The New Stadium!

Tropicana Field, or also commonly known as the Trop, has been the home for the Tampa Bay Rays ever since 1998 when their inaugural season started. It took almost two years and about $138 million to build the dome. Not only is it the home of the Rays, but it is also used for college football as well. The St. Petersburg Bowl and the annual Postseason Bowl are both held at Tropicana Field. It is currently the only non-retractable domed stadium in Major League Baseball, and is the smallest Stadium as far as seating capacity goes. Even though the Trop is a very nice stadium, the Rays organization is looking to move from Tropicana to a new stadium somewhere close to downtown Tampa. The Rays organization and officials from Hillsborough County reached a deal to gain control  of about 14 acres in the Ybor City-Channel District near downtown, and plan to start new construction by 2018. This new complex will be located roughly about 23 miles from Tropicana Field. The new stadium will not have the convenience of the dome, but will have a higher seating capacity then the Trop. So not only do the Rays have a new coach and new star players, but they will be getting the new stadium to go along with it.

The Future of the Ray’s!

For the past few years the Ray’s organization have had a very solid team overall, but could use some work. The organization has traded and added new players, coaches and staff members to not only try and keep the success of the team, but to better the team as a whole. The Ray’s have a very young team with the exception of a few veterans. The Ray’s have signed a lot of young talent in hopes of making a good run in the play-offs next year, and I believe they have a very good chance in doing so. Bringing in the new coach Kevin Cash has brought the Ray’s organization a lot of new opportunities. His history of the game and the style of coaching that he brings to the table does this young Ray’s team a lot of good. Not only is this Ray’s team well coached and mostly made up of young athletes, but they have also signed Danny Espinosa in hopes of filling another spot as one of the veteran leaders on the team. The Ray’s are hoping that this combination of young talent mixed with the leadership of the veteran guys will give them a better chance of winning the play-offs.

Outside The Field

The Rays organization does many things outside of the baseball field for the community. A vast majority of people do not realize how much their organization really does. The Rays host a variety of fundraisers and charity events for the local community. Not only do they participate in multiple charity events, but they have also awarded five different scholarship programs that give over $50 million. The Rays organization donates the most money to the Rays-Helios scholarship. This scholarship is for students in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Sarasota, Manatee and Pasco counties, and provides a unique opportunity for low income families to escape the cycle of poverty through education! Many of the players and coaches are involved in charity events. The Rays host three major charity events. The Rays Fan Fest and Charity yard sale which is held by the players themselves and raises over $100,000 annually is one of the best charity events for the community. The other major event that the Rays hold is the Charity Golf Classic. Players get to let loose in the offseason by playing golf with there biggest fans, and also raising over $150,000 for cancer research. So not only do the Rays show a good example on the field, but they also do a lot of good outside of it as well.

 

The Team Captain

The Rays organization has had many great players over the years, but one of their best current players is Evan Longoria. Evan Longoria was drafted in 2008 right after the Rays organization switched from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays to just the Rays. Longoria has been one of the teams main captains, and should continue his role on the team until 2023 when his contract expires. He was named rookie of the year his first season in 2008, and also made the American League All-Star team that season. Evan made the All-Star team three years in a row after his glorious rookie season, and could potentially make it in the upcoming season. Longoria had one of the biggest hits in Rays history when he hit a walk off homerun in extra innings of the last game of the 2011 season to tie with the Red Sox in the race for the wildcard spot. Outside of the game, Evan has done a lot of good deeds for the community, such as donating over $1 million to the Rays Baseball Charitable Foundation, as well as a $500,000 donation for the cool climbing exhibit at Great Explorations museum. He is a great mentor and role model on and off the field.