I went to a Devil Rays game in 2007 against the Padres. We bought nosebleed seats for like 10 dollars. The staff told us we could sit behind the dugout. There were maybe 100 people there. The Devil Rays lost 9-0. It was sad. But a fond memory.
I believe you, i used to do the same. They don’t allow us to sit in nose bleeds anymore it’s so that the stadium looks more full than it really is. Everyone would just buy the nose bleeds seats for 10 bucks. Now they force u to pay at least 50 bucks for the surrounding seats
I'm lucky that I don't NEED that money, because in other circumstances, I def would've taken it. They offer a lot, and that's why so many RUclipsrs have taken their ad reads this past year, even after the controversy. It really was a situation where the more I looked into them, the worse I felt about supporting them.
I mean there a lot of "sketchy" companies out there that advertise..ultimately it comes down to the each individual person to do their own research and decide if doing something is in their own interest
I still have a hard time watching video of Tony Saunders. Breaking his pitching arm had to be complete hell but happening again is a just kill me moment.
I think managers were slightly more valuable at the time, but trading your very good starting CF for a manager instead of for actual prospects is hilarious. They barely got anything for the few good players they had in the first 5 years, then Friedman built a pennant winner by trading Toby Hall and Aubrey Huff.
@@ALTAIR2I remember this story... The scout was Hal Newhouser who won a couple of MVPs so he knew baseball talent when he saw it. They ended up taking Phil Nevin #1 and the guy he told them to take went on to be one of the top 150 players in the history of baseball
As a Red Sox fan, I always loved the Rays uniform designs. The old rays uniform colors and they’re original name the Tampa bay devil rays will always be badass and my favorite. Tbh I Hope they win a World Series one day.
I agree and I’m also a Red Sox fan as well. I’m pretty sure the rays win the World Series. And when it comes to playoffs like American League I rather root for rays more then Yankees Yuck.
The issue I have with them is that circus tent they call a ballpark. Batted balls hitting crap hanging from the roof. It's an embarrassment to the sport.
Idk what else to say, could you talk about how Milwaukee went from a punching bag and missing the playoffs for 26 straight years to being a model organization that has found ways to win. As a Brewers fan I'd appreciate it. Thanks, loved the vid!
As a Mariners fan i will always appreciate Nintendo’s owner for buying the team. Dude never even saw a Mariners game live. Hated flying but wanted to thank the city for being so supportive.
When I researched the original video, it shocked me that the DBacks won 100 in their second season. These expansion teams all had pathways to instant success.
The Devil Rays may have been terrible, but they sure seemed to have the number of one of the greatest pitchers out there. Randy Johnson has managed an ERA below 4.50 against 29 of the 30 Major League teams, the one exception being the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. His 5.43 ERA against the Devil Rays is more than a run higher than the team against whom he had the next highest ERA, and his 3-5 record against Tampa Bay is worse than against any other team. And it's not like the he faced them when they had their exorcism, his last start again the Devil Rays came in 2006 when they went 61-101. It's one of the most enduring mysteries in my years of studying the Big Unit's career. Anyways, thanks for the fun video.
Hmmm….could be the baseball gods giving them some type of leeway, I have a feeling once they have new ownership or a solid first direction sometime down the road, it will be there thing to take out HOF dominant pitchers in weird situations. Or it might be the shrooms talking right now, and it’s just a coincidence idk.
Having a chronically low payroll definitely makes things hard on any franchise. But constantly wasting picks and development time on guys with serious off-field issues that destroy their careers definitely doesn't help. At least they got over that problem. Oh wait...
The low payroll is part of the problem. It’s tough to be picky about talent when you’re playing with the small stack. Turning a blind eye to character concerns, injury concerns, etc. is how they field good teams, but also why they have these cases more than most.
the thing that makes it the hardest to be a ray fan is the fact that you can’t get attached to players because they more than likely will be traded or won’t renew their contracts in less than 5 years.the one long term contract we give out happened to like children too
Marlins too. 1997 was the best moment of my life probably before turning 10yo. But they tore it down within months. I wasnt even a fan anymore in 2003, but did cheer for them vs yankees in ws. Rays need new stadium location and $ will improve via attendance
Vince Naimoli...I remember the furniture store that leased space in the Trop, complete with price tags hanging from the furniture. George III had some petty feuds, but his with Naimoli was probably justified.
Makes no sense to me to allow them to take guys from other teams just to trade them. Should had some rule where you had to hold them for at least a year or something
@LeanMrfuzzles An expansion draft isn't a trade situation. We're talking about just taking a player from another team to fill your new teams roster, and then flipping him.
Maybe they had some of the worst rosters in their early existence. But I can easily say they are not the worst mlb franchise ever. I don't really know who it would be, one that refuses to contended or punish contenders. I'm a Blue jays fan I hate the rays, But I can easily say they are not doing a bad job. They are a throne in lots of teams sides. It's fun underdog team unless you have to play them all the time. then they are todd flanders mini putting, " I'll do this but it won't go in, oh it did". Yes they havent won a world series. But GM's are not clairvoyant. All they can do is build a yearly contender. The Marlins everyone says are the worst organization, they have two world series. So make up your mind.
