Tag / Rays

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Rays All Time Leaders – Through 2025

To paraphrase from a famous movie, the one constant through all the years has been baseball.  As we head into 2026, we continue our look at the all-time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. Today, we take a deeper dive into the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Rays began life in 1998 as the Devil Rays, dropping the Devil portion of their name in 2008.  I’ve seen 204 players wearing the Tampa Bay uniform in the 31 of their games that I’ve attended live, five as the Devil Rays and the remaining 26 as the Rays, including the 2008 ALDS and two games at their horrible home dome in 2021.

Home Runs

Name Total
B.J. Upton 5
Matthew Joyce 3
Ben Zobrist 2
Luke Raley 2
Isaac Paredes 2

Hits

Name Total
B.J. Upton 18
Ben Zobrist 16
Carlos Pena 9
Evan Longoria 9

Runs

Name Total
Ben Zobrist 11
B.J. Upton 9
Matthew Joyce 7

RBI

Name Total
B.J. Upton 11
Carlos Pena 8
Ben Zobrist 7
Evan Longoria 7

Doubles

Name Total
Wander Franco 4
Ben Zobrist 3
Evan Longoria 3
Jason Bartlett 3
Manuel Margot 3
Brandon Lowe 3

Triples Continue reading →

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2025 Predictions Revisited

Six months ago, I made my annual predictions as to who would win what in the 2025 MLB season.  With the Division Series round in full swing, it is time to revisit those predictions and see what, if anything, I got right.

American League

East: Red Sox

While the Red Sox returned to the postseason as a wild card, the Blue Jays managed to take home their first division title since 2015.

Central: Guardians

The Tigers held first place for most of the season, but a late September surge by the Guardians gave them the crown.

West: Mariners

Hey, that’s two right now.  After years of falling short, the Mariners finally held off the Astros to take home their first division title since 2001.

Wild Cards: Rays, Twins, Orioles

Not a single correct guess here.  The Twins and Orioles bottomed out, while the Rays hung around the race for most of the season, but couldn’t make a run.  Instead, the Yankees, Red Sox, and Tigers topped the wild card standings.

AL Champion: Guardians

Well, their hot run couldn’t last forever.  Since the Guardians are out, the field looks to be wide open.  What a story it would be for the Mariners to make their first World Series appearance.

Cy Young: Garrett Crochet

While Tiger starter Tarik Skubal looks to be the front-runner, Crochet has a chance to get some support here.

MVP: Julio Rodriguez

It’s going to come down to Rodriguez’s teammate Cal Raleigh or Aaron Judge, who had another monster season.

National League

Continue reading →

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All Time Playoff Team Records

We’ve made it through 162 games and, for the first time since 2020, the Cubs are in the post-season as the top-seeded Wild Card in the National League.  In a rematch of the 1984 NLCS, they start a best of three series against the Padres at Wrigley Field today.  The winner of that series will advance to the NLDS and face the Brewers starting Saturday.

It’s time to take an updated look at the team records for the now 33 playoff contests I have attended. These contests come from the 2018 Wild Card game, the ALDS in 2000, 2005, 2008, and 2021, the NLDS in 2003, 2007, 2008, 2015, 2016, and 2017, the NLCS in 2003, 2015, 2016, and 2017, the ALCS in 2005, and, of course, the 2005 and 2016 World Series.

Post-Season Team Records

Team Name Won Loss Winning Pctg
Florida Marlins 3 0 1.000
Seattle Mariners 2 0 1.000
New York Mets 2 0 1.000
Colorado Rockies 1 0 1.000
Arizona Diamondbacks 1 0 1.000
Chicago White Sox 6 5 0.545
Los Angeles Dodgers 3 3 0.500
Atlanta Braves 1 1 0.500
Cleveland Indians 1 1 0.500
Los Angeles Angels 1 1 0.500
Washington Nationals 1 1 0.500
Tampa Bay Rays 1 1 0.500
Chicago Cubs 9 13 0.409
Houston Astros 1 2 0.333
San Francisco Giants 0 2 0.000
St. Louis Cardinals 0 1 0.000
Boston Red Sox 0 2 0.000
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Looking Ahead To 2026

Eschewing their traditional day after the All-Star Game release, Major League Baseball released their tentative 2026 schedule on a random Tuesday at the end of August.  For the fourth year in a row, MLB is keeping with a balanced schedule, playing 52 games against division opponents, 64 games against non-division opponents in the same league, and 46 interleague games, with series against every team in the opposite league.  With a young and improving White Sox team already looking ahead to next year and the Cubs trying to lock down a Wild Card spot, the 2026 season looks like it could be an interesting one for the city of Chicago.  So, for one day, at least, let’s turn our attention to next summer for both teams.

