The Tampa Bay Rays are a professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's (MLB) American League (AL). Since their inaugural season in 1998, the Rays have played their home games at Tropicana Field.[1] The team was originally known as the "Tampa Bay Devil Rays", which was inspired by a common nickname of the manta ray, but after the 2007 season, they shortened their official name to the "Tampa Bay Rays."[2]
Tampa Bay made their Major League debut in 1998, where they were an expansion team.[3] For their first ten seasons, Tampa Bay struggled, never had a winning record, and always finished fifth in the American League Eastern Division, except for a fourth-place finish in the 2004 season. Since 2008 however, the Rays have advanced to the postseason eight times and have played in the World Series twice, in 2008 and 2020. In 2021 the Rays achieved a 100-win regular season for the first time.
- ^ "Tropicana Field". MLB.com. Retrieved October 5, 2008.
- ^ "Time to shine: Rays introduce new name, new icon, new team colors and new uniforms". MLB.com. Retrieved October 5, 2008.
- ^ "Rays Timeline 1995–1996". MLB.com. Archived from the original on June 19, 2009. Retrieved October 5, 2008.
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