Tampa Bay Rays are a professional baseball team that plays in the American League (AL) East division of Major League Baseball (MLB). The team plays its home games at Tropicana Field, a domed stadium in Saint Petersburg , Florida , a city on the gulf coast of Tampa Bay. The team, originally known as the Devil Rays, began play as an AL expansion team in 1998. The team name was shortened to Rays after the 2007 season.
Tampa Bay suffered through its first 10 MLB seasons, never finishing higher than fourth place in the AL East. The newly renamed Rays shocked the baseball world in 2008, however, by winning 97 games—tops in the AL East—and taking the AL pennant. The team lost the World Series , however, to the Philadelphia Phillies . That Rays ball club was led by manager Joe Maddon and featured rookie third baseman Evan Longoria, first baseman Carlos Peña, and a deep pitching staff led by starter James Shields. The Rays reached the World Series again in 2020, but lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers . Recent Rays stars have included infielder and outfielder Ben Zobrist, and pitchers Chris Archer and Blake Snell.
The Tampa Bay area has hosted spring training camps for other MLB teams since the early 1900’s. The Rays, however, hold spring training down the coast at Port Charlotte. For the World Series results of the Tampa Bay Rays, see Baseball (table: The World Series) .