@@Danielvogelbachstan Mariners never won a pennant, took 15 years to finish above .500, only went to the playoffs 5 times, choked a record season, and had a 20+ year playoff drought
Would love to see a video on how they turned it around so quickly. From the worst team in 2007 to making it to the World Series in 2008, and becoming regular playoff contenders until the early 2010s, going through a "mid" stage when Kevin Cash cane on board, and then making the playoffs 5 years in a row. And all while having a bottom 3 payroll. Definitely gonna have to highlight the insanity of 2011 game 162 and rhe buildup to it.
I was a bat boy back in 2004-2008 for an AAA team and we would face the Durham Bulls and at the time Elijah Dukes and Delmon Young were on that Bulls team lmao both HUGE douche bags to say the least.
I’m proud of you for standing up to and rejecting the better help money. The whole thing is a scam and it shows your rock solid integrity. Instant like from me. Keep up the good work!
Do a video like this on one of the worst ran sports franchises in the Milwaukee Brewers been around since 1970 one world series appearance in 1982 and lost then 26 years without a playoff appearances and 10 total in the entire existence brutal
I asked you 2 years ago and I am asking again. Would you please do the second decade? BTW. This is better than the first version and I thought that the first one was strong.
I don’t think there’s as interesting of a story arc over the second decade. The team gets pretty boring and robotic. Not as many wacky stories to tell.
You do have a point because it becomes more of a numbers story. In the second decade if the Rays trade you one of their pitchers, there is something wrong with that pitcher. The Rays also had incredible luck with other teams cast aways like Fernando Rodney. There is also game 162. One of the most insane days in baseball history.
I remember going to a Blue Jays game YEARS ago....maybe 2001-2002 or so. We sat near what I thought was a private box and started making fun of the Devil Rays as they proceeded to get spanked. I eventually turned around and saw a bunch of angry older gentlemen glaring at me. Our seats were in front of the box for membera of the Rays' management. Iirc the GM was in there 😂😂😂
Josh Hamilton ABSOLUTELY had to go to somewhere else to make an impact. Being young with money and bad influences around him in Florida there's no way cocaine wasnt going to find its way to him. Its already pretty available in the rest of the country but especially there.
It bills itself as a call in therapy/psychology service. But they are a lot of bad stories about the service they actually put out. I would recommend doing research on it but a good example is they put someone on hold for HOURS who was having suicidal thoughts before ending the call.
Thank you for refusing to take money from Better Help, as someone who deals with depression & can’t afford the level of therapist I need I turned to orgs like them, they only made it worse and I truly hate being pushed into Christianity or any religion as I am not someone who believes in that stuff but they persisted.
They will always be the devil rays to me. I would of been sbout 10-11 years old when they started and the name has just stuck with me. Also, as a red sox fan its great to watch the devil rays get whooped 😊
So many prospects with hall of fame level potential who turned out to be busts. The "best" I guess would be Aubrey Huff and Carl Crawford, but dozens of prospects from Delmon Young to BJ Upton ended up being nobodies when they looked like they were going to carry their team to the world series at a point. Oh, Scott Kazmir was pretty decent too, given the fact he was always on bad teams, so his stats are a little warped (like trying to compare Zack Greinke to Verlander)
Love your videos. My one critique is when ya show... say lineup of the 04 Rays around the 27 min mark, its only on the screen for a sec. Please leave the stats you take the time to put up in the video, for a lil longer. Thats all i ask. Other than that i see perfection in these videos, you nail these. I am addicted. For sure :-) Thanks and please i hope you dont take my critique the wrong way. ;-)
I will say, there are teams (or eras of teams) that were way worse. You just have to go back really far. The Expansion Washington Senators with only one winning season in their eleven miserable seasons in the MLB. The St. Louis Browns; who only won ONE pennant in their 52 years of existence. And TWELVE winning seasons total. The Philadelphia Athletics (who followed a formula of having a dynasty, then falling off a cliff and being absolutely horrible for years), The KANSAS CITY Athletics were awful; never winning more than 74 games in a season. The Phillies from 1916 to 1949 were horrendous (a grand total of TWO winning seasons during that span of 33 years [1916 and 1917, which after they won the NL pennant in 1915. Then they went 33 years without a winning season, before a a miraculous pennant win in 1950. The Boston Braves won two pennants and one World Series title in 41 years, twelve winning seasons overall. And four of those came during the late 1940s and 1950 where they were carried by Warren Spahn and Johnny Sain. And a span from 1915 to 1945 where they had 8 winning seasons and 23 losing seasons. Their winning seasons came in streaks of either two or three, before having MORE (sometimes way more) than three losing seasons. So yes, there were teams, either still around or defunct, who had stretches worse than the Devil Rays, but the Devil Rays awful seasons are probably more well-known because they happened recently, and there was more sports coverage and more media coverage, so people were able to see firsthand how dreadful the team was, and how horrible/ troubled some of the players were as human beings. And also how incompetent the ownership of this team was.
I do think it’s more difficult to be this bad in the modern era. The draft, tv revenue sharing, and ease of access to data have leveled the playing field for smaller teams. So even though the title is slightly disingenuous, I think there’s still an argument to be made that the decade of the devil rays is a mix of the worst management and luck for any era of a ballclub. But just as you say, there were plenty of crazy stories that went unreported on the most awful teams of past eras.
