The Central Coast is full of baseball fans, some of whom spent part of Friday stocking up on merchandise ahead of game one of the World Series.
This year, the Los Angeles Dodgers are taking on the New York Yankees.
Curt Miller is the owner of Sportscard Fantasy’s in Santa Maria, and he says he expects the championship series to be “epic.”
Miller also told KSBY that his shop saw a surge in customers as fans were waiting for game one to begin.
Most shoppers who stopped by Sportscard Fantasy’s were on the hunt for Dodgers merchandise, according to Miller, but he says he saw a good deal of Yankees supporters as well.
At the Sports Forum in San Luis Obispo, store manager Jose Cruz reports Dodger swag has been in high demand in the days leading up to the World Series.
“All of our jerseys have gone flying out ever since they made the postseason. We have had a lot of other Dodger style hats that we’ve had to restock from our other location in Pismo Beach—it’s just a lot of Dodger-mania going on right now,” said Cruz.
KSBY checked in with Derby England who says she’s a Giants fan at heart, but has turned into a temporary Yankees fan.
”My adopted team is the Giants, and obviously we don’t like the Dodgers, so when they’re playing New York, I’m going to wear a New York hat and support them instead.“
Sarah Helper, a San Luis Obispo resident who was born and raised in Los Angeles, is a Dodgers fan who told KSBY she was “super excited” for the series to begin.
“I am going to try and listen on the radio and watch when I can, and hopefully all the way to when they win… I went to a game earlier this year and saw a couple home runs. I really want to see them win. I’ve seen them come out of a few tight tight games earlier in the postseason and I really think they can beat the Yankees.”
For the latest updates on the World Series, click here.