This wasn't the World Series you were expecting six months ago? The 2026 World Series, which begins on Friday night and can be exclusively viewed on FOX, will feature the Tampa Bay Rays and the Milwaukee Brewers, who were each the top seed in their respective league. With that, here are 26 numbers to know for the 2026 World Series, which is made up of a combination of the two teams' 2026 success and the historical context of them each reaching the World Series: 0: Neither franchise has won the World Series.
1/3: Despite balanced offensive attacks, the Rays and Brewers each finished in the bottom third of MLB in home runs; Tampa Bay was 22nd with 169 home runs, with Milwaukee tied for 28th with 154 long balls. 1A: Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski led MLB starting pitchers with a 1.80 ERA, an 0.80 WHIP, 252 strikeouts, a .157 opponent batting average and a 232 ERA+. 1B: In the regular season, the Brewers' offense led the sport with 1,422 hits and a.
341 on-base percentage. 1C: In the regular season, the Rays and Brewers were tied for first in MLB with a .258 batting average. 1D: Through Milwaukee's eight playoff contests to date, it's first among the 12 teams that made the playoffs with a .250 batting average, a .343 on-base percentage and a .396 slugging percentage.
2: Tampa Bay winning the AL pennant came after it missed the playoffs in each of the previous two seasons. 3A: Prior to this season, the Brewers and Rays combined for just three World Series appearances; Milwaukee won the National League pennant in 1982, with Tampa Bay winning the American League pennant in 2008 and 2020. 3B: Both teams' starting rotations finished in the top five in MLB in ERA, WHIP and opponent batting average.
3C: Tampa Bay's pitching staff has surrendered no more than three runs in eight of its nine games this postseason. 3D: Brewers second baseman and 2024 Gold Glover Brice Turang was third in MLB with 7.3 wins above replacement. 4: The number of outs Rays ace and two-time All-Star Drew Rasmussen was from throwing the third no-hitter in MLB postseason history in the team's Game 1 AL Division Series matchup against the New York Yankees on Oct.
3. 5: Milwaukee's bullpen was top five in MLB in ERA (3.40, third), opponent batting average (.223, third) and WHIP (1.23, tied for fifth). 5.7: The Rays' offense was last in MLB with a 5.7% barrel percentage, per Statcast.
Moreover, they were 29th with a 34.6% hard-hit percentage and 27th with an 88.0 mph average exit velocity. 8: Milwaukee has made the playoffs in eight of the last nine seasons. 28: The Rays, who won an AL-best 98 games in the regular season, are 28th in MLB with a $95.6 million payroll, per Spotrac.
41: Tampa Bay reliever Bryan Baker was tied with Cleveland Guardians right-hander Cade Smith for first in MLB with 41 saves. 46A: This is the first time that both teams competing in the World Series have never previously won the Fall Classic since the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Kansas City Royals in the 1980 World Series. 46B: Rays outfielder Chandler Simpson led the AL with 46 stolen bases.
91: Rasmussen led AL starting pitchers with an 0.91 WHIP. 100: Misiorowski set an MLB record with 66 pitches thrown at or faster than 100 mph in a July 26 start against the Colorado Rockies. 103: The Brewers won an MLB and team-high 103 games, marking the first 100-win season in franchise history.
Last season (2025), they won 97 games, which now ranks second in team history. 164: Tampa Bay led the AL with 164 stolen bases; Milwaukee was fifth in MLB with 162 stolen bases. 180: Rays designated hitter and two-time All-Star Yandy Díaz led the AL with 180 hits.
241.8: The Brewers are 19th in MLB with a $146.2 million payroll. If one were to combine Milwaukee ($146.2 million) and Tampa Bay's ($95.6 million) respective payrolls, their collective $241.8 million payroll would still be lower than the payrolls of seven teams: New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Toronto Blue Jays, Atlanta Braves and Chicago Cubs. 832: The Brewers were second with 832 runs scored in the regular season.