Good information, but for all that research... It's Tampa BAY. The team name is Tampa BAY. Not Tampa. They don't play in Tampa. They aren't named Tampa. I know it sounds like a stupid distinction, especially to people outside of the greater Tampa Bay area, but it's worth getting right.
Baldelli (as a player) could never stay healthy and it took a long time for Josh Hamilton to become productive. At least Baldelli is a quality manager today with the Twins.
Its actually insane how much of a curse the devil rays name was 10 losing seasons in 10 years and these weren't normal losing season their best win total was 70 wins yikes Even Crazier i as the rays they have had 12 winning seasons out of 16 and only one season where they didn't win 77+ games even there bad seasons are solid. As a yankee fan i think i liked them better as the devil rays
Much respect for turning down better help. Its not easy to turn down that money and I think its appropriate to plug yourself instead of a predatory company
2000 opening day payroll, orioles 4th in the league. I hate it when Baltimore fans say Angelos didnt do anything for the team. He didnt have a lot of success but that doesnt matter when measuring their personal dedication, only one team wins every year out of 32 giving everything to do it. He spent money on stars and then once the payrolls became astronomical he built the best farm system in baseball. He also broke the owners ability to present a united front in 1994 because he refused to side with them and bring in strike breakers, being both a labor leader and protecting Ripken's record. That actually takes a lot of integrity, as hard as that is to say about a lawyer.
2 major drivers that made '92 and '98 MLB expansion necessary that were not covered here... 1. MLB owners were found guilty of 'colluding' in mid and late 80's to hold down the cost of signing free agents - restraint of trade. Those owners did not want to pay MLBPA the penalty assessed by a judgment against them out of their own pockets. By dangling expansion dreams to new owners (dupes) that would have to pay stiff entry fees to join and using these 'marks' the other owners would significantly reduced their financial exposure. 2. CBS had a big say in the Gi-ants move from San Fran-whacko, threatening to significantly reduce the value of the next national TV contract by moving a franchise from #9 to #15 market by size. After ruining the exposure that NBC Sports built up for MLB over many decades CBS's financial problems and regaining the NFL package made MLB coverage not worth the cost. There are many MLB markets where the vast majority of customers have to drive to the ballpark. Most of those are in land locked areas and don't have to contend with the water crossings that fans outside of Pinellas County have to deal with - you should have mentioned that, not just a random pix. Of those 'millions' living within a '2 hour drive' (yea, right) a large percentage are retirees or those on fixed or limited incomes. Not what works in MLB. It wasn't '...the team in the city of Chicago agreed to build new (mallpark)..." it was the taxpayers of State of Illinois who footed the bill by a shady deal done in the State Legislature - no surprise there. And now Jerry R. wants out of the South Side closer to the Loop dollars and move threats are already floated. 'Success' was evident in Colorado, with a new mallpark on the way. But in Miami, from 3m in '93 attendance plummeted to 1.7m in '96. Wayne was more interested in across-Florida TV numbers (Sunshine Net.) than fannies in the hot-steamy seats in JRS. Good chance that he was given a verbal promise by the MLB owners/schisters that another Florida franchise would be far off - not a financial threat, yea, right... 3 years to build up an organization? Not bad considering the '61, '62 and '69 expansion teams all had only 18 months or less to get going. You should have mentioned that McGriff is a Tampa native '...to sell some tickets...'. Boggs, growing up in a military family did not settle in Tampa until he was 11 years old attending Plant HS there. Tampa isn't St. Pete. The primary problem with the D-Rays was bad ownership - Vince Naimoli. Nuf - ced. Should have been mentioned earlier. It was a group from Tampa/Hillsboro Co. that had the deal w/Gi-ants, not Vince. I suggest you read the book "Stadium for Rent" by local TB writer Bob Andelman for correct info. Tht clip from 'Moneyball' shows how the producers used Art Howe as the foil unfairly. Hoffman looks nothing like Howe - including the gut - it was a cheap trick played on a class guy and astute baseball man.
Tampa is the middle of the league in all-time winning percentage. Are they a poverty franchise with lackluster fans....sure, but not the worst run organization in baseball as far as team building.
Watch until the end. I make the distinction between the Devil Rays and Rays era. Devil Rays have a lower win% than any team by far Rays have the second highest win%
Aside from the many opinions i have regarding Rocco Baldelli as a 28 year old MN born and raised diehard twins fan, ignoring all that history and everything, This is a excellent piece of baseball content, the music and the tone and the vibe and everything about it seeps with passion and you should be proud of the video you created regardless of any of the context. You are an artist man! Well Done!!!!!!!
I went to a Devil Rays game in 2007 against the Padres. We bought nosebleed seats for like 10 dollars. The staff told us we could sit behind the dugout. There were maybe 100 people there. The Devil Rays lost 9-0. It was sad. But a fond memory.
