California is home to five major league baseball teams. In the middle is San Luis Obispo—a melting pot of sports fans with loyalties split between northern and southern California.
This Friday the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees will battle it out in Game One of the World Series. It's a historic moment for many baseball fans. The last time the two teams faced each other in the World Series was in 1981.
Kris Scott, a baseball fan who takes lunch at local sports bar, Laguna Grill, said he’s not a fan of either team, but he’s excited to see the revenue impact from the games.
“The Yankees and the Dodgers have the two biggest markets in baseball and the viewership is going to be off the charts historical. So, just the revenue that’s going to generate is going to better the future of the game,” Scott said.
The Central Coast does not have a designated major league baseball team. Scott said he thinks the market is not big enough for a team. For now, he enjoys supporting the Cal Poly Mustangs when he can.
Restaurants and sports bars across the city of SLO are hosting watch parties for the games and are encouraging fans to come out and support their favorite team.
Just this week, former Dodger player, Fernando Valenzuela, died. Valenzuela is known to have led the team to victory the last time the Dodgers faced off against the Yankees about 40 years ago.
On the social media website, Reddit, local sports fans made plans to watch the games and cheered their favorite teams. Meanwhile, viewership of one Dodgers playoff game featuring baseball players Shohei Otani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Japan surpassed viewership in the US.
