The Rays' Rise to Glory
by Dukes Knutson

In the aftermath of the Tampa Bay Rays’ startling conquest of their first playoff berth, Vice President of Communications Rick Vaughn, sequestered in a corner office in the Rays’ press box, celebrated with his staff. Decompressing from the euphoria of the moment, Vaughn then scrolled through a multitude of congratulatory messages on his BlackBerry.

“You’ll like this one,” he said. “It says, ‘I just returned from Mass, and the Gospel message for today is “the first shall be last, and the last shall be first."’ That’s the best one I’ll get.”

Sharing the Victory Radio host Ron Brown talked to Ben Zobrist of the Tampa Bay Rays just hours before they resume game 5 of the World Series in Philadelphia versus the Phillies. Listen Now!

Since their inception in 1998, the Rays (formerly the Devil Rays) have been the poster team for futility in Major League Baseball. Check out the evidence from the Rays’ first decade:

--They finished last in the formidable American League East in nine of 10 seasons (4th in 2004).

--They had never been more than four games over .500 in their history. (This year, the Rays finished 32 games over .500).

--They occupied first place in the AL East for a total of 18 days COMBINED in 10 years (This year, the Rays were atop the AL East for 109 days).

--Their greatest number of wins in one season was 70, and that was in 2004. (This year: 97.)

So, just how did this band of Mohawk-coiffed (a late-season, team-bonding rite) stallions script the 2008 version of “worst-to-first”?

The extreme makeover of Tampa Bay began on Oct. 6, 2005, when financial guru Stuart Sternberg assumed ownership of the beleaguered franchise. Sternberg immediately and boldly began to chart a new course for the Rays by corralling a pair of young, dynamic baseball wizards to oversee the daily operations of Rays’ baseball. He elevated Matt Silverman to president and hired Andrew Friedman as executive vice president of baseball operations. In addition, Sternberg lured long-time baseball mastermind Gerry Hunsicker from the Houston Astros to provide his youthful duo with veteran leadership.

The Rays infused their farm system with promising talent, which resulted from favorable draft picks, and the seedlings have now matured in 2008. Acrobatic defense, a replenished bullpen, clutch hitting and a kiddie-corps of promising starting pitchers propelled the Rays into the national limelight. Even the external image of the Rays changed this season with the re-christening of the shortened team name, its new team colors and new logo.
 

The ascension of the Rays came unexpectedly, although many pre-season prognosticators did forecast brighter days for the besieged organization. Just 19 games into the season, however, the Rays found themselves in their habitual cellar-dwelling position, three games below .500 at 8-11.

Hints of a revival sprouted at the end of April as the Rays reeled off six consecutive wins—series sweeps against Toronto and Boston—that vaulted them into a first-place tie in the AL East. Skeptics soon began to take notice of the Rays when they sustained their newly-found fortunes, and they gradually converted the doubting Thomases with more series sweeps over the highly-acclaimed Angels, Cubs, Marlins, and twice against the Red Sox.

The pinnacle of the Rays?’ astonishing season was reached Sept. 20 when they squashed the Minnesota Twins 7-2 to secure the team’s first playoff berth. A second celebration ensued just six days later in Detroit when the Rays guaranteed that, for the first time since 1997, the AL East championship banner would be raised in a ballpark other than Yankee Stadium or Fenway Park.

Bespectacled Manager Joe Maddon framed his outlook for 2008 back in spring training with this unusual equation: 9 = 8. Madden’s mantra was that nine players, giving maximum effort for nine innings, equals eight playoff teams. A herd of youthful, eager players provided the proof for Maddon’s theory and the AL East title.

Virtually every player on the Rays’ roster has worn the hero title at some point during the season, making the 2008 Rays the consummate team. 

“It’s one of those things that many players—Hall of Fame players—will go their entire careers and never experience anything like this,” said 2007 Comeback Player of the Year Carlos Pena. “And so I treat this with respect; I really appreciate it. I’m really very thankful and grateful for it. And the greatest thing about it is the way we’ve done it. It’s been a team that has humbly done it. It’s almost like we’re here by the grace of God.”

