Once again, I am so wanting to rant about so many things. So much going on this country that is just wrong, wrong, wrong, but again I am refraining from cutting loose because there are too many good things, happy things and fun things happening to help us all through these rough times.  So, let’s take a deep breath, smile and bear with me while I talk about my fantastic Tampa Bay Rays.

I have been a baseball fan since the early 1940’s, have played the game in high school, have been around, and in, the game in various capacities, spent a number of years coaching in LL, have been working on a baseball book for a few years and had the pleasure to work for two ML organizations. But on that day in 1996 when it was announced the Tampa Bay had been selected as an expansion team in the American League I became an instant fan and that has not wavered once since that day. I, like many other Rays fans, have been through the good, the bad and the ugly over the past twenty five years and I wouldn’t trade those emotions for anything. They have brought me some tears and anguish, but they have also brought me a ton of smiles, cheers and great emotional highs as well.

To see them go from a very bad, to a pretty bad, to somewhat improving team in the early 2000’s then onto that magical year of 2008 was quite a ride. Bringing Joe Maddon in to manage and a new ownership group changed the entire culture of the team from the front office down to the playing field. Suddenly we could really identify with players who really meant something and showed what that Rays could be. Crawford, Upton, Longoria, Pena, Price, Shields, Garza and so many more that made all those teams so special and that 2008 year so magical. Then another change took place in 2016 when Maddon left and GM Andrew Friedman headed for the Dodgers. Former major leaguer and Tampa product, Kevin Cash was brought in as the manager. All he did was take what Maddon had done to change the culture of the team and the way they would approach the game and refined it with ideas and inventive ways of his own like the opener, the 4 man outfield, dramatic shifts and so much more. He surrounded himself with solid coaches who bought into, and believed in the “Rays Way”.

While that was all taking place on the field the RFO now under the direction of Matt Silverman and Erik Neander continued the practice of making trades and deals that were, in many cases, head scratchers, but always seemed to pay off. A number of players who had not done well elsewhere suddenly blossomed in Tampa Bay. The RFO became very adept of searching out trade partners to get a lot for very little. We could do an entire article on just those trades and signings over the years that have paid off since Cash’s arrival. Suffice to say, the Rays have made the post season four years in a row, went to the World series in the 2020 COVID shortened year, won 100 games in 2021 and have been one of the winningest teams in MLB in the past five years. But I don’t think anyone, maybe not even Cash or the players was prepared for what has happened to this point in 2023.

To begin with, while hopes were very high for this year with top notch pitching with McClanahan, Springs, Rasmussen, the addition of Eflin, plus an offense/defense unit with Diaz, Wander, Arozarena, Paredes and others that looked to be very solid, nobody expected to see what happened. First who thought we’d lose both Springs and Rasmussen to season end injuries? But despite that the Rays kept on winning and finding ways to patch up the pitching. The return of Glasnow from TJS was a big boost and the showing of rookie Taj Bradley has been a big plus. They went on a tear offensively and are currently tied for the ML lead with 113 home runs and lead the ML in stolen bases with 89 with Wander Franco accounting for 23 of them. They started off by winning their first 13 gamers, currently sit at 48-22 with a 4 game lead, every player of the team except fill in Vidal Brujan has 2 home runs or more, with seven of them in double figures. They lead the ML in extra base hits and can beat you with speed, power, defense and pitching. Here we are 70 games into the season and guess what? The Rays have been in first places every single day since the season began.

Yes, they have hit a little bump in the road on this west coast road trip with two losses to the Oakland A’s, but still with all they have done thus far, it is going to be very interesting and exciting what the Rays will accomplish in the final 92 games left in the season. Is this the year the Rays final get that one banner they have yet to raise at the Trop? I truly believe this team hasn’t even played their very best yet and, yes I truly believe they can win the World Series in 2023. It has been and will continue to be an unforgettable, exciting, record breaking year for our Tampa Bay Rays…………………..RAYS UP!!!

Art Koch, National Features & DVD Editor, NightMoves Magazine and AAN