long, people in L.A. are now willing to pay $75 to get back in a traffic jam” (“Jimmy Kimmel Live,” ABC, 10/19).
