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Having A Ball With The Rays

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 22, 2008

The Tampa Bay Rays are all over the news these days, and I've got to say the timing couldn't be better.

With economic gloom-and-doom and party politics 24/7, our maiden voyage into October baseball is just what the doctor ordered.

The crack of the bat, the roar of the crowd and air conditioning to boot. With the Rays beating the Boston Red Sox in the American League Championship Series, it was fall in the Northeast meets fun in the sun. Tradition versus impertinence. Old money up against new verve.

No one can say the Rays' post-season run was bought and paid for bringing in marquee names and prima donna attitudes. But, at the same time, I reject the idea that our Rays are underpaid.

The other teams - let's face it - are way overpaid. Put enough outsized individual talents in the same uniform, and odds are they're going to do well. But this year proves it takes an actual team to win consistently, and our Rays are a team first, end of story.

When players are overcompensated, the pressure to perform kills their joy and taints their achievements. I have to admit, I pretty much lost interest in baseball after the last strike in 1994. The "juicing" fiasco, which uncovered players were using steroids, confirmed my cynicism.

But if anything is going to resurrect widespread enthusiasm in America's Game, it's fresh faces like the Tampa Bay Rays, playing with joy because they remember it's still, at the heart of things, just a game.

So let's all be careful. Let's not ruin the fun by climbing onboard the self-destructive bandwagon and turning our ball club into just another overpriced celebration of unrestrained excess. This team could spark a baseball renaissance and become a role model for realistic economic development.

These are my words for the Rays: Enjoy the ride, reap some rewards, save some money, invest back into the community, build on your success and then erect your own new stadium as a gift to Tampa Bay and a boon to this economy.

We have a golden opportunity with this team and should look to it as an example of how to have fun and profit at the same time. World Series rings or no, we would all turn into winners.

Derek Maul can be reached at derekmaul@gmail.com.

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