For baseball fans, there truly is no time like October. The Major League Baseball season is 162 games, from late March through the end of September.
For many fans, October means the end of the line. It’s time to start dreaming about what moves your team is going to make in the offseason. For others, it means the start of the arduous journey through MLB’s postseason: slugging through the division series, winning a league pennant, and ultimately competing in the World Series for baseball’s biggest prize and cementing a legacy in the rich history of America’s pastime.
The 2026 World Series stage is set, and for many, its stars are not the teams that were expected to be under the bright lights. For those who know, who live and breathe with their home team, it’s no surprise at all.
The Tampa Bay Rays, led by stars like Junior Caminero and Yandy Diaz, won the American League pennant to earn their spot in this year’s World Series. The Rays went 98-64 this season, running away with the best record in the American League. They then swept the New York Yankees in three games and bested the Cleveland Guardians 4-2 in the American League Championship Series.
For the National League champions, the journey to the World Series was even more dominant. The Milwaukee Brewers had baseball’s best record in 2026, winning 103 games in the regular season. The Brewers’ roster features stars Jackson Chourio, William Contreras, and the flame-throwing Jacob Misiorowski, who has thrown pitches recorded at over 105 mph this season. Milwaukee smashed past the San Diego Padres in the division series before sweeping the back-to-back defending champions the Los Angeles Dodgers, who boast the baseball’s most expensive roster.
The Rays and Brewers are two of five MLB franchises who have yet to win a World Series title. The Rays were featured in the Fall Classic just five years ago, when they lost to the Dodgers. For the Brewers, it’s been a lifetime for some fans: 44 years to be exact. The last time the Brewers made it to the World Series was in the fall of 1982, when “Jack & Diane” was the No. 1 song and E.T. was phoning home from a landline. The Brewers ultimately fell to the St. Louis Cardinals and haven’t managed to make it back since.
KUCB’s Carlos Tayag caught up with Unalaska’s biggest Brewers fan, Eagle’s View Elementary School Principal Riley Spetz.
“They were really bad when I was growing up,” said Spetz. “I’ve always rooted for teams that hadn’t won one in a while. It’s cool to be on this side of it now, and my team is playing.”
Spetz was born in Wisconsin but spent the first few years of his life living in Unalaska. His mother was also an educator for the Unalaska City School District. Spetz earned his degree in education from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, where he also played Shortstop for the Pointers and has a .332 lifetime batting average.
Spetz moved back to Unalaska about 10 years ago. He taught third grade at Eagle’s View Elementary for 8 years before becoming the elementary Principal in 2024.
Game 4 of the 2026 World Series is Tuesday at 4 p.m. Alaska Time. The Milwaukee Brewers lead the series 3-0.
Hear more from Spetz in the audio version of this story.
