Rays Fever

I love baseball. Okay fine, I love playoff baseball. It's just too bad it takes 162 games to get there. But once the playoffs start, it's like a whole new game. What makes the playoffs so great? Well, I can think of a few things: 1) It's the playoffs. The fact that it's "win or go home" makes every moment, every pitch, every swing of the bat that much more important. One good swing or one bad pitch can cost your team the series. 2) The exclusiveness. The NBA and NHL allow 16 teams, the NFL allows 12 teams, but Major League Baseball, only 8. I really think baseball has the best setup: take each division winner and the best second place team. Of course some divisions are better than others, but the game has been around for 139 years, what goes around will come around. 3) The slow pace. Okay, I know what you are thinking. "How is the fact that the game is slow good?" It's true, baseball is a slow game, and it gets quite boring at times. With the speed and exciting pace of basketball and the hard-hitting electricity of football, baseball can quickly lull anybody to sleep. But not anymore. Game 7, bottom of the 9th, man on third, 2 outs, full count, tie game. That ten seconds waiting for the pitcher to throw the ball can make even the heartless sweat. That one pitch, that one moment, can be the difference between the off season and a championship. And you have to just sit there, and wait for it.

Okay, so you're probably still not convinced that baseball, nonetheless playoff baseball, is in fact awesome. No worries. I have another story that should make you at least tune into what is going on right now.

Welcome to Major League Baseball Tampa Bay.


The Rays (formerly the Devil Rays) are in their 10th season. During the nine seasons up to this current season, Tampa has finished in last place all but twice, in which they finished second-to-last. They play in the AL East which includes both the Red Sox and Yankees, which means they have never even come close to making the playoffs. Their best season in franchise history, 2004, they won 43% of their games, finishing 70-91, only 30 1/2 games out of first place. They are one of only four current teams to have never played in the World Series.

Get the point?

Back in 2006, I went to several Devil Rays games at home in Florida. The first game I went to they were playing the Red Sox. I have been to many baseball games, mostly in Atlanta, but also in Oakland and San Francisco. Never before had I seen something so disheartening and disappointing. The game was completely sold out, 90% Red Sox fans, 5% Devil Rays fans, and 5% people who probably had nothing better to do. I remember David Ortiz blasting a 450 foot shot over the center field wall. The place erupted. I remember the Devil Rays making an outstanding defensive play. The place groaned. Where was I? Certainly I wasn't in Tampa. But I was, and this was one of the hardest events I had ever had to witness. It's not fair that a team should have to essentially play all of their games on the road, even the supposed home games. Yet that is what one had come to expect in Tampa. And when a normal team comes to town (aka not the Red Sox or Yankees), no one goes to the games.

I almost felt disgusted and embarrassed for the city. But at the same time, sympathy was hard to find. Could I really blame the fans? The owner put a team there and then put nothing but garbage (no offense) on the field and expected people to pay and watch. People are not going to pay money to see bad entertainment. I remember a conversation I had with my dad right after the game. I told him something to the effect of, "Management needs to put a winning team on the field" and "If they win, they will come." But that change had to start at the top. Sure enough, the changes started.

New management came in and had a desire to put a winning team on the field. Stuart Sternberg took over executive control of the team. He fired General Manager Chuck LaMar and pretty much the entire front office. Instead of hiring a new specific General Manager, he decided to spilt duties between Matthew Silverman, Andrew Friedman, and Gary Hunsicker. The team had, and still has, the smallest payroll in all of baseball, and the management knew that in order to turn this team around they were going to have to draft well and groom young talent in the minor leagues. They couldn't pull a Yankees and just pay 250 million for A-Rod, or assemble an all-star team. They had to grow their players. This led to the assemblage of a young core, including Carl Crawford, BJ Upton, Scott Kazmir, Rocco Baldelli, Johnny Gomes, and more recently Evan Longoria. In order to effectively train and teach these young players, they hired Manager Joe Maddon, bench coach for the Anaheim Angels.