Pretty cool that the staff let you sit where you want though! 9-0 is brutal though, man those were the days 😭😭
@@joshnunez5265yeah, usually in MLB games if there's a seat below you that is free and unreserved, you can take it
No you didn’t 😂
@@Paul-nx3qz Okay... Not really sure what you mean
I believe you, i used to do the same. They don’t allow us to sit in nose bleeds anymore it’s so that the stadium looks more full than it really is. Everyone would just buy the nose bleeds seats for 10 bucks. Now they force u to pay at least 50 bucks for the surrounding seats
See the mildly grainy mid 00's Devil Ray's footage brings me back to my childhood in the Bay area.
I tried finding as much high-quality footage as possible, but the grainy stuff will always be part of that era's aesthetic
@@AndThatsBaseballit’s nostalgic
I was 8 years old watching Orioles games with my parents in MD, so I saw lots of Devil Rays games too. Nostalgic 😊
Same
Man ik it’s hard to turn it down, but major respect for not following along with the ad. Better help seems sketchy at best
I'm lucky that I don't NEED that money, because in other circumstances, I def would've taken it. They offer a lot, and that's why so many RUclipsrs have taken their ad reads this past year, even after the controversy.
It really was a situation where the more I looked into them, the worse I felt about supporting them.
@@AndThatsBaseball They offer a lot because they need to offer a lot to silence people's conscious.
@@AndThatsBaseballI’ve heard some people in comment sections say that the company is hard to cancel if you sign up for it.
I mean there a lot of "sketchy" companies out there that advertise..ultimately it comes down to the each individual person to do their own research and decide if doing something is in their own interest
@@AndThatsBaseball I'll be honest, I didn't know they were a sketchy company. Thanks for your integrity
One thing I will say for the Devil Rays:
The hats and helmets in the late 90’s and early 2000’s were pretty cool.
Came here just for this 💯🥶
Nash, Dukes, Franco....the Rays need to have some training on how to stay away from underage girls for their stars 😭😭😭
Criminal organization
I know 😂
Well...no training in the world would have made Dukes become a better person.
Huge respect cancelling sponsorship with betterhelp
whats wrong with betterhelp?
Its a well known scam. Most of the people they employ are not licensed@miwo7408
@@miwo7408they try to force Christianity on you eventually & their therapists aren’t truly that qualified.
@@Anime2077ttvHundreds of dollars for a month of therapy is ridiculous. Also they have been credibly accused of selling user data.
@@Anime2077ttvi never heard of the pushing christianity stuff that’s wild
I still have a hard time watching video of Tony Saunders. Breaking his pitching arm had to be complete hell but happening again is a just kill me moment.
I have used that clip probably near half a dozen times now in my videos. It's gruesome, but it's so fascinating to me.
Trading away a 5 WAR player for a manager should be brought up more often in the many discussions about the worst trades of all time
I think managers were slightly more valuable at the time, but trading your very good starting CF for a manager instead of for actual prospects is hilarious. They barely got anything for the few good players they had in the first 5 years, then Friedman built a pennant winner by trading Toby Hall and Aubrey Huff.
Let's not forget one the teams top scouts quit when they told him they 'Had no use for a player' like Albert Pujols in '99/00. The scout quit.
YIKES..
That's like when the Astros scout quit because the team didn't draft Derek Jeter
@@ALTAIR2 that's also a very frustrating hindsight.
@@TheOGSticks11 not really, the most overhyped player in mlb history.
@@ALTAIR2I remember this story... The scout was Hal Newhouser who won a couple of MVPs so he knew baseball talent when he saw it.
They ended up taking Phil Nevin #1 and the guy he told them to take went on to be one of the top 150 players in the history of baseball
After seeing the whole video, I definitely would say that this one turned out a lot better than the older video.
Way more engaging.
I've learned a lot since then
As a Red Sox fan, I always loved the Rays uniform designs. The old rays uniform colors and they’re original name the Tampa bay devil rays will always be badass and my favorite. Tbh I Hope they win a World Series one day.
I agree and I’m also a Red Sox fan as well. I’m pretty sure the rays win the World Series. And when it comes to playoffs like American League I rather root for rays more then Yankees Yuck.
The issue I have with them is that circus tent they call a ballpark. Batted balls hitting crap hanging from the roof. It's an embarrassment to the sport.
The Rangers finally pulled it off last year so nothing is impossible 😂
Mets fan here and I agree 💯 their OG uniforms are fire 🔥
Idk what else to say, could you talk about how Milwaukee went from a punching bag and missing the playoffs for 26 straight years to being a model organization that has found ways to win. As a Brewers fan I'd appreciate it. Thanks, loved the vid!
I’ve LOVED some of the brewers teams in my lifetime, so I’d be open to this type of video.
As a Mariners fan i will always appreciate Nintendo’s owner for buying the team. Dude never even saw a Mariners game live. Hated flying but wanted to thank the city for being so supportive.
Hell yeah, let's go M's!
Hiroshi Yammauchi
So that must be the reason why the Mariners are popular in Japan?
@@SportsFan838 in a way, its actually brought the idea of bringing Japanese & Korean ball players to the majors
@@LSTNSCRFN That's why I could see multiple series of teams playing in East Asia in the future
I don't know how, but this was the first time it clicked for me that the Marlins won a World Series before the Devil Rays debuted
When I researched the original video, it shocked me that the DBacks won 100 in their second season. These expansion teams all had pathways to instant success.
