Tampa Bay Rays
Buy Tampa Bay Rays Tickets & Support the Charro Foundation
A new era of expansion in Major League Baseball occurred in 1995. That year MLB awarded franchises to Arizona and St. Petersburg, Florida. St. Petersburg had been trying to get a Major League Baseball franchise as far back as the 1960’s. The Florida Suncoast Dome (now Tropicana Field) was even built in 1990 solely for the purpose of luring a franchise to the city. It appeared for a time in 1992 that the San Francisco Giants would move to St. Petersburg. That deal fell through. Fortunately for the Tampa Bay area St. Petersburg was finally successful three years later.
The original name of the team was the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The team used a devil ray logo on its jerseys and had a tank of cownose rays beyond the outfield of Tropicana Field. Tampa Bay is not the actual city name for the team. It represents the cities of Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater and Bradenton, all which surround a body of water known as Tampa Bay.
The Tampa Bay Devil Rays did not play well at all. The franchise finished in last place in the American League East nine of its first ten seasons in the league and was rarely even close to climbing out of the cellar. Ironically, success on the field came when ownership changed the name of the franchise from the Devil Rays to simply the Rays. The Devil Rays logo was still on the sleeves of the jersey but the logo no longer was the dominant image of the team.
Since the name change the Tampa Bay Rays have won two American League East titles in 2008 and 2010 and captured the AL wild card in 2011. The team was highly successful during its first ever playoffs run in 2008, winning its first American League pennant before losing in its first trip to the World Series.
During the regular season or spring training Tampa Bay Rays fans can purchase Rays tickets through this website and help out a great charity while doing so. The Charro Foundation is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization which works to strengthen the quality of education in the community and create opportunities for both students and educators to make a difference in the lives of the youth of the community. Enjoy America’s pastime and support a great charity in the process by purchasing Rays tickets on this website!