Ben Zobrist

Pena, who grew up in a Christian home in the Dominican Republic, surged in the second half of the season following a sub-par first-half, which was hampered by a stint on the disabled list due to a broken index finger. He is regarded as one of the Rays’ charismatic and veteran leaders, and an MVP candidate.

“Sometimes people might see me and say ‘This guy is happy! Why is he always happy?’” he said. “In reality, I could find a million things to be happy about. If you are observing life through the eyes of the majority of the people around you, then, yeah, you can find a bunch of things to complain about. But I have this idea of ‘staying within.’ Stay within—that’s something that’s big for me. My own world. MY world. In my world, only a few things exist: God, my family, and being grateful. And I try not to leave room for anything else.”

Pena is widely acclaimed for his work in the Tampa Bay community. On the day prior to the Rays’ playoff-clinching victory over the Twins, a young boy was involved in a serious accident, and he will likely never walk again. When Pena learned that he is the boy’s favorite baseball player, he went to the hospital to visit him, overwhelming the victim and his parents with his altruistic and genuine caring.

Another of the Rays’ faith-professing stars is Ben Zobrist. Being groomed to be the Rays’ utility man out of spring training, he fractured his left thumb and, instead, landed on the DL for the first month of the season. The hard-working son of a preacher relentlessly and aggressively rehabilitated, but bounced between Durham (the Rays’ AAA affiliate) and Tampa Bay four times before finding his niche with the Rays.

“Yeah, it’s been tough to a certain degree,” the affable Zobrist said of his yo-yo ride this year. “But I think if you realize you’re giving it your best shot, then it’s up to the Lord beyond that. If you’re giving everything you can on the field, working hard, and things may not be working out the way you want things to work out, then obviously God has another plan in mind. 

“He doesn’t always want our success in whatever we do,” Zobrist continued. “It’s hard to accept that, but as long as you just take care of your business and make sure you’re doing everything you can possibly do, then at some point you just have to trust the Lord and believe that even in demotion you might be blessed.”

The most versatile of the Rays (he has started at five different positions this season), the 6’3”, 200-lb. Zobrist, who was active in his high school FCA Huddle, has added a new dimension to his resume: power.

In 280 Major League at-bats coming into this season, he slugged just three home runs.  But in 198 at-bats this summer, Zobrist clubbed 12 dingers, including two grand slams, and four home runs in the season-ending series at Detroit.

“I’ve hit for a lot more power,” he said of his personal highlight to this banner season.  “Seeing the ball come off my bat a few times, I didn’t know I had some of those swings in me. So that’s been kind of a light for me, and maybe I can do some of that a little bit more often.  I mean, hitting a grand slam at Yankee Stadium is such a thrill! I’ve just been very blessed.”

Like Pena, Zobrist appreciates the camaraderie in the Rays’ clubhouse. “It’s been a blast,” he said. “To be in a clubhouse like this among so many young guys and guys who are sort of in the twilight of their careers—it’s a great mix. Everybody has a pretty good attitude about going out there every day and just having fun. It’s easy to forget how to have fun at this level, but guys are having fun playing together, encouraging each other, and pushing each other to do better.  To be a part of that atmosphere at this point of the year is special to say the least.”

Burly outfielder Gabe Gross was peddled by the Milwaukee Brewers to the Rays in late April and was used primarily as a defensive replacement and spot-starter early on. However, his club-leading three walk-off hits, coupled with injuries to stalwarts Rocco Baldelli and Carl Crawford soon landed him in the starting lineup.

“My initial reaction was one of surprise and a little bit of sorrow,” Gross said of his trade to the Rays. “I had some really good friends in Milwaukee, and I was sad that I was going to be leaving that situation. But once I started learning a little bit about what this team was about, and I got down here and started meeting some of the guys, it became a blessing in a hurry.”