Of course putting even just a competitive team on the diamond was first and foremost the priority, making coming to the games enjoyable and affordable for fans was important as well. I remember my mom and I were at AAA buying discounts tickets for a day at Busch Gardens. A representative for the Devil Rays was there trying to sell tickets. He offered us a package that included six tickets, to any game, for $15. Yeah, fifteen dollars for six major league baseball tickets. If the incredible price didn't impress me enough, it was the fact that an actual representative for a professional sports team was out on the streets, in the community, sparking interest and selling tickets. What organization does that? It was obvious they were going against the mold to try and turn this thing around. Not only this, they made other changes unheard of in professional sports: Free parking at the game, allowing fans to bring in outside food and drinks, allowing free tailgating on stadium grounds, even playing a series in nearby Orlando to try and expand the market. Also, a 10 million dollar renovation took place to make Tropicana Field a better place to see a game. All this on top of incredible ticket prices and promotional giveaways. There is even a 10,000 gallon tank behind the right field fence that contains live Rays that you can go touch. We were sold, and we bought the ticket package.

The pieces were being put in place, yet the next few seasons still produced similar results. 2006 still saw the Devil Rays finish in last place, yet for the first time ever, they finished with a winning record at home (41-40). Although subtle, things were happening. Home attendance increased 20% to the highest total since 2000. Many veteran players were traded away and the young players were emerging. In 2007, the Devil Rays had the youngest starting line-up since the 1983 Twins. The hard work was paying off and Tampa Bay had an incredible offense and credible starting pitching. Unfortunately, the bullpen was not quite there yet and squandered many chances for the team to close out and win games. Despite the improvements, they still finished the season in a familiar position, dead last with a record of 66-96. A look at the surface would lead one to believe that this was still the same Devil Rays, a team doomed to the graveyard of baseball, the perennial losers. Yet, management stayed their course and believed in what they were doing. They even signed Joe Maddon to a contract extension, something amazing in a profession in which one bad season can cost you a job.

Although improvements were being made on the field and in the seats, Tampa was still in the bottom five for attendance, and they were still the best losers. The overhaul that had been the previous several years was evident, but only those who truly cared to see the changes were aware, and those numbers were few. Sometimes a more physical change needs to happen, it's just good marketing. When a product becomes outdated, and especially a product that is associated with failure, it's time for a change. Before this season, "Devil" was dropped and the team became the "Tampa Bay Rays." Also, a new uniform and color scheme were introduced, presenting a more classic, clean look as compared to the flashy look of the old uniforms. The facelift of the franchise had come full-circle. The way I look at it, especially someone who is looking into getting a masters degree in sports management, the template has been set. First the upper management, then the players, then the fan experience, then the new image. Too often franchises try to change the image first. What isn't realized is that ultimately, the thing fans care most about is wins. Put in place the proper management that can make smart decisions, in turn they will choose good personnel and players. Make the environment affordable and enjoyable for the casual fan to see the team. After all of this, the image will fix itself, and when the physical changes, such as uniforms and colors, are altered, fans will have something new and fresh to rally around. The only thing missing from this Resurrection of a dead team was results, results that ultimately come in the form of wins.

They finished the first month around .500, and for the first-time in history. By Memorial Day, the Rays were in first place in the AL East and held the best record in baseball at 31-20 (The first team since 1900 to have the best record through Memorial Day after having the worst record the previous year). This was by far the best start in franchise history. It had to be a fluke, these are the Tampa Bay Dev..., I mean, Rays we're talking about. Sure they had just swept a series against the defending champion Red Sox, but this will pass and eventually they will settle back where they belong, right? By the end of June, the Rays were still sitting atop the AL East at 50-32.

During that month of June, in my opinion, the most important event happened in Rays history. In the middle of a series against the Red Sox, a bench clearing brawl occurred. Now how could a fight be so important? Some say this has no place in sports. I disagree. For ten year the Rays had been doormats. They were the laughing stock of baseball. Now, all of a sudden, they are beating up on the champions. Obviously this wasn't sitting well with both sides, and it boiled over. As the Rays entire team brawled it out that summer afternoon against the Sox, something happened. You may call it a rash of suspensions and a disgrace to sportsmanship, I call it unity. In this moment, they became a team.

