Name Tampa Bay Rays (2008–present) Tampa Bay Devil Rays (1998–2007) Other nicknames D-Rays (1998-2007) Ballpark Tropicana Field (1998–present) Major league titles World Series titles (0) AL Pennants (1) 2008 Division titles (2) 2008, 2010 Wild card berths (1) 2011 Owner(s): Stuart Sternberg Manager: Joe Maddon General Manager: Andrew Friedman The Tampa Bay Rays are a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays are a member of the Eastern Division of MLB's American League. Since their inception in 1998, the club has played at Tropicana Field and has finished out of last place only four times. Their first season with a winning record was 2008, when they won their first division title and proceeded to win the pennant. In November 2007, majority owner Stuart Sternberg made significant changes to his franc! hise's image, changing the club's name from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays to the "Tampa Bay Rays", which he described as "a beacon that radiates throughout Tampa Bay and across the entire state of Florida."[1] The teams' primary colors, formerly black, green, and blue, were changed to navy blue, Columbia blue, and gold, and the team's symbol was changed from a devil ray to a ray of sunlight . The devil ray symbol, however, is still used on the sleeve of their jerseys, and there is still a tank of cownose rays in the outfield. Contents 1 Professional baseball in Tampa Bay 2 History 2.1 Before 1998 2.2 1998–2003: Early years as the Devil Rays 2.3 2004–2007 2.4 2008: New name, uniforms, outlook, and results 2.5 2009 2.6 2010 2.7 2011 3 Current roster 4 Season results 5 Team salaries 6 Rivals 6.1 AL East 6.2 Citrus Series 7 Ballparks 7.1 Tropicana Field 7.2 New ballpark 8 Uniforms 8.1 Current uniforms 8.2 Past uniforms 8.3 "Turn Back the Clock" Nights 9 Team media 9.! 1 Radio 9.2 Television 9.3 Awards 9.4 The Rookie 10 Rays fando! m 10.1 T he Happy Heckler 10.2 More Cowbell 10.3 Professional wrestlers 11 Team slogans 12 Minor league affiliations 13 Awards, league leaders, and individual records 13.1 Baseball Hall of Famers 13.2 Retired numbers 13.3 Rookie of the Year 13.4 Gold Glove Award 13.5 Silver Slugger Award 13.6 Comeback Player of the Year 13.7 Manager of the Year 13.8 Tony Conigliaro Award 13.9 DHL Hometown Heroes (2006) 13.10 Team awards 13.11 Selected individual franchise single-season records 14 Footnotes 15 See also 16 References 17 External links [edit] Professional baseball in Tampa Bay See also: Baseball in the Tampa Bay area The name "Tampa Bay" is often used to describe a geographic metropolitan area which encompasses the cities around the body of water known as Tampa Bay, including Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater, and Bradenton. Unlike in the case of Green Bay, Wisconsin, there is no municipality known as "Tampa Bay". The "Tampa Bay" in the names of local professional sports franchises (Ray! s, Rowdies, Buccaneers, Lightning, etc.) denotes that they represent the entire region, not just Tampa or St. Petersburg. Civic leader and St. Petersburg Times publisher, Jack Lake, first suggested St. Petersburg pursue a Major League baseball team in the 1960s. The notable influences Lake held in the sport are what led to the serious discussions that changed St. Petersburg from a spring training location to a major league city. He spoke to anyone who would listen about his desire to see the city of St. Petersburg have a Major league baseball team. His colorful direction dominated the mindset in both sports and business circles dating back to 1966. He was said to have the foresight and prominence to make it happen. Local leaders made many unsuccessful attempts to acquire a major league baseball team in the 1980s and 1990s. The Minnesota Twins, San Francisco Giants, Chicago White Sox, Texas Rangers, and Seattle Mariners all considered moving to either Tampa or St. Petersburg! before deciding to remain in their current locations. The Flo! rida Sun coast Dome (now named Tropicana Field) was built in St. Petersburg in 1990 with the purpose of luring a major league team. When MLB announced that it would add two expansion teams for the 1993 season, it was widely assumed that one of the teams would be placed in the Dome. However, in addition to the application from St. Petersburg, a competing group applied to field a team in Tampa, prompting much conflict over the bid. The two National League teams were awarded to Denver (Colorado Rockies) and Miami (Florida Marlins) instead. In 1992, San Francisco Giants owner Bob Lurie agreed in principle to sell his team to a Tampa Bay based group of investors led by Vince Naimoli, who would then move the team to St. Petersburg. However, at the 11th hour, MLB owners nixed the move under pressure from San Francisco officials and the Giants were sold to a group that kept them in San Francisco.