The Rays congratulate each other after beating the Red Sox 13-4 in Game 4 of the ALCS.Photo courtesy of espn.com
Maybe there’s an argument for changing the name of a sports franchise after all. I’ll admit, at first I was resentful of the removal of “devil” from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. If any struggling franchise should reinvent itself through a name change, it should be the Washington Redskins. Could a name be more politically incorrect?
A ray is too abstract for a mascot anyway. I don’t even know what their mascot looks like. I just know they have a little sunbeam on their uniforms. But nevertheless it wasn’t the Skins who transformed, it was the Rays. And who can argue with the results? The Rays were the perennial bottom-feeders of the American League East. Then seemingly out of nowhere, they chopped their name in half, fired their manager, and finished in first place.
It’s hard not to root for this team in the playoffs. They are a rare example of a small market team that slowly but surely built themselves into playoff contenders. I’ve never been one to root for the underdogs just because they’re the underdogs. I have to like the team, and being considered not as good as their opponent isn’t a good enough reason.
These Rays though are pretty impressive. They’ve made smart management decisions since 1999 when they drafted two-time All-Star outfielder Carl Crawford and this season when they called up rookie All-Star Evan Longoria.
Now they’re even breaking records. The good stat people at TBS informed American League Championship Series Game 4 viewers that with Tuesday’s shellacking of the Red Sox, the Rays have scored at least nine runs in three consecutive games. That’s a first in MLB playoff history. Plus, two of these games were at Fenway Park. Now that is awesome.
It was a shame to see the teams with the best records in each league, the Angels and the Cubs, lose so early in October. Now that they’re gone, I’ll be pulling for the renamed and reinvigorated Tampa Bay Rays.
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