Featured Post

30 Teams in 30 Posts: #12

I'm ranking all 30 of the MLB teams in order of how much I like them at this moment in time.  As with most countdowns, I'm starting with the worst (Cardinals) and I'll eventually end up with the best (Reds).  The real question now is:  Where will the other MLB teams land in my countdown?

When I decided to sit down and rank all 30 MLB teams, there were a few teams that I was sure that would be near the top of my list and a few teams that I knew would be near the bottom of my list.  What was the most fun was figuring out the "middle" teams.  In the case of team #12 on my countdown, I would even say that I ended up surprised where this particular team landed on my countdown.

#12:  Tampa Bay Rays
Image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tampa_Bay_Rays

Woah, right?  The Rays are a classic small market team but with sort of a chip on their shoulder.  They know they have to compete year in and year out against the "big boys" of the Yankees and Red Sox but the Rays seem to use that as motivation rather than as an excuse.  I definitely respect the organization for trying to compete using a limited budget (and for the success that they often have in that difficult division). 

I also like the Rays quite a bit since I think of them as baseball innovators of sorts.  Again, driven primarily by their small budget and difficult division, the Rays are always lurking around the edges of the baseball "book" trying to see what they can reinvent (or perhaps invent) to make their chances of success better.  While I'm not always on board with all of their ideas (the "opener" for one), I do respect them for trying. 

In today's MLB age, the least you can expect from your team is that they try and at least the Rays typically do that.  Now if only Tampa Bay could get some fans to show up consistently...and for us card collectors, I do wish there were some active Rays fans out there to trade with!


My list of favorite MLB teams (from worst to first):
#30:  St. Louis Cardinals
#29:  New York Yankees
#28:  San Francisco Giants
#27:  Washington Nationals
#26:  Boston Red Sox
#25:  Chicago Cubs
#24:  Atlanta Braves
#23:  Los Angeles Dodgers
#22:  Milwaukee Brewers
#21:  Miami Marlins
#20:  San Diego Padres
#19:  Arizona Diamondbacks
#18:  Texas Rangers
#17:  Los Angeles Angels
#16:  Kansas City Royals
#15:  Minnesota Twins
#14:  Oakland Athletics
#13:  Philadelphia Phillies
#12:  Tampa Bay Rays
to be continued...

Comments

  1. Good ranking for the Rays. They're in my Top 10, because I adore small market teams and out-of-the-box thinking.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I remember you going down this rabbit hole a few years ago and you threw in the towel. I was legitimately bummed out about it! Glad to see you took on the task again. I’m curious how high up a certain team in blue and orange is 🤔 surprised they made it this far tbh. I guess time does heal all wounds and you forgive us for game 163 of the 99’ season!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Tom: Yes, the Rays are definitely Top 10 eligible with them barely missing the cut this year. I (obviously) have a thing for small market teams.

    Rodd: I admit that I was as surprised as you must be with where your Metropolitans landed in my countdown this year. Closer to '99 they'd for sure be bottom 3 but I guess time does heal some wounds (you'll notice that the Giants still reside near the bottom of my rankings).

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment