Rays mania is sweeping the nation! Well, sort of. There might not be lines forming outside the ticket office at Tropicana Field, but the rest of the country is starting to realize that Tampa Bay actually has a baseball team. That hasn't happened since Lou Piniella went bat-crazy on Ben Grieve a few years ago. Now the Rays actually are getting some recognition beyond Tampa Bay, and not for being the punch line to a bad joke. Here are 10 examples of how the Rays are starting to make a name for themselves outside of Tampa Bay.
Making the cover of Sports Illustrated
A cartoon of Carl Crawford tossing around a Yankees player under the headline "Bizarro Baseball'' was cool and, sure, a little weird. But the Rays finally made the cover of the premier sports magazine in America and it wasn't, you know, for being in the background of Big Papi hitting a homer or something. The cover is usually reserved for the hottest story and top sports star of the moment and the best part is no one thought it was strange the Rays landed on the cover. And jinx? What jinx? The Rays did lose their first two games after making the cover, but then won four in a row.
Going national
ESPN recently announced that the June 4 game against the Red Sox will be shown nationally.
Making the cover of Sporting News
This one isn't out yet, but it will be this week, and here's a sneak peak. Closer Troy Percival graces the cover. Don't they call Sporting News the Bible of Baseball? Hey, awesome, the Rays are in a bible!
They're running out of media request memos
Carmen Molina, the manager of communications for the Rays, says she runs out of room on her sheet of media requests just about every day. Two years ago, the Rays would get, maybe, five to seven requests a day. This year? "Like 20 a day,'' Molina said. Not only is the local media swarming, but the requests come from all over -- from Boston to San Diego, from big stations in New York to a little station in Columbus, Ga. Sometimes they ask for certain players. More often that not, they just want "anybody who is available.''
The Jim Rome show
Welcome back to the jungle, Clones. Romey here. Talked to Rays closer Troy Percival recently. It was epic. Callers had great takes. The Rays are talking smack, taking names. It's epic. If the Rays keep it up, we'll talk to C.C., maybe Bossman Junior. It'll be epic. I'm out.
Mike & Mike in the Morning
Being on ESPN Radio's Mike & Mike isn't like a singer at Radio City Music Hall, but … it's probably the biggest national sports talk radio show outside of Jim Rome, and is simulcast on ESPN2. B.J. Upton made his Mike & Mike debut last week.
Sales are up
According to the Rays and Major League Baseball, retail sales -- you know, hats, jerseys, T-shirts, those little wooden bats and so forth — are up 70 percent, the second-highest jump behind the Rockies. Of course, part of this is because of the Rays' name and uniform change. Still, selling more stuff today than you did yesterday is a good thing. Don't look for explanations. Just enjoy it.
Making the cover of ESPN The Magazine
Rays centerfielder B.J. Upton shared the cover with brother Justin of the Diamondbacks. ESPN and its properties rule the sports world, so to finally get its attention means the Rays must have arrived.
Tuning in
Rays communications VP Rick Vaughn said the phone rings off the hook whenever the team is not on television. See, there are two ways to look at it. When the Rays are on, it's essentially three hours of advertising. During a recent game against the Cardinals, the Rays had a viewing audience of about 85,000 homes. That's probably about 200,000 people, give or take,and that's impressive. But if fewer games were on, maybe more would go to the games. The bottom line is the Rays still have drawn fewer than 20,000 fans at home more often than not. The rest of the country is getting on the bandwagon. Now all the Rays are waiting for is the locals.
Pardon the Interruption
The ESPN afternoon show had the Rays as a talking point on a recent edition. Co-host Tony Kornheiser admitted he didn't know who managed the Rays or any of their players. Who cares? The best sports-talk show on TV was talking about our Rays. And if Tony sees this, it's Joe Maddon.
Tom Jones doesn't sing "It's Not Unusual'' or shake his hips (well, unless you're willing to pay cash), but he does have plenty to say about sports. If it's funny, crazy, weird, irreverent or worth arguing, Tom has his opinions. So pull up a chair and get his two cents -- and give him your two cents, as well.
E-mail Tom Jones:
ESPN Sports Center and baseball tonight still give the Rays a cold shoulder. Everytime a game highlight is shown, it is like the win is a fluke. They are begrudgingly giving the Rays some notice but it is more like why are the Yankees playing so poor now, not why are the Rays playing so good. Tampa Bay is the Rodney Dangerfield of the baseball world, but that is what makes this season so special so far. GO RAYS!!!
Posted by: Murf | May 28, 2008 at 10:59 AM
There might be something to the idea of putting fewer games on free TV.
Posted by: Alex | May 28, 2008 at 11:46 AM
>>>ESPN Sports Center and baseball tonight still give the Rays a cold shoulder.<<<
why watch that tripe?
you do know you can get more highlights elsewhere?
Posted by: joe hillman | May 28, 2008 at 02:01 PM
Im a snowbird back up north - anyone know how I can listen to my favorite team over the internet? Im missing all the fun - but Ill be back in Oct for the playoffs !
Posted by: Bob | May 28, 2008 at 04:42 PM
It's quickly becoming apparent that the next big story about the Rays is going to be just how putrid their attendance numbers are. 12,174 fans for MEMORIAL DAY? 10,511 last night? The Rays actually increased their attendance by 400 fans this afternoon, to 10,927. Whoop-de-doo.
Folks, this team is the BEST IN BASEBALL. For the last decade, we've been hearing about how this is a "great baseball area" that only needed a good team to turn out the fans. Well, now we've got the team - and the crickets in the Trop are just as loud.
Don't think that the MLB poo-bahs in New York aren't looking at these pathetic attendance numbers and thinking that maybe a Rays move to San Antonio, Oklahoma City or Las Vegas wouldn't be such a bad idea after all.
Bottom line: Get off your collective duffs and SUPPORT THIS TEAM!
Posted by: Steve S. | May 28, 2008 at 05:22 PM
Steve, were you at the game today? I was and didn't hear any crickets chirping. Don't do a disservice to the fans that do attend. We were just as rowdy, and appreciative of OUR #1 Rays, as if it were a full house. Sure, would be nice to have more for gamedays, but the ones that do show cheer and root plenty.
Posted by: jp | May 28, 2008 at 07:22 PM
I have a thought that when you have roughly 12,000 people for the Memorial Day game against the Rangers, and a few thousand less the next night, that it's not ALL the same people going.
Part of the problem is getting everyone to go to the same game, and also more often. If you combine the three attendances of the past Rangers series, they might still be short of a sellout.
That's bad, but so are the Rangers, and that's just one reason, although I know it's not the biggest reason why, that there are announced crowds as small as last season's.
If someone would like to pay for my gas, I'll go every day, because I live in Central Florida.
Posted by: Mark | May 28, 2008 at 07:24 PM
ESPN.....The (North)Eastern Sports Promotional Network!!
Posted by: Steve | May 28, 2008 at 08:50 PM
>>>Im a snowbird back up north - anyone know how I can listen to my favorite team over the internet? Im missing all the fun - but Ill be back in Oct for the playoffs ! <<<
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/subscriptions/gameday_audio.jsp?c_id=mlb
Posted by: joe hillman | May 29, 2008 at 10:04 AM