As is customary with many teams, Rays’ players select songs to be piped over the loudspeaker each time they come to bat. In Milwaukee (“I Can Only Imagine”) and now in Tampa Bay (“Blessed Be Your Name”), Gross has selected Christian music to pump him up. 

“So many people come up to me or write me letters, and tell me how much they appreciate that song, how much it’s meant to them,” Gross said. “I think the reason I love that song so much—the reason for playing it—is because I think Christians get a bad rap sometimes when they say after a big win or something good happens, ‘I want to give praise to Jesus.’ People say they never hear that in the losers’ locker room; you never hear them give praise to Jesus. And the biggest thing about that song is that it’s speaking to us no matter what’s going on in our lives, good or bad. ‘You give and take away, but my heart will choose to say, blessed be Your name’ I want that to represent my life.”

While Zobrist and Gross dream of a ring on their finger at the conclusion of the 2008 playoffs, both are understandably even more enthralled about their imminent new roles as first-time fathers. 

“It’s going to be fantastic! We (Ben and wife, Julianne) are so excited,” Zobrist said. “We’re going to have a boy. I’ve been thinking about how we’re going to raise him. We’ve been praying about that, along with my wife and the baby staying healthy. It’s been such a blessing already. We really can’t wait to experience it.”

Gross concurred. “Right now, it’s surreal to me. My wife (Kelly) and I have been trying for some time to have children, and it looks like this is going to work out. We’re still praying very hard for God’s protection over her and the child.

“I’ve heard from several different people, and just know from seeing it, that having children and being a father changes your life exponentially,” he continued. “There’s nothing more important to me in this life than Jesus Christ and family. I’m very close to my family—my mom and dad and brother—and to start the whole experience of having my own family is something I’m very much looking forward to.”

Pena, Zobrist and Gross are all active in the Rays’ Baseball Chapel program, which has been shepherded since 2005 by Gio Llerena, a former youth pastor.

“Many of the guys who attend chapel are active in their local church back home,” Gio said, “so, when they can’t attend church due to their work, Baseball Chapel sort of becomes church for them. Also, the fellowship, encouragement, and any help my wife (Suzy) and I can be to the guys and their families is important. Helping them stay focused in their walk with the Lord is what I strive for. It’s so easy to lose that focus in this game, and I try to help them balance that out with Bible study, text messages, etc.”

Gio often recruits members of his “flock” to share testimonies or words of encouragement to others, and they are more than happy to do so. After Zobrist was injured and put on the DL at the beginning of the season, he and Gio conducted Bible studies and shared fellowship with players in the Rays’ minor league camp, and Gio credits Zobrist with leading one young prospect to the Lord.

“One of the players was asking questions, and Ben made himself available to answer them and share Scripture with him,” he recapped. “Shortly after that, Ben received a phone call from this player to tell him he had accepted Christ as his Savior. Ben was at my house when he received the call. I know that the angels have a party when one comes to Christ, but we had one also!”

Added Zobrist: “Baseball Chapel to me has been a consistent source of Christian networking throughout my pro baseball career. I can always count on Baseball Chapel to have a brother-in-Christ already there to encourage me. Gio has been a fantastic example of what a Christian leader in the home and a Christian man ought to be. He has been there for me on so many occasions. His friendship is special to me personally as he has helped counsel me through some difficult times, and he has celebrated with us through blessed times. We have studied the Word together, ministered to others together and prayed together. He is a great source of accountability.”

Like most Rays’ fans who have suffered through a decade of folly at Tropicana Field, Gio has been riveted by the Rays’ about-face. And, while sports talk pundits scrutinize the reasons for the Rays’ success, Gio has a unique take on it. “They took the ‘Devil’ out of the name!”

Truly, the 2008 Rays have obviously taken the devil out of their game, too.

--For more stories about faith and sport, visit www.sharingthevictory.com, the official magazine of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. To subscribe to STV, click here.

Photos courtesy Tampa Bay Rays/Skip Milos.