The Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays share these distinctions:

• Each won their league's playoffs this month.
• That sent them to the 122nd World Series that began last Friday.
• Each team seeks its first Major League Baseball championship.

This is just the second time in 106 years that neither World Series rival has won a championship trophy, so the final out will bring particularly sweet celebrations in Milwaukee or Tampa. The first World Series between title-less teams was in 1980, when the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Kansas City Royals in six games.

The Brewers, who reached post-season playoffs in eight of the past nine seasons, haven't been in the World Series since 1982. The team has been red-hot this year and last, leading MLB in the number of regular season games won (103 in 2026). "The city is ready. I know that the fans are ready, and I know that we'll be ready," says Milwaukee first baseman Jake Bauers.

This is the Rays' third World Series after reaching that level in 2008 and 2020. Tampa Bay was in the playoffs 10 times since 2008.

No weather delays: The Rays play indoors and the Brewers have a retractable roof.

Their only 2026 games: The Brewers and Rays played each other just three times this year, with Milwaukee winning twice last March and Tampa Bay taking one game.

Trivia: This is the first World Series since 2016 without a team from California or Texas.