ST. PETERSBURG -- Since the franchise’s “Rays” era began in 2008, Tampa Bay has been a consistently competitive club in the always-challenging American League East. The Rays have won American League titles and division titles, fought their way into October as a Wild Card team and endured only brief periods where contention was out of the question.
With that in mind, let’s look back and rank the best teams in franchise history. This list conveniently proceeds in a mostly linear fashion that reflects their success in the postseason: two AL East champions that fell short in the World Series, a pair of division champs that lost in the AL Division Series, a Wild Card club that couldn’t push past the ALDS and a Wild Card team that failed to advance.
There were other postseason teams to consider and other successful seasons, but this is our list.
1. 2008 | Record: 97-65 (.599)
After 10 straight losing seasons as the Devil Rays, Tampa Bay changed its name and pulled off a remarkable worst-to-first turnaround. The 2008 Rays vaulted into contention under manager Joe Maddon with young veterans like James Shields, Carl Crawford and Carlos Peña and rookie stars Evan Longoria and David Price. In the end, Longoria was named AL Rookie of the Year and Maddon the AL Manager of the Year. The Rays won the AL East for the first time and beat the Red Sox to claim their first AL pennant, before going on to lose the World Series to the Phillies in five games.
2. 2020 | Record: 40-20 (.667)
You can’t fault this edition of the Rays for only having a 60-game schedule, because they made the most out of the shortened season that was played amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Tampa Bay flexed its pitching depth and dominance throughout the season as AL Manager of the Year Award winner Kevin Cash rode established starters like Blake Snell, Ryan Yarbrough, Tyler Glasnow and Charlie Morton along with a hard-throwing bullpen nicknamed “The Stable” to the club’s third AL East title. Randy Arozarena put together a postseason like no other. Mike Brosseau’s triumphant home run pushed them past the Yankees in the ALDS. They escaped the Astros in the AL Championship Series and authored one of the most memorable moments in franchise history in World Series Game 4, before falling frustratingly short against the Dodgers in Game 6.
3. 2021 | Record: 100-62 (.617)
This was inarguably the best regular season in franchise history, as the Rays secured their first 100-win campaign. They were an offensive juggernaut, having scored 857 runs. Their bullpen was incredible, even as they shuffled through 41 pitchers. Shane McClanahan stepped up as a top-of-the-rotation starter when Tyler Glasnow went down with a season-ending injury. Drew Rasmussen came over in the Willy Adames trade and turned into a remarkably reliable starter. Andrew Kittredge had a relief season for the ages. Brandon Lowe hit 39 homers, Mike Zunino slugged 33, and Austin Meadows launched 27 more. Randy Arozarena lived up to his postseason hype as the AL Rookie of the Year. Top prospect Wander Franco arrived and contributed in a big way. Seemingly everyone made an impact, including fan favorites like Brett Phillips, Joey Wendle, Ji-Man Choi and Yandy Díaz. The Rays even made a rare “big” trade at the Deadline, sending pitching prospect Joe Ryan to Minnesota for DH Nelson Cruz. They had by far the AL’s best record but ran out of gas (and pitching) in the end, falling to the Red Sox, 3-1, in the ALDS.
4a. 2010 | Record: 96-66 (.593)
Both the 2010 and ’19 clubs finished 96-66 and lost, 3-2, in the ALDS. But we’ll give the '10 club the slight edge here for having won the division, the second AL East title in franchise history. This club got the most out of its stars, especially Evan Longoria (143 OPS+, 104 RBIs, 8.2 WAR), Crawford (135 OPS+, 47 steals, 7 WAR) and David Price (19-6, 2.72 ERA, 4.7 WAR). They played incredible defense all over the diamond, and the bullpen -- led by closer Rafael Soriano (45 saves) and setup men Joaquin Benoit (1.34 ERA) and Grant Balfour (2.28 ERA) -- was lights-out. This team seemed bound for great things, only to fall to Cliff Lee and the Rangers in Game 5 of the ALDS.
4b. 2019 | Record: 96-66 (.593)
As successful as the club has been since its rebirth as the Rays, Tampa Bay went five straight seasons without reaching the postseason from 2014-18. But this '19 team, led by All-Stars Charlie Morton, Austin Meadows and Brandon Lowe, ended that drought and marked the start of something new. They received key contributions from veterans like Tommy Pham, Avisaíl García and Travis d'Arnaud, not to mention homegrown center fielder Kevin Kiermaier and reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell. But they also had a young core in Willy Adames, Austin Meadows, Brandon Lowe, Tyler Glasnow and Ryan Yarbrough, among others. These Rays beat the A’s in the AL Wild Card Game, before losing the ALDS to the Astros in five games.
5. 2023 | Record: 99-63 (.611)
This season could not have possibly gotten off to a better start. No, seriously. The Rays tied a Modern Era record by winning each of their first 13 games, a ludicrously impressive stretch that set them up to reach the postseason. They had four All-Stars: Randy Arozarena, Wander Franco, Yandy Díaz (who won the AL batting title by hitting .330) and Shane McClanahan. Isaac Paredes slugged 31 homers and drove in 98 runs. Josh Lowe had an incredible power-speed season. The bullpen was dominant. Zach Eflin finished sixth in the AL Cy Young Award voting. But it fell apart in the end due to Franco’s placement on administrative leave, McClanahan’s season-ending elbow injury, Lowe’s injuries and more. The Rays let the division slip away to the Orioles and were swept out of the AL Wild Card Series by the eventual World Series champion Rangers.