TAMPA, FL— The Tampa Bay Rays have accomplished the best start of the season since the 1984 Detroit Tigers with a record of 26-6 as of Thursday, May 5. Having won their first game 13 games of the season their stellar start shows no signs of slowing down. They have a win percentage of .806. Their run differential of +113 is the best in the MLB. They’re good for a margin of +3.6 runs per game.
The Rays are an expansion team founded in 1998. Believe by Cher was the best selling song that year. That’s not relevant but what a song am I right?
According to sports business website Sportico they are the 29th most valuable MLB franchise with a value of $1.19 billion.
They have made the playoffs eight times since they were founded.
Their payroll for this season is $73,926,654 according to spotrac.com. This is 28th in MLB rankings. The top eight teams are all over the $200 million mark. The New York Mets have the highest wage bill of $345,861,445.
They were also at the centre of a rule debate on May 5 as Zach Eflin was forced to remove his wedding ring vs. Pittsburgh Pirates. They cannot seem to divert the attention away from themselves this season.
“Zach Eflin said the umpires made him take off his rubber wedding ring. Said it’s something that means a lot to him and he doesn’t like to not wear it. But umps told him he would be ejected if he didn’t take it off” stated Rays side line reporter Tricia Whitaker.
The 1984 Tigers went on to win the World Series after their record start.