@@AndThatsBaseball Even the Rockies made the playoffs after 2 years
Josh Hamilton went #1 overall by Tampa Bay
Kyle Snyder went #7 overall by Royals
Tampa Bay pitching coach=Kyle Snyder
The Devil Rays may have been terrible, but they sure seemed to have the number of one of the greatest pitchers out there. Randy Johnson has managed an ERA below 4.50 against 29 of the 30 Major League teams, the one exception being the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. His 5.43 ERA against the Devil Rays is more than a run higher than the team against whom he had the next highest ERA, and his 3-5 record against Tampa Bay is worse than against any other team. And it's not like the he faced them when they had their exorcism, his last start again the Devil Rays came in 2006 when they went 61-101. It's one of the most enduring mysteries in my years of studying the Big Unit's career.
Anyways, thanks for the fun video.
Interesting
Low number of starts towards the end of his career.. I don’t have to look at the stats to understand that.
Hmmm….could be the baseball gods giving them some type of leeway, I have a feeling once they have new ownership or a solid first direction sometime down the road, it will be there thing to take out HOF dominant pitchers in weird situations.
Or it might be the shrooms talking right now, and it’s just a coincidence idk.
Having a chronically low payroll definitely makes things hard on any franchise. But constantly wasting picks and development time on guys with serious off-field issues that destroy their careers definitely doesn't help. At least they got over that problem. Oh wait...
The low payroll is part of the problem. It’s tough to be picky about talent when you’re playing with the small stack. Turning a blind eye to character concerns, injury concerns, etc. is how they field good teams, but also why they have these cases more than most.
the thing that makes it the hardest to be a ray fan is the fact that you can’t get attached to players because they more than likely will be traded or won’t renew their contracts in less than 5 years.the one long term contract we give out happened to like children too
Marlins too. 1997 was the best moment of my life probably before turning 10yo. But they tore it down within months. I wasnt even a fan anymore in 2003, but did cheer for them vs yankees in ws. Rays need new stadium location and $ will improve via attendance
You guys like them young in Florida apparently 😂
imagine drake wants to learn about the history of the rays and this video gives him flashbacks
🎶he a fan he a fan he a fan🎶
Vince Naimoli...I remember the furniture store that leased space in the Trop, complete with price tags hanging from the furniture. George III had some petty feuds, but his with Naimoli was probably justified.
I didn’t mention that in the video, but reading about how he made the “luxury box” basically just a furniture store made me laugh
@@AndThatsBaseball I wonder how much furniture they sold. Who goes to the ballpark and thinks "You know what I really need today? A dresser!"
I didn't even know Tampa Bay had a baseball team until I'd started getting into watching baseball in 2019.
I played little league in Orlando...
They are basically the little bit more Successful version of Oakland A's Money ball. But they can never win the ring.
If they keep making the playoffs at the rate they've done so in the last 15 years, they're bound to win some eventually
Ask the Mariners
I have a feeling they will at some point. Maybe not in my lifetime but they will.
The Rays have been my AL team since their inception when I was 10. I liked the bright colors of their og unis lol
The OG unis are so nice. I bought the Wade Boggs Mitchell & Ness BP jersey cuz I was looking at them so much while editing this.
Seeing Hamilton in the old "sleeveless" Renegades jersey is just a hit of nostalgia as a Hudson Valley local
Love finding rare footage like that
Makes no sense to me to allow them to take guys from other teams just to trade them. Should had some rule where you had to hold them for at least a year or something
With mlb expansion expected within the next decade, I wonder how the format of the draft will change.
Teams have always been allowed to trade for players and immediately flip them. That happens in every North American sport.
@LeanMrfuzzles An expansion draft isn't a trade situation. We're talking about just taking a player from another team to fill your new teams roster, and then flipping him.
Is that Sadgasm playing at 39:00 LMAO? Glad I found your channel this video was a great watch
Legend. Love your videos. Feels like home
Great video didn’t know about Tampa wanted to draft mark tex and cutch
Imagine those 2008-12 Rays teams with those two guys
I can't imagine the pirates without mccutchen
Maybe they had some of the worst rosters in their early existence. But I can easily say they are not the worst mlb franchise ever. I don't really know who it would be, one that refuses to contended or punish contenders. I'm a Blue jays fan I hate the rays, But I can easily say they are not doing a bad job. They are a throne in lots of teams sides. It's fun underdog team unless you have to play them all the time. then they are todd flanders mini putting, " I'll do this but it won't go in, oh it did". Yes they havent won a world series. But GM's are not clairvoyant. All they can do is build a yearly contender. The Marlins everyone says are the worst organization, they have two world series. So make up your mind.
I refuse to believe that the Rays are worse than the Seattle Mariners
Rays never had no Griffey or Ichiro
@@Danielvogelbachstan Mariners never won a pennant, took 15 years to finish above .500, only went to the playoffs 5 times, choked a record season, and had a 20+ year playoff drought
The Mariners are the only current MLB team that has never been to the World Series
As a life long devil rays fan born and raised in Tampa you did a great job on the video bro! Loved seeing all that old footage!
Appreciate it!!
