The Remarkable Consistency of the Tampa Bay Rays

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The conversation about the consistently good baseball clubs tends to surround the same names. The New York Yankees (except this season), the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Houston Astros, the Atlanta Braves, etc. One franchise that has earned the right to be mentioned in the discussion is the Tampa Bay Rays.

But what has made them so good for so long?

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The Tampa Bay Rays’ Will to Win

The club has made four postseasons in a row, including a World Series appearance during the shortened 2020 campaign. They’ll obviously be a playoff participant this year as well. Given the rather small market they operate in, to say nothing of the struggles to bring fans to Tropicana Field, David Bastl asks former Blue Jays manager John Gibbons what the secret of their success is.

“It’s really unbelievable what they do down there. There’s never a lack of talent. You go back historically and they’ve always had some of the best arms in baseball. David Price, James Shields… They always came at you with arms.”

Gibbons goes on to explain that the All-Star calibre players just keep showing up in Tampa. Yandy Diaz currently has the fifth-best batting average in baseball. From a pitching standpoint, the rotation and bullpen have earned the second-best ERA in baseball. Shane McClanahan is still on a 60-day IL, but players like Zach Eflin and Tyler Glasnow have picked up the slack.

Will this be the year the Rays get over the hump and win it all? We’ll find out in the weeks ahead.

The Rays continue a huge four-game set in Baltimore against the Orioles Friday night. They won the first match, 4-3, closing the gap on the Orioles in the AL East to a single game.