It was the last day of the 2007 baseball season for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. They were 30 games back in the American League East, and were losing 4 to 2 to the Toronto Blue Jays. Fortunately for Tampa Bay, after four straight losses, they managed to scrape up a win with five runs in the top of the sixth inning. However, they still ended up coming in last place in their division for the ninth time in their ten year existence. So how did they manage to make it all the way to the playoffs the next season? It all started when the Tampa Bay Devil Rays became the Tampa Bay Rays.
The new name for Tampa Bay baseball came with a new logo, new uniforms, and new team colors. The owners of the team planned to create a whole new image for the Rays. "We are now the 'Rays' - a beacon that radiates throughout Tampa Bay and across the entire state of Florida," said Stuart Sternberg, the team's principal owner. "Tampa Bay and the Sunshine State are beautiful places. We want the Rays to reflect the best our region has to offer."
However, it wasn’t only the team’s colors that made them great; it was the expert trading and free-agent signing that improved the Rays. Tampa Bay traded with the Minnesota Twins for players Matt Garza, Jason Bartlett, and Eduardo Morlan. They also signed veterans Cliff Floyd and Troy Percival, in addition to new prospect David Price. These new players, in addition to older, maturing ones helped lead the Rays to victory. Manager Joe Maddon came up with an odd new slogan for the 2008 season, “9=8”. This slogan is meant to emphasize that nine players playing their hardest for nine innings could lead to the Rays becoming one of the eight postseason teams.
The Rays finished Spring Training with 18 wins, a club record, which was also the highest winning percentage of the Grapefruit League. On April 2, 2008, Tampa Bay played their first game of the season, and it was time for all of their effort to pay off. Unfortunately, the first two months of the season were not the best. The Rays suffered through quite a few injuries in April, and they were barely winning more games than they were losing. By the middle of May, the Rays were 2.5 games back from the Boston Red Sox for first place.
Fortunately, their luck changed when rookie Evan Longoria joined their lineup. While Longoria wasn’t originally included in the Tampa Bay roster, he was called up from the minors early into the season. Longoria would soon become a fan favorite and a star player for the Rays.
Following his arrival, the team improved dramatically. Their various victories include 3-game sweeps against the Toronto Blue Jays and the Red Sox. By Memorial Day, the Rays were in first place in the American League East with the best record in Major League Baseball. They finished the month 12 games over .500, had the best record in their league, and led their division by one game.
Though they had some struggles during the next few months, the Rays managed to take the lead in their division. In August, they passed their previous franchise record of 70 wins in one season, with almost a month left of the season. On September 20th, the Tampa Bay Rays clinched the playoffs for the first time in the team’s 10-year history. The “9=8” dream had come true at last.
On October 2, Tampa Bay played, and won, their very first postseason game. As if making the playoffs wasn’t good enough, the Rays went on to win their postseason series against the Chicago White Sox 3 games to 1. They advanced to the American League Championship Series, where they were reunited with their AL East rivals, the Boston Red Sox.
Despite gaining a quick 3-1 series lead, the rest of the series was a struggle. The next two games were won by Boston, tying up the series 3 to 3 with one game left. The championship series between these two teams turned out even closer than their division battle, but like the first time, Tampa Bay came out on top.
Under the guidance of manager Joe Maddon, the Rays found themselves in the World Series their very first time in the playoffs. On October 22, they began the epic series against the Philadelphia Phillies. Unfortunately, the series did not go as well as the Rays had hoped. Philadelphia beat Tampa Bay 4 games to 1 and won the World Series Trophy. Though they couldn’t make 9 equal 1, the Rays had a great team, a great manager, and great players. They played their hardest to get to the world series, and for that they’ve earned the respect of baseball fans across the country.