Would love to see a video on how they turned it around so quickly. From the worst team in 2007 to making it to the World Series in 2008, and becoming regular playoff contenders until the early 2010s, going through a "mid" stage when Kevin Cash cane on board, and then making the playoffs 5 years in a row. And all while having a bottom 3 payroll.
Definitely gonna have to highlight the insanity of 2011 game 162 and rhe buildup to it.
Remember 162 like it was yesterday
That was a few years after Stuart Sternberg bought the team and initiated the team change from Devil Rays to Rays. 2008 was their first year as Rays.
Wow, very well put together video!
Glad you liked it!
Chicago White Sox: "Hold my beer"
I was a bat boy back in 2004-2008 for an AAA team and we would face the Durham Bulls and at the time Elijah Dukes and Delmon Young were on that Bulls team lmao both HUGE douche bags to say the least.
I’m proud of you for standing up to and rejecting the better help money. The whole thing is a scam and it shows your rock solid integrity. Instant like from me. Keep up the good work!
Do a video like this on one of the worst ran sports franchises in the Milwaukee Brewers been around since 1970 one world series appearance in 1982 and lost then 26 years without a playoff appearances and 10 total in the entire existence brutal
I saw this video in my subscriptions but wanted to wait to sit back and enjoy it. Fantastic video, I've always been a sucker for the Rays.
@20:08 the music is from some game I played in my childhood and I can’t remember lol. Has to be a Pokémon one
Dude I'm dying right now trying to figure it out.
It's HeartGold/Soulsilver Dark Cave Theme
Insert cliche 0 views bro fell off comment
Funniest joke ever told
Unfunny as ever.
Gay
@@lucioordo3647Glad you’re coming to terms with yourself. It’s time to be yourself. It’s 2024, come on out of that dark closet.
1 day later, over 20k views 😂
This was a great video showcasing the history of the Rays, fantastic job!
I asked you 2 years ago and I am asking again. Would you please do the second decade? BTW. This is better than the first version and I thought that the first one was strong.
I don’t think there’s as interesting of a story arc over the second decade. The team gets pretty boring and robotic. Not as many wacky stories to tell.
You do have a point because it becomes more of a numbers story. In the second decade if the Rays trade you one of their pitchers, there is something wrong with that pitcher. The Rays also had incredible luck with other teams cast aways like Fernando Rodney. There is also game 162. One of the most insane days in baseball history.
Welp, time to get the beer. This is going to be painful for me
Man, this is something. It's the Bad News Bears.
The goat is back.
GOAT commenter is back
I remember going to a Blue Jays game YEARS ago....maybe 2001-2002 or so. We sat near what I thought was a private box and started making fun of the Devil Rays as they proceeded to get spanked.
I eventually turned around and saw a bunch of angry older gentlemen glaring at me.
Our seats were in front of the box for membera of the Rays' management. Iirc the GM was in there 😂😂😂
I thought I was watching too much Drake Kendrick stuff and I was hallucinating lmao w the 6:16 in the background
Josh Hamilton ABSOLUTELY had to go to somewhere else to make an impact. Being young with money and bad influences around him in Florida there's no way cocaine wasnt going to find its way to him. Its already pretty available in the rest of the country but especially there.
I’m confused, why did other sports RUclipsrs get negative feedback for doing Better Help ads?
In short, the company is one big giant scam
It bills itself as a call in therapy/psychology service. But they are a lot of bad stories about the service they actually put out. I would recommend doing research on it but a good example is they put someone on hold for HOURS who was having suicidal thoughts before ending the call.
But, Devil Rays was a Goated name
Goated jerseys (the first ones, not the shitty solid green ones)
Thank you for refusing to take money from Better Help, as someone who deals with depression & can’t afford the level of therapist I need I turned to orgs like them, they only made it worse and I truly hate being pushed into Christianity or any religion as I am not someone who believes in that stuff but they persisted.
More Devil than Ray back in the day
They will always be the devil rays to me. I would of been sbout 10-11 years old when they started and the name has just stuck with me. Also, as a red sox fan its great to watch the devil rays get whooped 😊
So many prospects with hall of fame level potential who turned out to be busts. The "best" I guess would be Aubrey Huff and Carl Crawford, but dozens of prospects from Delmon Young to BJ Upton ended up being nobodies when they looked like they were going to carry their team to the world series at a point. Oh, Scott Kazmir was pretty decent too, given the fact he was always on bad teams, so his stats are a little warped (like trying to compare Zack Greinke to Verlander)
I remember the Tampa Bay Double A’s.
Frank the Tank ahhh nickname
Love your videos. My one critique is when ya show... say lineup of the 04 Rays around the 27 min mark, its only on the screen for a sec. Please leave the stats you take the time to put up in the video, for a lil longer. Thats all i ask. Other than that i see perfection in these videos, you nail these. I am addicted. For sure :-) Thanks and please i hope you dont take my critique the wrong way. ;-)
I appreciate the feedback
Thank you so much for this. It brings me joy.
On the checklist for starting the team in 1998, you forgot "creating awesome 3D TV graphics" as seen at 5:54.
I remember your devil rays history videos. This rays content honestly is the best glad you did a newer version of it with more data
Damn no mention of the great 1998 season Closer Hernandez had 43 saves for a god awful 69 win team.
