The 2026 World Series is almost here. And for the first time since 1980, this year’s Fall Classic will feature two teams — the Tampa Bay Rays and Milwaukee Brewers — that have never won a title.

Since becoming an expansion franchise in 1998, the Rays (formerly the Devil Rays) have reached the World Series twice: first in 2008 and then in the COVID-shortened 2020 season. The last time the Brewers were in a World Series was 1982, when Ronald Reagan was president, Michael Jackson’s Thriller and Steven Spielberg’s E.T. were released and Rollie Fingers and his signature mustache were closing games. The Rays and Brewers are two of five teams in Major League Baseball without a World Series title, with the Colorado Rockies, San Diego Padres and Seattle Mariners being the other three.

And unlike the Los Angeles Dodgers, who won the last two championships, these are small-market clubs with relatively tiny payrolls. Entering the year, Milwaukee ranked 19th among all 30 teams at $125 million, while Tampa Bay’s ranked 26th at $90 million. Combined, that’s still over $100 million less than the $322 million the Dodgers spent on their roster — which could help explain the “timeless ticket” controversy that’s brewing in Milwaukee.

That’s not to say the Brewers and Rays made it to the World Series by accident. Milwaukee won a major league-best 103 games during the regular season, knocked off the San Diego Padres in the National League Division Series and swept the Dodgers in the National League Championship Series in rather shocking fashion. In the American League, Tampa Bay won the most games during the regular season (98), swept the New York Yankees in the Division Series and vanquished the Cleveland Guardians in the Championship Series to advance to the Fall Classic.

And the teams each play a similar brand of baseball that purists like to call “small ball,” with an emphasis on manufacturing runs by getting runners on base and advancing them with sacrifice bunts and flies, stolen bases, walks and/or singles as opposed to home runs.

But enough about salaries or styles of play. Here’s a helpful guide to navigating World Series small talk for the casual or curious fan.

Let’s play ball!

OK, which players should I know?

What about the WAGs?

While the two previous World Series featured several prominent wives and girlfriends supporting their partners from the stands, this year’s Fall Classic is decidedly less WAG-y.

There are a few, however. 

Hallie Walls, the wife of Rays shortstop Taylor Walls, has over 165,000 followers on TikTok, where she shares plenty of behind-the-scenes photos and videos of her husband and their three children.

The Brewers have a few, too.

Wait, what was that ticket controversy about?

In 2015, the Milwaukee Brewers ran a promotion offering fans a $1,000 “Timeless Ticket” granting them admission to one future Brewers game of their choosing. Now that the Brewers are in the World Series, several hundred fans who bought them are looking to redeem those tickets — which has led to, um, “some complications,” the Associated Press reported.

“We subsequently erred in our internal communications on the logistics of fulfilling the requests,” Rick Schlesinger, Brewers president of business operations, said in a statement earlier this week. “While we were able to accommodate all with seats, we received feedback from some that they were unhappy with their seat locations. Clearly, even with extraordinary limitations on available seats, we did not live up to the spirit of the program, and we have been working through a resolution.”

The Brewers subsequently decided to allow the Timeless Ticket holders to retain the World Series tickets they received without giving up their prized Timeless Tickets, which “may still be redeemed for a future Brewers game in any future season.”

Who is ‘Marlins Man’? I thought we were talking about the Rays.

We are. But Laurence Leavy, aka Marlins Man, is a lawyer from Miami Beach whose frequent appearances at major sporting events while wearing orange Miami Marlins apparel over the past decade have made him a viral sensation. 

During Tampa Bay’s series-clinching win over the New York Yankees in the ALDS, Leavy sat behind home plate at Yankee Stadium next to singer Dua Lipa and her actor husband, Callum Turner. He said he had “no idea” who they were, but that she was “SUPER NICE” and perhaps the best celebrity he had ever met.

Don’t be surprised if you see Marlins Man behind home plate in Florida — or Milwaukee.

What’s the schedule and where can I watch?

The best-of-seven series starts tonight! All games will air on Fox during prime time.

• Tampa Bay @ Milwaukee

• Friday, Oct. 23

• 8 p.m. ET on Fox

• Tampa Bay @ Milwaukee

• Saturday, Oct. 24

• 8 p.m. ET on Fox

• Milwaukee @ Tampa Bay

• Monday, Oct. 26

• 8 p.m. ET on Fox

• Milwaukee @ Tampa Bay

• Tuesday, Oct. 27

• 8 p.m. ET on Fox

• Milwaukee @ Tampa Bay

• Wednesday, Oct. 28

• 8 p.m. ET on Fox

• Tampa Bay @ Milwaukee

• Friday, Oct. 30

• 8 p.m. ET on Fox

• Tampa Bay @ Milwaukee

• Saturday, Oct. 31

• 8 p.m. ET on Fox

* if necessary

Both teams play in dome-equipped stadiums — the Brewers at American Family Field (formerly known as Miller Park), which has a retractable roof, and the Rays at Tropicana Field, or the Trop, which had to be repaired after its roof was torn to shreds during Hurricane Milton. That means there will be no rainouts.

If the series goes a full seven games, Game 7 will be played on Halloween night, which is fitting considering Major League Baseball is facing a spooky offseason with a possible lockout looming.

So, enjoy it while you can!