TAMPA BAY RAYS

The Official History of the Tampa Bay Rays | Baseball Almanac

New teams in baseball have to pay dues before they enjoy success at the major league level. The amount varies from team to team. For the New York Mets, it was eight years of player development and growing pains; for Houston and San Diego it was much longer. On the other hand, Florida and Arizona enjoyed relatively quick success.

The Tampa Bay Rays opted to draft talented high school players such as Carl Crawford, Josh Hamilton, Rocco Baldelli and B.J. Upton. While they matured in the minors, the product in the majors suffered.

For years, local politicians and business leaders in St. Petersburg and Tampa tried to win a baseball franchise for central Florida. They made a heavy play for one of the expansion franchises in 1993, but lost to Denver and Miami. Having already built a domed stadium, these local leaders tried to lure the Chicago White Sox and later the San Francisco Giants to the Sunshine State. Both deals fell apart. Ironically, when the area was awarded a franchise for the 1998 season, the team was named for Tampa Bay although the domed stadium, now called Tropicana Field, is in St. Petersburg.

The Tampa Bay Devil Rays opened for business March 31, 1998, losing to the Detroit Tigers 11-6. The next day they scored their first-ever win, 11-8 against the same Tigers. The Devil Rays went for experience and veteran presence on their expansion roster, going for names such as Wade Boggs, Fred McGriff, Paul Sorrento, Wilson Alvarez and Roberto Hernandez. That strategy did not work. In fact, almost nothing Tampa Bay tried worked, finishing last in the American League East its first six seasons. The low point was a 55-106 record in 2002. Boggs and McGriff provided a few franchise highlights. Boggs recorded his 3,000th hit at Tropicana Field on August 7, 1999. It was a home run, making Boggs the first member of this exclusive club to homer for his milestone hit. McGriff had a stellar 1999 season for the Rays (32 home runs, 104 RBIs, .310 average) and hit his 400th career home run on June 2, 2000 against the Mets at Shea Stadium. In September of that year, McGriff hits his 200th career home run in the American League, making he and Frank Robinson the only two players to hit at least 200 homers in each league.

After five consecutive last place finishes, the Devil Rays hired hometown product Lou Piniella to manage for the 2003 season. In his first year the Rays made it six in a row in the cellar with 99 loses. In 2004, Piniella began to show some results, forging the team's young talent into a 42-41 record halfway through the season. The team's lack of depth caught up to it in the second half and it finished 70-91, but that was good for fourth place in the American League East. Among the young talent Piniella helped develop was Aubrey Huff, who hit .313 in 2002, then hit his stride in 2003 (34 home runs, 107 RBIs, .311 average) and 2004 (29 homers, 104 RBI batted in, .297) and the dynamic Crawford, who became a .301 hitter in 2005 and stole 55, 59 and 46 bases in his first three seasons.

After the strong first half and the fourth place finish in 2004, expectations were higher for 2005. The Devil Rays failed to deliver, regressing to a 67-95 record. A bright spot was Jorge Cantu, who burst on the scene with 28 home runs and 117 RBIs. Rookie Johnny Gomes also whacked 21 homers. However, Piniella resigned at season's end, sighting what he perceived as the team's lack of commitment to winning.

After Stuart Sternberg bought the team in 2005 from Vince Namoli, long-time Angels bench coach Joe Maddon took over as manager for the 2006 season. Two more losing seasons followed before Maddon's patient approach with the youngsters, along with astute drafting and trades from the new front office, transformed the once woebegone team into a contender.

TAMPA BAY RAYS HISTORY

What's in a name change? How about immediate success and a truly amazing Cinderella season. The Rays dropped the Devil from their name officially in 2008 and throughout the season were a devil of a team to beat, not only recording their first winning season, but advancing all the way to the World Series before losing to Philadelphia. They continued their new found success in 2010, winning the rugged American League East for the second time in three seasons.

At 29, Crawford was the graybeard among youthful stars such as Upton in center, third baseman Evan Longoria and pitchers David Price, James Shields, Jeff Niemann and Wade Davis. A key trade with Minnesota prior to the 2008 season also brought cagey shortstop Jason Bartlett and hard-throwing right-hander Matt Garza, who pitched the first no-hitter in franchise history in 2010.