After a rough 7 game losing streak, they entered the all-star break 1/2 game back of the Red Sox. But don't forget who we're talking about here, still impressive. A strong July had them finishing the month at 63-44 and up 3 games on Boston. Keep in mind, the most wins this team had ever won in their history was 70. They had 63, and the season was just halfway over. On August 29, they secured their first winning season with their 82nd victory. At the end of August, they were 84-51, the best team in all of baseball and up 5 1/2 on the Red Sox. I'll say it again, we're talking about the Tampa Bay Rays. On September 20th, the Rays clinched their first playoff berth, and the next week, their first division title.

It's not supposed to happen like this. From worst to first in one season? Especially for a team that knew no different than worst. Losing was ingrained into this team's DNA. Yet there they were. Getting ready to face the White Sox in the first round. Surely a team so young and inexperienced would have trouble beating a team that won the World Series a few years previous. The doubters were still alive. Three wins later, and the Rays are in the ALCS and onto another color of Sox. As I'm writing this, the Tampa Bay Rays are up 3-1 on the defending champion Red Sox, one win away from the World Series, and I think of that game I went to just over two years ago. The same two teams, the same stadium, completely different place.

Now I am a Braves fan, always will be. But if you want to accuse me of being a bandwagon fan of the Rays that's fine, I'll just respond with "I'm driving the bandwagon." I make sure everyone knows what time the game is on. My sister is probably sick of getting text messages that say, "Big game tonight at 6." My mom is probably upset that I make them stop working on homework to go watch the TV at 11:00 at night. My dad has probably cared more about baseball the past week and a half then his entire life, and I'm making sure of it. This is Tampa, this is their city. And I have never been more proud to feel like I am a part of place I have never lived.

But I was there. I watched with my own eyes the home team get humiliated by their own city for the enjoyment of watching the away team. I was at the Ray's/Blue Jays game with Jeff when we could count the number of fans in the seats by the time the first inning ended. When I turned on the TV to watch game one of the ALCS between the Rays and Red Sox, I'm not embarrassed to say I almost had tears in my eyes to see what has happened there. Everyone knows that I love sports, but this is why. The way it can unite an entire city. The moment when you are high fiving and hugging complete strangers because your team just did something awesome. To see that place completely sold out, everyone decked out in Rays apparel, people with "Rayhawks" and cowbells, it's just amazing.

If this team wins the World Series (and I've watched every playoff game, and they are by far the best team), this will have to go down as one of the greatest accomplishments in the history of all sports. And while pretty much all my friends and people I know could care less about baseball and aren't even aware of what's happening, I don't care. Not only has this team taught me about unity and perseverance, they have also taught me that any "bad thing" can be turned into a "good thing."

For me personally, this has come full circle. And I find it quite ironic that it was the Red Sox the Rays played in my first game, the same team they are in the process of royally de-crowning. Now it's not over yet, and the Sox did come back from being down 3-1 last year to knock off the Indians. But this feels different. It seems as if all those years of Rays' futility is being taken out on the Red Sox (I mean come on, they are pounding them), and it's not going to stop here. In only seven playoff games, Evan Longoria is the youngest player to hit 5 home runs, BJ Upton, second youngest(It took Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris a combined 23 games to reach this). Crawford went 5-5 last game. They put up 9 runs on Josh Beckett, arguably one of the best postseason pitchers of all time, 9 runs on Lester, 13 on Wakefield. The pitching has been spectacular. I say "Bring on the Phillies" or "Bring on the Dodgers." It's only beginning. If you are reading this, it's not too late to get in on the action and make it a priority to watch this team play. I know, I know, it's baseball. It's lame, it's boring, it's outdated, it's overrun by steroids. And any casual fan, including Fox television, wanted a Red Sox/Dodgers series. But watch this for the Rays, you won't be disappointed.