He was one of the team’s only good relievers in the early years. Probably should’ve written a couple lines about him, seeing as he was an all star
I HATE THE RAYS THEYRE SO ANNOYING AND BORING WITH THE WORST STADIUM AND DULL DESIGNS WORST TEAM IN THE AL EAST
I will say, there are teams (or eras of teams) that were way worse. You just have to go back really far. The Expansion Washington Senators with only one winning season in their eleven miserable seasons in the MLB. The St. Louis Browns; who only won ONE pennant in their 52 years of existence. And TWELVE winning seasons total. The Philadelphia Athletics (who followed a formula of having a dynasty, then falling off a cliff and being absolutely horrible for years), The KANSAS CITY Athletics were awful; never winning more than 74 games in a season. The Phillies from 1916 to 1949 were horrendous (a grand total of TWO winning seasons during that span of 33 years [1916 and 1917, which after they won the NL pennant in 1915. Then they went 33 years without a winning season, before a a miraculous pennant win in 1950. The Boston Braves won two pennants and one World Series title in 41 years, twelve winning seasons overall. And four of those came during the late 1940s and 1950 where they were carried by Warren Spahn and Johnny Sain. And a span from 1915 to 1945 where they had 8 winning seasons and 23 losing seasons. Their winning seasons came in streaks of either two or three, before having MORE (sometimes way more) than three losing seasons.
So yes, there were teams, either still around or defunct, who had stretches worse than the Devil Rays, but the Devil Rays awful seasons are probably more well-known because they happened recently, and there was more sports coverage and more media coverage, so people were able to see firsthand how dreadful the team was, and how horrible/ troubled some of the players were as human beings. And also how incompetent the ownership of this team was.
I do think it’s more difficult to be this bad in the modern era. The draft, tv revenue sharing, and ease of access to data have leveled the playing field for smaller teams. So even though the title is slightly disingenuous, I think there’s still an argument to be made that the decade of the devil rays is a mix of the worst management and luck for any era of a ballclub.
But just as you say, there were plenty of crazy stories that went unreported on the most awful teams of past eras.
Until this year’s Chicago White Sox. And I’ve been a Sox fan since 1968.
Good information, but for all that research... It's Tampa BAY. The team name is Tampa BAY. Not Tampa. They don't play in Tampa. They aren't named Tampa. I know it sounds like a stupid distinction, especially to people outside of the greater Tampa Bay area, but it's worth getting right.
You got me there, I pretty sloppily used Tampa, Tampa Bay, and St. Pete interchangeably.
O "bro fell off" comments after 5 days? Bro is back
As a rays fan the first couple years were rough but recently it’s been getting a lot better only if stu would actually spend money 😢😢😢
Stu has made great hires, but he's seriously limiting the org by not spending
He is. On a new stadium.
DO let this distract you by the fact that Dallas Keuchel in back
He was dealing through 3 innings
Been a Rays fan my whole life. Those first 10 years weren't fun lol
Jorge Cantú Mentioned 🗣🗣🗣
I appreciate the tlou2 and gtaIV music featured throughout the video
I'm currently trying to imagine a Crawford, Hamilton, Zobrist OF for the 2008 Rays.
Good grief. That's a dynasty core right there.
dan wheeler was my top tier coach down in clearwater fl hes a really nice guy who cared about his players
For a 34th round pick to make the league as young as he did, he must be an incredibly hard worker, as well
I didn't know they traded for Ben Zobrist who is a Cubs hero. I love the guy.
Huge W for not supporting betterhelp, add super chats to your channel and I’ll donate.
I have them enabled on my end, but I’ve gotten comments saying it doesn’t show up. Idk how to fix that.
Perna was talking about receiving all that backlash during a recent stream of his
I love Perna I felt awful for him reading those comments
Rays are the best run team in the MLB for my money and theirs...
Brilliantly done, almost inspires me to make a video for my favourite team
Go for it
Having an outfield of Crawford, Baldelli, and Hamilton also batting 1-2-3 would've been legendary
Could’ve easily been a 15 WAR per year outfield
Baldelli (as a player) could never stay healthy and it took a long time for Josh Hamilton to become productive. At least Baldelli is a quality manager today with the Twins.
Its actually insane how much of a curse the devil rays name was 10 losing seasons in 10 years and these weren't normal losing season their best win total was 70 wins yikes
Even Crazier i as the rays they have had 12 winning seasons out of 16 and only one season where they didn't win 77+ games even there bad seasons are solid.
As a yankee fan i think i liked them better as the devil rays
As a fellow yankees fan I couldn’t agree more
12:25 Great catch by Gerald Williams, who threw the ball to second to complete a double play. The batter? Some guy named David Ortiz.
Yeah, somebody's lyin', I could see the vibes on Ak'
Even he lookin' compromised, let's peel the layers back
Lmao, im a Rockies fan, and the rays definitely are not as bad as the Rockies have been the last couple of years.😂😂
Since 2007, these teams have gone in opposite directions
@AndThatsBaseball Yes, it sucks because here in Colorado, they have a strong fan base, but the stubborn owner we have smh....
Also, Wade Townsend *puke*
The Orioles drafted him in 2004, but he didn't sign with them.
