2008 Tampa Bay Rays: Fun Baseball

2008 Tampa Bay Rays: Fun Baseball

2008 Tampa Bay Rays: Fun Baseball

Joe Maddon was in his 3rd year as the manager of the Tampa Bay Rays, and he was in the process of changing a culture that had seen nothing but losing baseball games ever since the franchise began its operations in 1998. Maddon, an advocate of advanced statistics, managed games differently compared to other managers as he would play whoever had the hot bat at the the plate. He could also get his players to have fun as well as he would bring out exotic animals to the clubhouse for them to observe and pet.

The Rays went 97-65 in 2008, winning the American League East division by 2 games over their bitter rivals the Boston Red Sox, whom they would get involved with in a brawl or two. The Rays went 14-12 in April, 19-10 in May, 16-10 in June, 13-12 in July, and 21-7 in August, only stumbling in September with a 13-14 record.

Catcher Dioner Navarro batted .295 with 7 home runs, 126 hits and 27 doubles. Shortstop Jason Bartlett batted .286 with 130 hits, 25 doubles, 3 triples and 20 stolen bases. Second baseman Akinori Iwamura batted .274 with 6 home runs, 172 hits, 30 doubles, 9 triples and 8 stolen bases. Center fielder Melvin “B.J.” Upton batted .273 with 9 home runs, 145 hits, 37 doubles, 2 triples and 44 stolen bases. Left fielder Carl Crawford batted .273 with 8 home runs, 121 hits, 12 doubles, 10 triples and 25 stolen bases.

Third baseman Evan Longoria batted .272 with 27 home runs and 85 RBI’s off 122 hits, 31 doubles, 2 triples and 7 stolen bases. First baseman Carlos Pena had 31 home runs and 102 RBI’s off 121 hits, 24 doubles and 2 triples. Right fielder Gabe Gross had 13 home runs and 13 doubles. Designated Hitter Cliff Floyd had 11 home runs and 13 doubles. Utility player Eric Hinske had 20 home runs and 60 RBI’s off 94 hits, 21 doubles and 10 stolen bases in 133 games. Utility player Willy Aybar had 10 home runs and 17 doubles.

From top to bottom, Tampa Bay had a reliable pitching staff. Starting pitcher James Shields went 14-8 with 160 strikeouts and a 3.56 ERA, recording 3 complete games and 2 shutouts. Andy Sonnanstine went 13-9 with 124 strikeouts and recorded 1 complete game and 1 shutout. Matt Garza went 11-9 with 128 strikeouts and a 3.70 ERA, recording 3 complete games and 2 shutouts. Edwin Jackson went 14-11 with 108 strikeouts. Scott Kazmir went 12-8 with 166 strikeouts and a 3.49 ERA. Closer Troy Percival recorded 28 saves. Relief pitcher Dan Wheeler recorded 13 saves and had a 3.12 ERA. J.P. Howell went 6-1 with 3 saves and a 2.22 ERA. Grant Balfour went 6-2 with 4 saves and a 1.54 ERA.

The Tampa Bay Rays faced the Chicago White Sox in the American League Division Series, and they took Game 1 on October 2 at Tropicana Field by the score of 6-4. Evan Longoria hit a solo home run in the bottom of the 2nd inning, but White Sox left fielder DeWayne Wise responded by blasting a 3-run home run in the top of the 3rd. Akinori Iwamura had an RBI triple in the bottom of the 3rd, followed by Willy Aybar hitting a sacrifice fly and Longoria hitting another solo home run. Longoria and Carl Crawford then had RBI singles in the bottom of the 5th to give the Rays the win.

In Game 2 on October 3 the Rays won 6-2. Chicago designated hitter Jim Thome had an RBI single in the top of the 1st inning, followed by a sacrifice fly hit by second baseman Alexei Ramirez. In the bottom of the 2nd Dioner Navarro had an RBI single. In the bottom of the 5th Iwamura crushed a 2-run home run. In the bottom of the 8th Crawford had an RBI single, and designated hitter Rocco Baldelli followed with his own RBI single. Navarro topped it off with an RBI double.

In Game 3 on October 5 at U.S. Cellular Field, the White Sox beat the Rays 5-3. Iwamura had an RBI single in the top of the 2nd inning, but Chicago catcher A.J. Pierzynski responded in the bottom of the 3rd with his own RBI single. Ramirez then hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 4th, followed by a 2-run double hit by Wise. White Sox third baseman Juan Uribe had an RBI single in the bottom of the 6th, and B.J. Upton’s 2-run home run in the top of the 7th wouldn’t be enough.

The Rays promptly responded by closing out the White Sox in Game 4 on October 6 with a 6-2 victory. B.J. Upton continued to blast home runs as he hit solo shots in the top of the 1st and 3rd innings, and in the top of the 4th Cliff Floyd had an RBI double, followed by a Navarro RBI single. White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko hit a solo home run in the bottom of the 4th, but then Carlos Pena showed up with RBI singles in the top of the 5th and 7th innings. Right fielder Jermaine Dye hit a solo home run in the bottom of the 6th, but the game, and series, had been decided.

