Rays are setting records

by Brandon King

The MLB season is in full swing and the Tampa Bay Rays are apparently the best team in baseball. The Rays are 10-0 after beating the Boston Red Sox 1-0 on Monday (10th). They are the first team to accomplish this feat to go 10-0 since the 1987 Milwaukee Brewers.

It is a very long season and the Rays have not played a top talent so far this season but still a very very impressive start to the year for this team. What is mind blowing even more is the Rays have done it with the third lowest payroll in the entire league. The only two teams paying their teams less are the Baltimore Orioles and the Oakland Athletics. The Orioles are at 5-5 on the year while the Athletics are at 2-8.

Looks may be a bit deceiving though as this 10-0 team has only played the other bottom feeders of the league, sweeping the 2-7

Detroit Tigers who finished last season 30 games below .500, taking down the Nationals on the road, currently 3-7 after finishing last season 55-107 - dead last in all of the MLB. The other team they beat are the Oakland Athletics who as I mentioned before are currently 2-8 and have the lowest payroll in baseball after having the second worst record last year at 60-102. They beat their first above .500 club in the Boston Red Sox, currently 5-4, a division rival. Should Rays fans be concerned about this? No, absolutely not. This Tampa Bay team came into the year with low expectations and fans more concerned about if the stadium should stay in St. Petersburg or be forced to move into actual Tampa. The Rays did make a wild card spot last season after finishing 86-76 but they did not do much with it, losing to the Cleveland Guardians.

The highest paid player on the Rays is being paid $11 million dollars a year. In comparison, the Phillies’ third string pitcher is paid $18 million dollars. The Rays will not keep this up the entire season, going undefeated in baseball is almost impossible, but they have Tampa Bay fans talking about something other than football or hockey and the MLB world putting this once forgotten franchise on center stage. The Rays outscored their opponents 75-18 through 10 games, the last three being complete shutouts where they posted 23 runs while allowing 0. Young superstar shortstop Wander Franco is batting a .351 with 4 home runs which is just one off of the lead for home runs in the MLB. Franco is only 22 and in his 3rd season in the MLB. Will this young team keep up a historic pace or will the season, and having too much youth, catch up to this headturning team?