Jeff Niemann Loses in Arbitration with Rays : February 04, 2012

Pitcher Jeff Niemann will earn $2.75 million in 2012 instead of the $3.2 million he requested through arbitration after arbitrators Howard Edelman, Mark Irvings and James Oldham ruled in favor...

Rays Sign Keppinger to 1-Year Contract : January 30, 2012

The Tampa Bay Rays have signed free agent infielder Jeff Keppinger to a one-year contract. The financial terms have not been disclosed. Keppinger, who is 31 years old, played for both...

Carlos Pena Signs 1-Year Deal with Rays : January 21, 2012

Free agent first baseman Carlos Pena will be returning to the Tampa Bay Rays, the team he played with between 2007 and 2010, after signing a one-year, $7.25 million contract. Pena,...

Matt Moore Re-Signs With Rays : December 11, 2011

The Tampa Bay Rays and left-handed starting pitcher Matt Moore have agreed to a five-year, $14 million contract. Moore, who made his major league debut with the Rays in September,...

Catcher Jose Molina Signs with Tampa Bay Rays : November 29, 2011

The Tampa Bay Rays and 36-year-old Jose Molina have agreed to a one-year contract worth $1.8 million. Under the deal, Molina will receive $1.5 million in 2012 and the club will...

Tampa Bay Rays Release Spring Training Schedule : November 23, 2011

The Tampa Bay Rays will play 16 home games at Charlotte Sports Park during Spring Training in 2012. Their opening game will be away against the Minnesota Twins on March 3...

Maddon and Gibson Names MLB Managers of the Year : November 16, 2011

KIrk Gibson, manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Joe Maddon, manager of the Tampa Bay Rays have been named managers of the year by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Gibson...

Hellickson, Kimbrel Named Rookies of the Year : November 14, 2011

Jeremy Hellickson, pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays, has been chosen as the American League Rookie of the Year, while Craig Kimbrel, closer for the Atlanta Braves, took home the...

Rangers Push Rays to the Edge, Command Series 2-1 : October 04, 2011

The Texas Rangers have taken control of the ALDS by beating the Tampa Bay Rays 4-3 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series. The Rangers fell behind 1-0 early...

Rays Win AL Wild Card Spot in Dramatic Fashion : September 29, 2011

The team that never quits. Down by 9 games to the Boston Red Sox with a month left to go in the season and down by 7 runs in the final...

Wild Card Races Come Down to the Wire : September 28, 2011

It's all tied up. The Atlanta Braves and the St. Louis Cardinals are tied for the National League wild card spot with one game to go in the regular season. And...

Matt Moore Brings Rays Closer to Playoffs with Rout of Yankees : September 23, 2011

Rookie pitcher Matt Moore couldn't have imagined a bigger stage on which to begin his major league career. However, if he was nervous about starting his first big league game...

NY Yankees Beat Rays, Win AL East : September 22, 2011

By beating the Tampa Bay Rays 4-2 on Wednesday, the New York Yankees not only clinched a playoff spot, but also captured the AL East Division title. Their appearance in...

Rays Take Game One at Fenway. Cut Deficit to Three : September 16, 2011

The Tampa Bay Rays will live to fight another day in their quest for the AL Wild Card. They were aided by some luck, a broken bat single from B.J....

Orioles Continue to be a Thorn in the Rays’ Side : September 15, 2011

If the Rays don't make the playoffs this year, they will have the Orioles to blame for a lot of that. When the season began, the Rays started off 1-8....

Rays lose ground on Weiters Homer : September 14, 2011

In a crushing loss on Tuesday, the Tampa Bay Rays lost ground to the Boston Red Sox. The Sox got a big win with an offensive explosion to beat Toronto...

Tampa Bay Rays Call Up Prospect Matt Moore : September 13, 2011

Just in time for the series against the Baltimore Orioles to get underway, the Tampa Bay Rays have called up their top pitching prospect, Matt Moore to join the team...

Do the Rays Have Enough Left in the Tank to Make the Playoffs? : September 12, 2011

The Tampa Bay Rays are making this year's September a very interesting one so far. They have shaved a once rather large deficit to the Red Sox and Yankees down...

Sweep of Red Sox Would Keep Rays in Playoff Hunt : September 10, 2011

Unless the Tampa Bay Rays sweep the Boston Red Sox in this three-game set, their season is as good as over. Out of the seven games they have left in head-to-head...

Teixeria, Yankees Sweep Rays : September 07, 2009

When Derek Jeter came onto the field to do his wind sprints before the doubleheader he received a standing ovation. Unfortunately, Jeter wasn't able to give the fans much...

tampa bay rays History

The Major League Baseball club Tampa Bay Rays play in the American League's Eastern Division and are based out of St. Petersburg, Florida. Since being formed in 1998, Tampa Bay has played their home games at Tropicana Field. They have finished in last place all but four times.

In November 2007, significant changes were made to the franchise's image by Stuart Sternberg, the majority owner. The name of the club was changed from Devil Rays to Rays. He described it as a beacon radiating across Tampa Bay as well as the whole state of Florida. Tampa Bay's primary colors were changed from blue, green and black to gold, Columbia blue and navy blue. The symbol of the team was changed to a sunlight ray from the manta ray. However the symbol of the mantra ray still appears on their jersey sleeves and in the outfield there is a tank full of cownose rays.

The first winning season for the Rays came in 2008. Tampa Bay went from having the worst record the year before to the best record through Memorial Day. That year Tampa Bay won the franchise's first division title, then went on to win the American League pennant. In the ALDS, the Rays beat the Chicago White Sox and then beat the Boston Red Sox in the ALCS. There were defeated by the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series in five games.