Preventing World Series Ambush Is A Lengthy 4 Month Process

Dunkin Donuts is about as Boston as brands come, but as most of you know you won't see them at Fenway this week. In between the foul poles at least. It's all part of the extensive 4 month process that Major League Baseball takes to protect its corporate sponsors at the Fall Classic.

Jeremy Cohen, MLB's vice-president of corporate sales and marketing detailed the process for USA Today:

"We work very closely with the clubs. This starts with a preliminary e-mail in July to the clubs in contention. In August, the clubs all send us materials with images of their ballpark and (sign) rotations and that kind of thing. We get on the phone with them at the end of August and we start telling them what needs to be switched, what can stay."

To spot potential post-season issues before they become a problem, MLB reps also watch homes games for each of the contending teams down the stretch and in the post-season an MLB rep is always present to make sure a manager or player isn't carrying or wearing something that conflicts with the league's deals.

"We have eyes and ears everywhere," Cohen tells USA Today.