World Series Notebook: Rays enjoying playing with fans again

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — After winning the Division Series and AL Championship Series in San Diego, the Tampa Bay Rays played before fans in the World Series opener for the first time since spring training.

“Playing a playoff game with zero fans in it has got to be one of the weirdest, most bizarre things I’ve ever experienced in baseball,” Rays pitcher Charlie Morton, scheduled to start Game 3, said Wednesday. “But at the same time, one of the most memorable things I’ve ever experienced in baseball. I’ll appreciate everyone that made this possible for as long as I live.”

He appreciated the atmosphere at Globe Life Field, where the opener Tuesday drew a crowd of 11,388. That was about 28% of the 40,518 capacity at the new $1.2 billion retractable-roof stadium of the Texas Rangers.

“This stadium, even though it’s not filled to capacity, there’s something about this place,” Morton said. “It’s very robust. It’s big -- it feels big. They have the big screen right above the field. It’s feels like it’s like hanging on top of you and it’s got all the World Series logos. Everything’s in gold. All the banners you’d expect to see. But underneath in the service tunnel and in the clubhouse, it is weird to not see -- it’s weird to not be in the press room. That’s weird. It’s weird to go to the stadium and not see the parking lots just filled with people and local TV crews just hanging out. You name it. It’s weird. It’s sad. But it’s still very exciting.”

Morton is 3-0 with a 0.57 ERA in the postseason, and the Rays are 5-0 in his starts.

“He’s definitely a postseason stud,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “I think it’s the approach, the demeanor that he takes. You don’t see any difference. You don’t see any anxiety. It’s very much a been there, done that...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/World-Series-Notebook-Rays-enjoying-playing-with-15665881.php