In the American League Championship Series, the Rays would have to battle the Boston Red Sox once more in a hard fought 7-game affair. The Red Sox spoiled the Rays’ return to Tropicana Field in Game 1 on October 10 by beating them 2-0. Boston starter Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched 7 innings and gave up 4 hits and 4 walks, but recorded 9 strikeouts. Red Sox shortstop Jed Lowrie hit a sacrifice fly in the top of the 5th inning, and then third baseman Kevin Youkilis had an RBI double in the top of the 8th.

The Rays came back to win Game 2 on October 11 in a 9-8 thriller. Left fielder Jason Bay got Boston on the board first with a 2-run double in the top of the 1st inning, but Longoria evened the score in the bottom of the 1st by smacking a 2-run home run. In the top of the 3rd second baseman Dustin Pedroia hit a solo home run, and Tampa Bay responded in the bottom of the 3rd with a solo home run by Upton and an RBI single by Crawford. Floyd hit a solo home run in the bottom of the 4th, and then Boston roared back in the top of the 5th with 3 solo home runs by Pedroia, Youkilis and Bay. Pena then had an RBI single in the bottom of the 5th, followed by a Longoria RBI double and a Crawford RBI single. Bay had an RBI single in the top of the 6th and then during a Bay at-bat in the top of the 8th, a wild pitch was thrown to score Pedroia, tying the game at 8-8. Upton’s sacrifice fly to score Fernando Perez in the bottom of the 11th ended this classic game.

Going to Boston’s Fenway Park on October 13, the Rays crushed the Red Sox 9-1 in Game 3. Navarro had an RBI ground-out in the top of the 2nd inning, Upton blasted a 3-run home run in the top of the 3rd, and Longoria followed with a solo home run. Center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 7th, and that would be all for the Red Sox. Rocco Baldelli crushed a 3-run home run in the top of the 8th, and then Pena hit a solo home run in the top of the 9th.

The Rays then crushed the Red Sox again in Game 4 on October 14 by the score of 13-4. The main highlights of Tampa Bay’s offensive explosion involved Carlos Pena’s 2-run home run in the top of the 1st inning, followed by an Evan Longoria solo home run. Willy Aybar then smoked a 2-run home run in the top of the 3rd, and the flood gates opened in the top of the 6th. B.J. Upton had an RBI single, Longoria drew a bases loaded walk to score Iwamura, Crawford and Aybar had RBI singles, and Navarro had an RBI ground-out.

In another high-scoring battle, the Rays fell to the Red Sox in Game 5 on October 16 by the score of 8-7. Upton smacked a 2-run home run in the top of the 1st inning, and Pena blasted a 2-run home run in the top of the 3rd, followed by a Longoria solo home run. Upton then had a 2-run double in the top of the 7th, and all seemed well for Tampa Bay, However, Boston roared back again. In the bottom of the 7th Dustin Pedroia had an RBI single, and designated hitter David Ortiz, who had been quiet up until this point, obliterated a 3-run home run. Right fielder J.D. Drew crushed a 2-run home run in the bottom of the 8th, followed by a RBI single hit by center fielder Coco Crisp, and then Drew came back in the bottom of the 9th to hit the game-winning RBI single.

Returning to Tropicana Field for Game 6 on October 18, the Rays lost again 4-2. Upton hit a solo home run in the top of the 1st, but Kevin Youkilis responded with his own solo home run in the top of the 2nd. Ortiz had an RBI ground-out in the top of the 3rd, and then Jason Bartlett’s bat woke up in the bottom of the 5th with a solo home run shot. Catcher Jason Varitek hit a solo home run in the top of the 6th, and Ortiz followed with an RBI single.

The Rays would finally put the Red Sox away in Game 7 on October 19 with a 3-1 victory. Pedroia’s solo home run in the top of the 1st inning would be Boston’s only run. Longoria had an RBI double in the bottom of the 4th, Baldelli had an RBI single in the bottom of the 5th, and Aybar hit a solo home run in the bottom of the 7th.

The Tampa Bay Rays ultimately fell short of their goal as they lost the 2008 World Series to the Philadelphia Phillies 4 games to 1, but that didn’t stop the cities of Tampa and St. Petersburg from celebrating the team’s tremendous success in 2008 afterward as a parade would still be held for the Rays. Tampa Bay’s only win came in Game 2 on October 23 as they beat the Phillies 4-2. Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria grounded out in the bottom of the 1st inning to score runs. Pena would get an RBI and Longoria’s play was an unearned run. B.J. Upton had an RBI single in the bottom of the 2nd, and Jason Bartlett dropped a successful sacrifice bunt to score 3 Pinch-hitting utility player Eric Bruntlett hit a solo home run for Philadelphia in the top of the 8th, and right fielder Jason Werth reached on an error to score catcher Carlos Ruiz.

2008 marked the first year in which the rest of Major League Baseball could take the Tampa Bay Rays seriously, and part of the credit belongs to the basic fundamentals of baseball and fun promoted by manager Joe Maddon.