Take Me Out to the Ball Game -- Rays v. Yankees

With my nephew TJ

If you've spent more than 15 minutes with me, you probably know that I'm a big Tampa Bay Rays fan. Admittedly, it hasn't been hard to be a fan during my tenure. I started watching the Rays when my dad was living with me early on in the pandemic. It was summer, and what else was there to do while quarantining with a 90 year old man? And so we watched the Rays, who made it to the World Series in that year's reduced 60 game season. What an introduction to the sport! 

I've learned that it's not always quite that much fun to be a fan. But the Rays have been strong contenders since that 2020 season. This year they started off 13-0. It was thrilling. Then they went 8-16 in July. It was utterly depressing. They've suffered injury after injury but keep finding a way to come back. And, knock on wood, it looks pretty certain they'll make the playoffs again this year. All on a $79 million payroll compared to, say, the Yankees' $279 million payroll. Yes, that's a $200 million differential. 

I had the chance to see those two teams face off live and in person last week. Jeff and Amanda Bray, my wonderful realtors, gave me tickets to the game for Christmas. And so my nephew TJ and I headed to Tropicana Field for an up close and personal baseball experience. 

We got there early to walk the concourse and see the complex. I was surprised -- and extremely curious -- to see "Museum" listed on some of the signage. Needless to say, we had to check it out.

The "Museum" is comprised of several alcoves replete with memorabilia. The team is only 25 years old and began its existence as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Apparently they wanted to be the Stingrays but the name was already trademarked by a winter league team in Hawaii. It doesn't seem like there'd be much chance of confusion between the (now defunct) Maui Stingrays and the Tampa Bay Stingrays, but trademark law wasn't my practice area. Not everyone was happy, though, with the "devil" being invoked by the team. And so, when a new owner came in in 2007, he agreed to shorten the team's name to "Tampa Bay Rays." The team wears throwback jerseys occasionally, and some of the players say it brings them luck. 

"Wild: Evan Longoria and the Rays" by John T. Ritter (2023)

The assortment of collectibles ranged from bottled field dirt and used bases from the 2020 World Series to old newspaper articles to images of the team's most famous players. Evan Longoria is one of the team's big names, and there was both a sculpture of Longoria in the Museum and a painting of him in the small art exhibit that opened that day in the concourse. (You read that right -- there was an art exhibit at the stadium. Clearly our outing was meant to be.)

   

Commentators talk about "legend" Evan Longoria, but I've never taken the time to check out why. Suffice it to say there's a reason superlatives are used with his name. The third baseman played for the Rays from 2008-2017 and holds the franchise records for home runs (261), runs batted in (892), walks (569) and runs (780). He was hot from the start, winning American League Rookie of the Year and being named MVP his first four seasons. His stats are helped by the fact that he missed a mere 12 games from 2013-2017. That is insane given the number of injuries players suffer. I am officially impressed and now understand why the painting of Longoria in the exhibit contain's commentator Dewayne Staats' trademark cry of "that ball is gone." For more from the Ray's Artist Series, click here. 

Of course, we were actually there to watch the game. Sadly, that was much less interesting. We had fantastic seats, fewer than 20 rows back and directly behind home plate. All the better to watch pitch after pitch being thrown by both the Rays' Zach Eflin and the Yankees' Gerrit Cole with little offense. 

At the end of the day, each pitcher had 11 strike-outs. I get that some people enjoy watching a pitchers' duel, but some action would have been appreciated. During Sunday's game of the series, Randy Arozarena scored a run without anyone getting a hit. He was walked, stole second base, went to third when the Yankees overthrew second trying to get him out, and slid into home safely after the Yankees overthrew third trying to get him out.  For video of that crazy sequence, click here. Now THAT'S exciting baseball. In the eighth inning Arozarena was hit by a pitch (intentionally?) and the benches cleared -- not once, but twice. Again, pretty exciting. Friday night's game, not so much. Plus the Yankees ended up winning that night. 

Rays' Zach Eflin on the mound

Still, going to see the Rays in person was a great outing. I now better understand the stadium and the baseball-colored dome that is often mentioned as a factor in catching fly balls. (The Trop is an indoor venue. It was actually a bit chilly.) I thoroughly enjoyed being in the stands and rooting for my team. But am I a convert to live v. televised baseball? Nope. From the comfort of my couch the game is much more dramatic. You see close ups of the players' faces, the intensity in their eyes and the tension in their stances. You apppreciate more fully how difficult it is for a player to run down a ball that goes to the wall. You get a peek into the dug out and see manager Kevin Cash maintaining his cool at (almost) all times. (Cash was ejected from an earlier game this season against the Yankees when he went slightly ballistic after Arozarena was hit in two at bats after hitting a home run in the first inning. Coincidence? I think not, and neither did Cash.) And I get to listen to the team's announcers call the game, providing both insights and some laughs. What can I say? I get attached. 

Here's to America Favorite Pastime (a label given to baseball back in the 1850s, but that's a story for another day). Go, Rays!