MLB.com has broken down the top five players at each position in Rays history. Some of the decisions were pretty clear -- hi, Evan Longoria -- while others created a good amount of debate.
But after trying to decide what the all-time Rays team would look like on the field, it was time to start thinking about which Tampa Bay manager would manage the all-time club. And, well, it’s a pretty straightforward debate.
Joe Maddon or Kevin Cash? Kevin Cash or Joe Maddon?
Both guided the Rays from worst to first. Both established themselves with Tampa Bay as arguably the best manager of his time. Both have a claim to being the greatest manager in franchise history.
Maddon joined the Rays heading into the 2006 season, tasked with taking a cellar-dwelling team and leading it into a new era under new leadership. He did just that in his first job as a full-time Major League manager, pulling off a worst-to-first turnaround in '08 that marked their arrival as a legitimate contender.
Under Maddon, the Rays won one American League pennant. They won 754 games in the regular season and lost 705. They reached the postseason four times but only advanced past the AL Division Series once.
When Maddon left to manage the Cubs after the 2014 season, Cash took the reins of his hometown team. The Tampa native got his first managerial job in a time of transition for the Rays, as baseball operations leader Andrew Friedman also departed for a bigger market in Los Angeles. With the farm system no longer churning out stars and the central figures of Maddon’s era either elsewhere or entering the second act of their careers, it seemed obvious it would take some time for Tampa Bay to return to glory.
It took only four years for the Rays to achieve another winning season and five to get back into the playoffs. Since then, Cash has left no doubt that he is the most successful manager the club has ever employed.
The Rays have been a consistent contender under Cash, reaching the postseason five consecutive seasons from 2019-23 then returning to the World Series in '26.
Cash has been on the job with Tampa Bay longer than Maddon was. After guiding the Rays to the Fall Classic in 2026, he had managed 383 more regular-season games for the Rays and won 240 more. He is the winningest manager in franchise history by victories and winning percentage. And the Rays’ track record in the postseason under Cash is now better than that under Maddon: They won two AL pennants and were unable to advance past the ALDS in their other four attempts.
Both hires were relatively bold. Maddon had only a pair of stints as interim manager of the Angels, although he had a deep coaching background. Cash was only 37 years old in his first season as a Major League manager, having spent only two years as Terry Francona’s bullpen coach in Cleveland after a brief stint as a scout.
Both went on to be named AL Manager of the Year twice with the Rays: Maddon in 2008 and ’11, Cash in 2020 and ’21.
Both were unafraid to be bold, embracing the “Rays way” of doing business.
Maddon provided stability for a young Rays organization that had gone through three managers in its first eight years of existence. He also brought a forward-thinking approach and a contagious energy, which is exactly what the club needed after posting eight consecutive losing seasons.
There were some doubters, but it all came together in 2008.
Yes, the Rays had a lot of young talent during that season, but Maddon’s unorthodox leadership helped Tampa Bay reach its first World Series appearance in franchise history. While Maddon’s tactics of themed road trips and Spring Training shows gained a lot of publicity during his time with the Cubs, that all started with the Rays.
“From the beginning, we felt our ideal candidate would have infectious energy and optimism, strong communication skills, extensive player development background and willingness to embrace new ideas,” Friedman said in 2005. “He is a teacher, a leader and a strong communicator. He understands what it takes for a team to be successful.”
Cash offered a different personality but arguably an even greater desire to win. Maddon communicated through the media and often became the face of the Rays’ unorthodox approach. Cash has been no less daring in deploying tactics like the opener and other forward-thinking strategies, but he’s also content to let players be themselves and credit others whenever something goes well.
Cash has also been consistently successful in a different era of the game, where the analytics and tactics that Maddon once pioneered have become adopted across the board, minimizing the margins for a manager to make an impact. Yet Cash has continued to be on the cutting edge, adapting to the personnel he has provided to get the most out of each year’s roster.
“I think Joe and Evan Longoria are probably the two biggest faces in uniform for the franchise. To be able to be tied with Joe would be quite an honor,” Cash said shortly before winning his 755th game. “The opportunity to go one more win beyond that? Pretty humbling.”
Maddon or Cash? Cash or Maddon? For Rays fans, it’s a good question to ask.