Pictured Above: The Tampa Bay Rays celebrate after their dramatic win against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 4 of the World Series.
Courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rays
By Mark Parker
At the risk of showing my age, I was 17 when the Tampa Bay area was finally awarded a Major League Baseball team.
Then, in 1998, after years of rumors and speculation, and after having the San Francisco Giants back out at the last minute, we finally had a baseball team to call our own.
Except, as luck would have it, our team was bad. Historically, record-breakingly bad. They finished in last place 9 out of their first 10 years, and the odd year was a second to last place finish. However, at just 10 years old, the team went through a sudden transformation.
In 2008, the Devil Rays would shorten their name to the Rays, change logos, and introduce new uniforms. They hired a front office that utilized analytics more than any other team in the league, and a new, innovative manager in Joe Maddon.
Previous draft picks like Evan Longoria and David Price began to pay big dividends. The Rays won the American League that year in thrilling fashion against the rival Boston Red Sox, before ultimately losing to the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series.
“We are where some other teams were 100 years ago,” Maddon told the team then, according to ESPN.“We’re writing history. We’re the first chapters of that history that people are going to look back on.”
Well Joe, we are adding some thrilling chapters to our still brief history.
After a six year hiatus, the Rays were back in the playoffs last year. Last season saw them scrap their way to a wildcard win versus the Oakland Athletics and give the returning champion, the Houston Astros, all they could handle in the divisional round.
The outlook for the 2020 season was bright for the Rays. Then 2020 happened.
At one point, we thought there wouldn’t be a season. First MLB wasn’t sure if it could be done safely in the pandemic, and then it took months for owners and players to come to an agreement on what the money and logistics of a shortened season should look like.
Championship windows close quickly. Especially when you have the league’s lowest payroll and attendance.
Having a shortened or worse-yet — a cancelled season — affects the Rays more than most teams. They rely on young players and cheap contracts, and every season that goes by is just another season closer to letting go of their best players and rebuilding.
Then, all things considered, we got lucky. Over four months after the season was supposed to March, MLB announced a 60-game season (down from 162), and teams began play on July 23. The Rays hit the ground running and never looked back.
First, they steamrolled their way through the American League East and the hated Yankees, finishing with the second best record in all of baseball, next to the Los Angeles Dodgers. More on them in a minute.
Then, in the playoffs, they dispatched the upstart Toronto Blue Jays, sent the rival Yankees home empty handed, and avenged last season’s playoff loss against the Houston Astros. They did it with depth, defense and by outsmarting their opponents.
Which brings us to Saturday, when the Rays went toe to toe with one of the richest and most storied franchises in baseball: the Dodgers.
The Rays are coming off one of the most thrilling games in the 117 year history of the World Series.
Bottom of the ninth inning, two outs, two strikes, Brett Phillips, the little known hometown guy from Seminole at the plate. Phillips’ hit to bring Kevin Kiermaier home, and eventually Randy Arozarena after an incredible sequence of Dodgers errors, gave Tampa Bay the kind of scrappy “never say die” victory that embodies this team.
Here we are. Back in the World Series, finding ways to win that it seems like only the Rays are capable of.
Not only are the Rays giving St. Petersburg and the entire Tampa Bay area something to root for during trying times, they are doing it on sheer grit and determination alone.
They are showing all of us that regardless of circumstance, great things are possible depending on how hard you work for it and how bad you want it.
