The World Series is set to begin on Friday, October 23, at American Family Field, giving Milwaukee its first Fall Classic game since October 17, 1982. Game 2 follows on Saturday, October 24, and the series could return to Wisconsin again for Game 6 on a Friday night and Game 7 on Saturday, October 31.
That start date is drawing attention now because the Brewers are the team waiting at the center of it. After sweeping the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series, Milwaukee has already locked in a home opener for the World Series, even though the opponent is still unresolved.
The Brewers will face either the Cleveland Guardians or Tampa Bay Rays, depending on how the American League Championship Series ends. At the moment, that series favors the Guardians by a 2-1 score, but it could last until Tuesday, and a weather delay last night has made the timing even tighter.
That matters because the schedule leaves little room for recovery. Whomever the Brewers meet may have played four games in four days before getting just two days off before the World Series begins, and if the ALCS runs long, Cleveland and Tampa Bay will also lose the scheduled off-day between Games 5 and 6.
For Milwaukee, the bigger story is already fixed: the World Series is coming back to American Family Field for the first time in 44 years, and the Brewers will open it at home. What remains to be settled is the opponent, and that answer will come only after the American League Championship Series is finished.
