Information
Tampa Bay Rays information. The Tampa Bay Rays are one of baseball's youngest franchises, coming into the league as an expansion team in 1998. Before the beginning of the season, the D-Rays acquired star players Fred McGriff, Wade Boggs, and Wilson Alvarez. However, even these players could not swing the bats hard enough to beat the Detroit Tigers in the team's opener. The Devil Rays lost the game 11-6, and the score was very telling of the years to come. The Devil Rays finished in last place in the American League East every year from
1998 to 2003 and have never had a winning season.
By the 2002 season, Tampa had decided to adopt a new strategy of harvesting young players and slashing the payroll. Aubrey Huff, Toby Hall and Randy Winn all began to emerge as vital players. In 2003, under the new management of the great Lou Piniella, Carl Crawford emerged as one of the greatest young players of his time. Piniella soon became frustrated with the performance of the Rays, noting that the team was not playing at the level that it was capable of. The strategy of a young roster wasn't working the way owners projected, at least for the time being.
The 2007-2008 off season served as very essential to Tampa Bay's future success. They revealed new uniforms along with a new name going from the 'Devil Rays' shortened to simply the 'Rays.' The franchise kept most of the 2007 roster in place, signing and trading for key players such as Matt Garza, Jason Bartlett, and Eduardo Morlan. They also acquired veteran relief pitcher Troy Percival, right fielder Cliff Floyd, and #1 draft pick David Price.
Going into the 2008 season the Rays had confidence and was hungry to show that they truly were contenders, even if no one else would believe it. The spring season served as productive as they walked away with a club record 18 wins. Things seemed bright going into April until injuries came into play, resulting in a struggling record around .500 for the month. In May the Rays were back in full effect and despite everyone's belief had the best record in major league baseball at 31-20 going into June. By the end of the season they held on to win their first ever AL East division title at 97-65. In the franchises first playoff appearance they went all the way to the World Series. They beat out the White Sox in the ALDS, and continued on to edge out the Red Sox in a 7 game ALCS battle.
Tampa Bay's historic run ended as they lost to the Philadelphia Phillies after 5 games in the World Series. The 2009 season looks hopeful after their recent success and a roster that can only get better. The Yankees and Red Sox will again be top contenders to try and regain the division. 2009 will be different as the best rivalry in sports between the Sox and Yankees adds another team to the mix. Look for Tampa Bay to have another great season.
