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 RU-vidrs 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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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!
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 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.
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.
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.
@@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
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’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!
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 😊
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.
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.
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. ;-)
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.
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.
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
Tampa Bay finished last in the AL East every year but one (were a few games ahead of Toronto one year under Piniella) from 1998-2007 and had several 100-loss seasons. But they damned-sure turned it around, despite that park’s bad location and fan apathy. I’m old enough to remember Seattle’s return to MLB in 1977 and how long it took to have a winning season. They’ve had nothing close to Tampa’s playoff history, either.
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 these type video documentary's... Been a Texas Rangers fan since they moved to Arlington, TX, back in 1972: highs and lows...World Series losses in 2010 and 2011, and winning the Holy Grail in 2023...Don't give up hope....Tampa Bay Rays have it all going for you....If my Rangers can win it all, I know you all can, too.....
Don't know if I would say the Devil Rays (1998-2007) were the worst MLB team. The Mets for one were putrid in those early years before they morphed into the 1969 Miracle Mets. Anyway, there are two ways to look at this. How bad they were in that first decade or how good they have been since. The franchise was purchased back in 2004 by Stu Sternberg for 200 million & now in 2024 they are worth 1.25 billion. Pretty darn good.