Baseball Almanac Top Quote

"The big headline Bay Bombers with (Jose) Canseco, (Fred) McGriff, (Vinny) Castilla and (Greg) Vaughn all standing their with bats in hand. When you think about how many people will see that in super markets and on newsstands and then realize how many baseball fans subscribe to it, you can understand the importance of the Devil Rays to this entire Tampa Bay Area." - Dick Crippen

Tampa Bay Rays History

Tampa Bay Rays Official Logo

Tampa Bay Rays Official Logo

Tampa Bay Rays Franchise Facts

Tampa Bay Devil Rays Rosters | 1998 - 2007
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007  
Tampa Bay Rays Rosters | 2008 - Current
                2008 2009
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
2020 2021 2022 2023            
Bold Seasons : Uniform Numbers Worn
Tampa Bay Devil Rays Schedules | 1998 - 2007
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007  
Tampa Bay Rays Schedules | 2008 - Current
                2008 2009
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
2020 2021 2022 2023            
Bold Seasons : Box Scores Online
Tampa Bay Rays 100-Win Seasons
Year Record Manager
2021 100-62 Kevin Cash
Tampa Bay Rays 100 Loss Seasons
Year Record Manager
2001 62-100 Larry Rothschild
" " Hal McRae
2002 55-106 Hal McRae
2006 61-101 Joe Maddon
Tampa Bay Rays No-Hitters
Name IP Date
Matt Garza 9.0 07-26-2010
Bold = Perfect Game
Tampa Bay Rays Cycle Hitters
Name Inn. Date
B.J. Upton 9.0 10-02-2009
Evan Longoria 9.0 08-01-2017
Bold = Natural Cycle
Rays Cy Young Winners
Year Name Position
2012 David Price LHP
2018 Blake Snell LHP
Rays MVP Winners
Year Name Position
None n/a n/a
Rays Rookies of the Year
Year Name Position
2008 Evan Longoria 3B
2011 Jeremy Hellickson P
2013 Wil Myers OF
2021 Randy Arozarena OF
Rays Retired Numbers
# Name Position
12 Wade Boggs 3B
42 Jackie Robinson 2B
66 Don Zimmer Executive
Rays Batting Champions
Year Name #
2023 Yandy Díaz .330
Rays ERA Champions
Year Name #
2012 David Price 2.56
2018 Blake Snell 1.89
Rays Home Run Champions
Year Name #
2009 Carlos Pena 39
Rays Strikeout Champions
Year Name #
2007 Scott Kazmir 239
Rays Wild Cards
Year Record Manager
2011 91-71 Joe Maddon
2013 92-71 Joe Maddon
2019 96-66 Kevin Cash
2022 86-76 Kevin Cash
2023 99-63 Kevin Cash
Tampa Bay Rays East Division Titles
Year Record Manager
2008 97-65 Joe Maddon
2010 96-66 Joe Maddon
2021 100-62 Kevin Cash
Tampa Bay Rays A.L. Pennants
Year Record Manager
2008 97-65 Joe Maddon
Tampa Bay Rays World Championships
Year Opponent M.V.P.
None n/a n/a
Tampa Bay Rays Team Statistics Tool
Includes Hitting, Pitching & Fielding Stats
Tampa Bay Devil Rays Attendance Analysis
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Tampa Bay Devil Rays Expansion Draft Data
Tampa Bay Devil Rays Famous Firsts
Tampa Bay Devil Rays News
Tampa Bay Devil Rays Record Book
Tampa Bay Devil Rays Standings & Managers
Team-vs-Team Wins & Losses
Tropicana Field
Tampa Bay Rays Franchise Facts At-A-Glance
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TampaBayRaysWorldSeries
2008 WorldSeries

The Tampa Bay Rays played their first Major League game on March 31, 1998. Their opponent was the Detroit Tigers who quickly took an 11-to-0 lead before the Rays attempted a rally only to lose 11-to-6.

During the 2000 season a new three million dollar part-artificial turf, the first of its kind, was installed in Tropicana Field to reduce injuries.