Tampa Bay Rays Tickets

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Tampa Bay Rays History

The Tampa Bay Rays became an expansion team for Major League Baseball ahead of the 1998 season. The Rays’ inaugural year was largely defined by Hall of Fame third baseman Wade Boggs, who returned to his native Tampa for the final two seasons of his career and later became the first player in league history to record a home run on his 3,000th hit. Tampa experienced its first bout of major success when a core lineup of Carl Crawford, Evan Longoria, David Price, Scott Kazmir and manager Joe Maddon won their first American League East title in 2008. After advancing to the World Series, the Rays fell to the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-1. Over the next decade, the team made five postseason runs, earning the AL Pennant and reaching the World Series for the second time in 2020 before ultimately losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-2. The team secured the AL East division title in 2020 and 2021, then qualified for a Wild Card berth in 2022 and 2023. 

Boggs and first baseman Fred McGriff represent the Tampa Bay Rays’ Hall of Fame alum, while pitchers David Price and Blake Snell earned the Cy Young Award in 2012 and 2018, respectively. The team has also drafted four Rookie of the Year selections and competed with five Gold Glove winners, four Silver Sluggers and two Manager of the Year honorees: Maddon and Kevin Cash, who both won twice. 

Tampa Bay Rays Team Info

League: American League
Division: East
Team Colors: Navy Blue, Columbia Blue, Yellow, White
Team Rivals: Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Miami Marlins

Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field

The Tampa Bay Rays have played at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida since their entrance to MLB in 1998. Holding a current capacity of 25,000 that can be expanded to 42,735, Tropicana Field previously hosted a number of sporting events beyond baseball including home games for the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning and the NCAA’s St. Petersburg Bowl. The domed stadium uniquely contains an aquarium exhibit called The Rays Touch Tank, which showcases three different species of rays for fans to admire.

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