Tampa Bay Rays Tickets
Buy Tampa Bay Rays Tickets & Support the Charro Foundation
After years of unsuccessful attempts at bringing a Major League Baseball franchise to St. Petersburg, Tampa Bay was finally rewarded for its efforts in 1995 when the MLB finally gave the area a team of its own. St. Petersburg had already created the Florida Suncoast Dome in 1990 in hopes that a new stadium would lure a team away from another city. Now St. Petersburg could use the stadium for a brand new franchise.
The team was named the Devil Rays and officially joined the Big Leagues in 1998 as a member of the American League East. Initial excitement in the Tampa Bay area was high but unfortunately that diminished as the team had problems winning ballgames. The first ten seasons of Tampa Bay Devil Rays baseball found the franchise in last place on nine occasions. The organization made a habit of grabbing star players well past their prime. The one bright spot in the midst of the first decade of baseball in St. Petersburg was on August 7, 1999, the date that Wade Boggs collected his 3000th hit, becoming the first player in history to do so by hitting a home run, ironic for a player that was a pure singles and doubles hitter his entire career. Boggs retired at the end of the year and his #12 is the only number retired by the franchise (other than Jackie Robinson’s #42 retired by the MLB for all teams).
Tampa Bay changed the name of its team to the Rays in 2008 along with a new logo and new team colors. The moves coincided with a dramatic turnaround by the ballclub led by manager Joe Maddon. The Tampa Bay Rays went from worst in the division to first with a 97-65 record led by Rookie of the Year Evan Longoria and Manager of the Year Joseph Maddon. In just their first year of postseason baseball the team beat the Chicago White Sox in the American League Division series, and division rival the Boston Red Sox in the American League Championship Series. The Rays would fall to the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series but the experience would prove to be essential as the Rays claimed its second AL East title in 2010 and first American League wild card berth in 2011.
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