The MLB World Series is fast approaching.The culmination of 162 regular season games and three rounds of MLB postseason baseball for those teams fortunate enough to have qualified all comes down to a win-and-take-all best of 7 series. The long MLB season comes down to winning the coveted Commissioner’s TrophyGettyThe two teams that will participate in baseball’s headline act are still to be determined.What is certain, though, is that it will be one of the three remaining American League teams and one of the four remaining National League teams left in contention.Therefore, one of the following will represent the American League: Seattle Mariners, Detroit Tigers, and Toronto Blue Jays.The National League representative will be one of either the Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies or last season’s World Series champions Los Angeles Dodgers.But as they have been throughout the postseason, the start times of the World Series games will be taking place at some peculiar – and oddly specific – times.Why will World Series games start at unusual times?With Game 1 of the World Series set to commence on October 24 the series will run through to November 1 if it goes the full seven-game distance. Each game will start at eight minutes past the hour, straying away from other sporting events around the world that are accustomed to starting on the hour, or at any other 15 minute-interval such as quarter past, half past, and quarter to the hour. Whilst this may be strange for those fans into world soccer, with the sport adhering to the advertised start times to the second, this is a common occurrence in US sports, such as basketball (NBA), football (NFL), and the MLS. This is due to a whole host of pre-game rituals they need to get through, including the singing of the National anthem, the logistics of broadcast television and its accompanying advertisements, as well of the throwing of the ceremonial first pitch.Following this, ‘playball’ is called and the game subsequently gets underway. The Milwaukee Brewers 97-65 record was the best in the MLB in 2025GettyFurthermore, it is not unusual for things to take longer than the allotted eight minutes, so start times could be slightly delayed. An MLB spokesperson gave a more informed run down of what goes on prior to a nationally televised baseball game, and why the timings are as they are to Marketplace back in 2022. “Local regional sports networks come on the air at the top or bottom of the hour, do an opening segment, take a commercial break, and come back for first pitch,” they said. “That usually takes a few minutes, so our game times factor in some of the realities of the television product.“If a TV window starts at 7:00, a first pitch at 7:05 or 7:10 allows them to introduce the game.”Could history repeat itself?The 2024 World Series delivered a blockbuster spectacle between two iconic franchises in the New York Yankees and Dodgers.The Dodgers won the 2024 World Series after they defeated the Yankees 4-1GettyOhtani won the World Series at the first time of asking in his postseason career debutGettySome of the sport’s biggest stars battled it out on the field, including Aaron Judge, Juan Soto – who departed the organization that off-season and signed the richest contract in MLB history with their neighborhood rivals New York Mets – for the Yankees, and Dodgers stars Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and Japanese dual-threat sensation, Shohei Ohtani.On that occasion, it was the Boys in Blue who came out victorious, defeating the Yankees in five games, and won their first title since the shortened 2020 campaign.The Dodgers’ win also meant that the wait for a World Series victory stretched to 16 years for the Yankees.World Series 2025 ScheduleTimes are ET – 8:08pm is 00:08am UK timeGame 1 (Friday, Oct 24, [time]): [Home Team – Away Team] – [Stadium]Game 2 (Saturday, Oct 25, [time]): [Home Team – Away Team] – [Stadium]Game 3 (Monday, Oct 27, [time]): [Home Team – Away Team] – [Stadium]Game 4 (Tuesday, Oct 28, [time]): [Home Team – Away Team] – [Stadium]Game 5 (Wednesday, Oct 29,[time]): [Home Team – Away Team] – [Stadium]Game 6 (Friday, Oct 31, [time]): [Home Team – Away Team] – [Stadium]Game 7 (Saturday, Nov 1, [time]): [Home Team – Away Team] – [Stadium]Whilst the Dodgers are still in contention to achieve back-to-back World Series appearances, leading their NLDS series against the Phillies 2-1 in a best of five, the Yankees’ wait goes on.This comes after they were eliminated from the playoffs by the Blue Jays on Wednesday in a 3-1 series win for Toronto, meaning the World Series match-up will feature at least one different team from last time out.Only one more win in the division series, and a best-of-seven championship series stands in the way of the Dodgers securing the opportunity to bid for the coveted Commissioner’s Trophy once again. Should Ohtani and co go all the way, then they would become the first team since the Yankees to win back-to-back titles, though New York went one step further and achieved a historic three-peat between 2008-10. Stay up to date with the latest from the MLB across all platforms – follow our dedicated talkSPORT USA Facebook page and subscribe to our talkSPORT USA YouTube channel for all the offseason news, interviews and more.