After a season with no fans in the stands, Major League Baseball is set to allow a “limited number” of fans for the NLCS and World Series at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, the league announced Wednesday.
Approximately 11,500 tickets will be made available for each game, with 10,550 fans in the stands and 950 in suites.
Tickets for all series will go on sale Tuesday, with Game 1 of the NLCS scheduled for Oct. 12. Tickets for the stands will be sold in groups of four contiguous seats and individuals will only be permitted to purchase one group.
Masks will be required for all fans “except when actively eating or drinking at their ticketed seats.”
The decision isn’t much of a surprise, as commissioner Rob Manfred told USA Today last week the league was “pressing ahead to have fans in Texas.”
“One of the most important things to our game is the presence of fans,’’ Manfred said. “Starting down the path of having fans in stadiums, and in a safe and risk-free environment, is very, very important to our game.”
Starting pitchers Mike Clevinger and Dinelson Lamet were left off the Padres’ 28-man roster for their wild-card series against the Cardinals due to injuries that forced them out of their final regular-season starts.
Clevinger left after just one inning of his home start against the Angels on Sept. 23 with what was at first described as biceps tightness but later diagnosed as an elbow impingement. He had a cortisone shot on Friday.
Lamet left his start at San Francisco on Friday with biceps tightness.
The Brewers left pitchers Brett Anderson and Devin Williams off their roster.
Williams emerged as one of baseball’s top relievers this season and is a candidate for Rookie of the Year.
— With AP