[2] Finally, on March 9, 1995, new expansion franchises were awarded to Naimoli's Tampa Bay group! and a group from Phoenix (the Arizona Diamondbacks). The new franchises were scheduled to begin play in 1998. The Tampa Bay area finally had a team, but the stadium in St. Petersburg was already in need of an upgrade. In 1993, the stadium was renamed the Thunderdome and became the home of the Tampa Bay Lightning hockey team and the Tampa Bay Storm Arena Football League team. After the birth of the Rays, the naming rights were sold to Tropicana Products and $70 million was spent on renovations. [edit] History [edit] Before 1998 The Devil Rays began to build their organization shortly after the franchise was awarded in 1995 by naming former Atlanta Braves assistant general manager Chuck LaMar the senior vice president of baseball operations and general manager. The franchise's first minor league games took place in the 1996 season. On November 7, 1997, Larry Rothschild was named the team's first manager. The team acquired 35 players in the Expansion Draft on November 18, 199! 7. Tony Saunders from the Florida Marlins was the first player! drafted by the Devil Rays. The team also drafted future star Bobby Abreu but traded him to the Philadelphia Phillies for Kevin Stocker, who had very little success for the Rays. Before the 1998 season, veteran stars Wade Boggs, Fred McGriff, and Wilson Alvarez were acquired. [edit] 1998–2003: Early years as the Devil Rays Original logo of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, used from 1998–2000. The Devil Rays played their first game on March 31, 1998 against the Detroit Tigers at Tropicana Field before a crowd of 45,369. Wilson Alvarez threw the first pitch and Wade Boggs hit the first home run in team history that day. Despite losing their opening game 11–6, the team actually got off to a respectable start and were 11–8 after 19 before losing six straight and falling below .500. They would go on to lose 99 games that year. One of the first memorable moments in franchise history occurred on August 7, 1999 when Wade Boggs tallied his 3000th career hit on a home run, the first player t! o ever do so.[3] Boggs retired after the season and is the only Ray with his number retired. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005. The Devil Rays acquired sluggers Vinny Castilla, Jose Canseco and Greg Vaughn along with incumbent Fred McGriff this quartet was dubbed the "Hit Show." However, all of these players were past their prime and unable to sustain their previous successes. The Rays continued to struggle in 1999 and 2000. Prior to the 2001 season, the Rays modified their team colors and uniforms and also acquired highly-touted outfielder Ben Grieve from Oakland. Early in the 2001 season, Larry Rothschild was fired as manager and was replaced by Hal McRae and McGriff was dealt to the Chicago Cubs. By the 2002 season, the Devil Rays decided to build with younger players and drastically reduced the team payroll. Randy Winn, Aubrey Huff, Toby Hall, and Carl Crawford began to emerge as key players. However, the 2002 season would prove to be the worst in f! ranchise history to date. McRae was moved to a front office po! sition a fter the season. Before the 2003 season, the team traded Randy Winn to the Seattle Mariners for the right to negotiate with manager Lou Piniella, a Tampa native, who managed winning teams at every stop in his managerial career, including the New York Yankees, the Cincinnati Reds (whom he led to a World Championship in 1990), and the Mariners. Piniella was attracted to the Tampa Bay job because of the proximity to his family and the chance to build a losing franchise into a winner as he had done in Seattle. Piniella's first team still finished last, but was seven games better than the 2002 team. A highlight of the 2003 season was the emergence of Rocco Baldelli, a native of Rhode Island, as one of the top rookies in the major leagues. [edit] 2004–2007 Tampa Bay Devil Rays logo, used from 2001–2007. Entering the 2004 season expectations for the Devil Rays were low, but the team won 70 games for the first time and finished in 4th place in the American League East, out of la! st place for the first time. Entering May, the team was 10–28 before going on to win 30 of 40 games, including a team-record 12 game winning streak. The Devil Rays peaked at 42–41 but the team was unable to sustain that success and finished 21 games below .500. Following a 28–61 record at the All-Star Break in 2005, the Devil Rays went 39–34 for a final record of 67–95. Carl Crawford and newcomers Jorge Cantu and Jonny Gomes led a productive offense that finished third in the American League in team batting average. However, the pitching staff had the second worst ERA in the American League. Despite the promising finish, Lou Piniella became frustrated with what he perceived as an insufficient commitment to winning by the ownership group, and he r
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