Much respect for turning down better help. Its not easy to turn down that money and I think its appropriate to plug yourself instead of a predatory company
finally people are remembering that betterhelp sucks
日本のタンパベイファンです。日本語版作って😂
Baseball doesn’t exist legends Toe Nash and Elijah Dukes mentioned
Some deep BDE cuts there
The music you used in minutes 20:30 seconds is from Pokémon 😅😅😁😁
Is it Pokémon? Do you know which one? I'm trying to figure it out
As a Mariners fan, I don't see how the Rays are worse. At least the Rays have made the World Series.
I meant the Devil Rays era in particular
Sorry, I'm still better over 2001. Lol
2000 opening day payroll, orioles 4th in the league.
I hate it when Baltimore fans say Angelos didnt do anything for the team. He didnt have a lot of success but that doesnt matter when measuring their personal dedication, only one team wins every year out of 32 giving everything to do it. He spent money on stars and then once the payrolls became astronomical he built the best farm system in baseball. He also broke the owners ability to present a united front in 1994 because he refused to side with them and bring in strike breakers, being both a labor leader and protecting Ripken's record. That actually takes a lot of integrity, as hard as that is to say about a lawyer.
I think Baltimore fans generally like Peter Angelos, but hate his children
2 major drivers that made '92 and '98 MLB expansion necessary that were not covered here...
1. MLB owners were found guilty of 'colluding' in mid and late 80's to hold down the cost of signing free agents - restraint of trade.
Those owners did not want to pay MLBPA the penalty assessed by a judgment against them out of their own pockets.
By dangling expansion dreams to new owners (dupes) that would have to pay stiff entry fees to join and using these 'marks' the
other owners would significantly reduced their financial exposure.
2. CBS had a big say in the Gi-ants move from San Fran-whacko, threatening to significantly reduce the value of the next
national TV contract by moving a franchise from #9 to #15 market by size. After ruining the exposure that NBC Sports built
up for MLB over many decades CBS's financial problems and regaining the NFL package made MLB coverage not worth the cost.
There are many MLB markets where the vast majority of customers have to drive to the ballpark. Most of those are in land locked
areas and don't have to contend with the water crossings that fans outside of Pinellas County have to deal with - you should have mentioned that, not
just a random pix. Of those 'millions' living within a '2 hour drive' (yea, right) a large percentage are retirees or those on fixed or limited incomes. Not what works in MLB.
It wasn't '...the team in the city of Chicago agreed to build new (mallpark)..." it was the taxpayers of State of Illinois who footed the bill by a shady deal
done in the State Legislature - no surprise there. And now Jerry R. wants out of the South Side closer to the Loop dollars and move threats are already
floated.
'Success' was evident in Colorado, with a new mallpark on the way. But in Miami, from 3m in '93 attendance plummeted to 1.7m in '96. Wayne was more
interested in across-Florida TV numbers (Sunshine Net.) than fannies in the hot-steamy seats in JRS. Good chance that he was given a verbal promise by the
MLB owners/schisters that another Florida franchise would be far off - not a financial threat, yea, right...
3 years to build up an organization? Not bad considering the '61, '62 and '69 expansion teams all had only 18 months or less to get going.
You should have mentioned that McGriff is a Tampa native '...to sell some tickets...'.
Boggs, growing up in a military family did not settle in Tampa until he was 11 years old attending Plant HS there. Tampa isn't St. Pete.
The primary problem with the D-Rays was bad ownership - Vince Naimoli. Nuf - ced. Should have been mentioned earlier.
It was a group from Tampa/Hillsboro Co. that had the deal w/Gi-ants, not Vince. I suggest you read the book "Stadium for Rent" by local TB writer
Bob Andelman for correct info.
Tht clip from 'Moneyball' shows how the producers used Art Howe as the foil unfairly. Hoffman looks nothing like Howe - including the gut - it was
a cheap trick played on a class guy and astute baseball man.
Tampa is the middle of the league in all-time winning percentage. Are they a poverty franchise with lackluster fans....sure, but not the worst run organization in baseball as far as team building.
Watch until the end. I make the distinction between the Devil Rays and Rays era.
Devil Rays have a lower win% than any team by far
Rays have the second highest win%
Your acct blowing up. I think you had 3.54k subs when i subbed. Good work
my old man always said: there's 2 types of people, those who get baseball and those who don't.
Pokemon music remix, nice.
Great video dude
Appreciate the guaranteed rate dig. Even my team can’t avoid slander 😂
Aside from the many opinions i have regarding Rocco Baldelli as a 28 year old MN born and raised diehard twins fan, ignoring all that history and everything, This is a excellent piece of baseball content, the music and the tone and the vibe and everything about it seeps with passion and you should be proud of the video you created regardless of any of the context. You are an artist man! Well Done!!!!!!!
Glad you enjoyed and I truly appreciate the kind words! I’m glad the effort isn’t going unnoticed.
Wow I’m early
Respect
Hideo Nomo was on the D Rays? I remember luminaries such as Jason Tyner, Brent Abernathy, and Jared Sandberg. But Nomo?
A ton of 90s vets had a minute with the d rays. Doc, Nomo, Denny Neagle and Robbie Alomar (spring training)