2026 World Series: Three 10 factors that will influence the Brewers vs. They could figure out a series of rays

One way or another, baseball will have a first-time World Series champion. The Milwaukee Brewers (established in 1970) and the Tampa Bay Rays (in 1998) will meet in this year’s Fall Classic, and one of them will win their first title. The Brewers Once Upon a Time (1982). This is the third wing of the radio (also 2008 and 2020).

“2020 has been as special as any season I’ve been a part of,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said following Tampa’s ALCS Game 6 win Cleveland Guards. “But saying that, we don’t have 40,000 people behind us [during COVID]. It will be exciting to see what those 40,000 people can accomplish in Games 3, 4 and 5.

This year, the teams with the best records in each league will meet in the World Series. In baseball, though, the best team doesn’t always win a short streak of the season, and sometimes those short streaks can be defined by a lucky bounce, a lucky umpire’s call, or a role player having the best week of his life. It’s ugly. Chance will always play its part.

Every team, no matter how small it may seem, can build a series, and this World Series is no different. The Brewers and Rays will be hailed as old-school teams given the heavy contact approach, but the two clubs are biased in the game. They have a nice looking army at the edges.

Here are now three World Series 10 factors that could define the game, define the series, or not matter at all.

1. Battle of the infield fortifications

If you like hits, sacrifice bunts, and infield hits, this is the World Series matchup for you. The Brewers and Rays were two of the best baseball teams in the regular season.

Chandler Simpson led baseball’s fastest Rays with 42 infield hits, 11 more than all other players. Only four players had at least 10 hits in the regular season: Brewers infielder David Hamilton (15), Simpson (14), and Rays teammates Cedric Mullins (12) and Taylor Wall (11). There will be a lot of “put the ball on the ground and run like crazy” in this World Series.

This way the infield defense will be at a premium, and not always going out in the middle. A good infield defense also includes knowing where you are it cannot come out sometimes his own play keeps the ball and does not try to force things with a quick throw. That’s when you make things worse, when you turn a single twin into a double or even a triple by bad judgment.

Here are the numbers on the Milwaukee and Tampa infield defenses;

There is a complete discrepancy between DRS and OAA for radios! Walls (21 DRS but -3 OAA) and Caminero Junior (+5 DRS and -10 OAA) account for much of that. The eye witness agrees with the DRS for Walls. He’s a horrible shortstop. Caminero was previously -14 OAA in April and May, and later OAA +4. It’s his second straight season on the field before he started poorly.

Sometimes simple states are the best and the average on the ground balls tells the story here. The Rays have allowed an MLB-low .213 on-base average this year. They were fourth at .227. Both are just below a .242 MLB average. After the trade was announced, they were radically tied at .226 and .228. These are the post-mortem rosters we’ll see in the World Series.

The Brewers have three outfielders, second baseman Brice Turang, shortstop Cooper Pratt, and third baseman Joey Ortiz. Pratt, a rookie, is error-prone at this position, perhaps because the game has gotten a little excited for him. The Rays will certainly prove this theory. Pratt, plus Ortiz and Turang (and Hamilton) are forced to make plays.

The Rays have a clear weak link defensively in second baseman Richie Palacios, who was the first baseman from 2022-25. He’s only hit (8 for 22 with three doubles) this season as he has to be in the lineup, but Palacios isn’t the most natural looking second baseman, and his inexperience will show at times. But Caminero is safer than fame.

It would be unfair to say that the Brewers and Rays are confident in these small ball skills. They are more like one tool in their fields. He likes the instrument, but he just needs a microphone. They can beat you in other ways too. Bottom line, though: both infield defenses will be tested in the World Series. The team that shows the most points and limits the most mistakes will have a leg up.

2. Hicks and Strong vs. Rome running game

Given his hitting and infield skills, it should come as no surprise that the Brewers and the Rays are two of the best stolen base teams in the game. The Rays are second in baseball with 164 steals in the regular season. The Brewers were not far behind them with 162. They had identical 75% stolen base success rates, which was slightly below the 77% MLB average.

The key difference between the two teams is the stolen bases although. The Brewers allowed just 71 stolen bases this year, the second fewest in baseball, and their 30% caught rate was the fourth highest. Guillermo Contreras is the best pitcher behind the plate, but not the only one. Milwaukee pitchers are pretty good at holding runners. All the parts he plays are subject to limitation.

The Rays, meanwhile, have allowed 131 stolen bases in the sixth over the regular season. Their 21% caught-stealing rate ranks 20th among 30 teams. The trade notification other than Liam Hicks didn’t help matters. Runners went 58 for 69 (85%) against him hitting the bases in 2026. They went 73 for 89 (82%) against Nick Fortes, Tampa’s other catcher. This is not a big deal;

Hicks and Strong have below average arms and their average pop times and changeups don’t help matters. The Rangers stole bases at the right time, but went just 3 for 6 during the ALCS. Credit to Hicks (2 for 4 in the ALCS) and Strong (1 for 2) for pitching a game against the Rangers’ good running teams in this series.

You will need to do this again in the Seri world. Seven Brewers have stolen at least 10 bases this season and four have stolen at least 19, including Pratt, who won’t make his MLB debut until June 16. The Rays also can’t get a run. As much as Contreras limits stolen bases, they will test him. On paper, though, the stolen base game looks to be a big advantage for Milwaukee.

3. Baker speed

Perhaps the single biggest difference between the Brewers and the Rays is the bullpen. Brewers manager Pat Murphy is flush with quality options, including lefty Aaron Ashby, who is a candidate to pitch three innings for Milwaukee in a close game. The Bucks had varying difficulty in the gap between their starters and All-Star closer Bryan Baker this week. Tampa was dicey in middle relief.

To make things a little more awkward, Baker’s speed has been going down in recent weeks. He has not hit 94 mph in two of his four ALCS appearances, and has sat closer to 92 mph on several nights. This is not a great trend;

Baker’s best fastball in the ALDS barely topped his regular-season average, and his best fastball in the ALCS was a full tick lower than that. It’s a long time and Baker never moved this high before October. It can be understood if the trigger runs out.

Baker is a changeup specialist and a big changeup, but his speed equals the margin for error, and his top pitch gives him room for less snap. The proof is in the numbers: MLB players slugged .416 against fastballs in the 96-97 mph range during the regular season. They hit .448 against fastballs in the 93-94 mph range. I don’t like much, but every tick.

Despite the declining velocity, Baker has been fantastic this season. He went 5 for 5 in saves and allowed one hit and two walks in seven scoreless innings. He struck six. Declining speed is a red flag, though. Lower sinker – what if Baker hits the 92-93 mph range in the World Series? — better chances for brewers.