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  "path": "/the-tampa-bay-rays-are-still-flourishing-and-still-invisible",
  "publishedAt": "2026-05-22T13:49:41.000Z",
  "site": "https://defector.com",
  "tags": [
    "MLB",
    "baseball",
    "Junior Caminero",
    "Senior Caminero",
    "tampa bay rays",
    "The Manager's Name Is Kevin Cash BTW",
    "2,800-word free-weight"
  ],
  "textContent": "ESPN will still on occasion tear itself away from the subjects and sports leagues with which it shares bed space, and so it was with Alden Gonzalez's 2,800-word free-weight on the newly innovative (wait for it, and don't spit out your coffee when you see it) Miami Marlins. Whether or not this story is a compelling argument for the resuscitation of this largely cursed and generally ignored franchise, it is at least an acknowledgement that most of what Miami has been doing for the previous three decades has amounted to buying 30 calendars and taking the rest of the year off.\n\nMeanwhile, a team that truly changed baseball to its great competitive benefit is closing in on 20 years of mostly consistent success with only two holes in their CV: a World Series, and anyone else giving a damn. Now there's something for the Marlins to reflect upon as they talk about reimagining baseball, perhaps by doubling down on their stolen-base fixation by hitting more inside-the-park home runs.\n\nWe are referring, of course, to Miami's brother without a mother: Tampa Bay. As the day dawns, the Rays are preparing for a weekend series with the New York Yankees; the Rays, not the Yankees, come into this series with the best record in the American League, thanks to a run of 21 wins in their last 25 games that staked them to a four-game lead on New York. It is not a fluke—the Rays have the third-highest success rate in the sport since they stopped trying to do everything everyone else was doing in 2008. True, that was also the year they shortened their nickname from Devil Rays at the behest of some religio-wackjobs who thought the franchise was invoking Beelzebub rather than a charming bit of local aquatic fauna, but that's not how they turned things around, and it sure isn't how they've kept everything pointed in the right direction. That was done mostly through innovations in roster, rotation, and game construction that bother some folks even today, and through a dedication to keep messing around with what works to see if it could be made to work better. This hasn't won them a World Series, but it has had a measurable impact on the game as we understand it.",
  "title": "The Tampa Bay Rays Are Still Flourishing, And Still Invisible"
}