The White Sox open their season on March 26, the earliest North American start in league history, under the dome in Milwaukee against the Brewers, followed by a trip to South Beach to face the Marlins.  They open up their home schedule against the Blue Jays on April 2.

Aside from the Brewers and Marlins, the interleague schedule sees the White Sox going on the road to face the Phillies, Cardinals, Diamondbacks, and Padres, while the Pirates, Reds, Dodgers, Braves, Mets, Rockies, and Nationals make their way to Rate Field.  The rivalry with their north side foes continues with a three-game weekend series at home Wrigley Field in mid-May followed by a weekday series at Wrigley Field in mid-August.

The White Sox wrap up the 2026 season in September with series against the Twins, Guardians, and Tigers, should it matter.  The season ends at home with a three-game series against the Rockies.

On the north side, the Cubs kick off their season at home against the Nationals and the Angels before heading out on the road in early April.  Aside from the Angels, the Cubs will host the Twins, A’s, Yankees, Blue Jays, and Tigers, while travelling to visit the Mariners, Orioles, Guardians, Red Sox, and Royals.

Twelve of their 24 games in September are against their NL Central rivals, with six coming against the Brewers, which could make a difference should the Cubs find themselves in contention once again.  They end the year with a three-game road trip to Boston to face the Red Sox.

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And That Deadline Was A Bit Of A Dud

The MLB trade deadline has come and gone and neither the Cubs nor the White Sox made the big moves they were expected to make.  The Cubs made two late moves, adding utility man Willi Castro from the Twins and reliever Taylor Rogers from the Pirates.  The White Sox made a single move, sending Adrian Houser to the Rays.

Castro, 28, is a switch hitter who can play pretty much anywhere.  He’s posted a .742 OPS with the Twins this year and will hit free agency at year end.  Going back to the Twins are two Double A pitchers: Ryan Gallagher and Sam Armstrong.  Rogers, 34, was acquired by the Pirates on Wednesday in the Ke’Bryan Hayes trade before being flipped to the Cubs.  His walk rate this year is the highest it has been in his career, but a veteran lefty is always good to have around down the stretch.  High A outfielder Ivan Brethowr is headed back to the Pirates.  He is 22 and striking out in nearly 30% of his at bats this season.

Houser, 32, joined the White Sox in late May and has had the best stretch of his career.  In return, the Rays are sending infielder Curtis Mead, pitcher Duncan Davitt, and pitcher Ben Peoples.  Mead, 24, is a former top 100 prospect who has yet to find his way in the big leagues, spending parts of three seasons with the Rays and posting 0.4 career WAR.  Davitt, 25, and Peoples, 24, were both in Triple A for the Rays.

Despite those moves, when the bell rang at 5 PM CT yesterday, the Cubs were still lacking a proven starter who can help their beleaguered rotation, and the White Sox still employed Luis Robert, Mike Tauchman, and Aaron Civale.  None of which was the expected outcome of the day.

 

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Crossing Sides Of Town

So far in 2025, Brad Keller, Mike Tauchman, Nicky Lopez, and Reese McGuire pushed the total of players I’ve seen take the field in person for both the Cubs and the White Sox to 47.  With the final round of crosstown kicking off tonight at Rate Field, here’s a look at those players, in alphabetical order.

David Aardsma

After posting a decent season with the Cubs in 2006, Aardsma was traded to the White Sox for Neal Cotts.  Aardsma lasted one season with the Sox, where he was unable to duplicate his success from the year before.

Jason Bere

Drafted by the White Sox in the 36th round in 1990, Bere debuted with the big-league club in 1993, finishing 2nd in Rookie of the Year voting.  After an All Star selection in 1994, injuries marred the remainder of his tenure on the South Side, which ended in 1998.  He resurfaced with the Cubs in 2001 and had a decent season, but he went 1-10 in 2002 before being let go.

Emilio Bonifacio

Bonifacio spent back-to-back partial seasons in Chicago, first for the Cubs in 2014 after signing as a free agent, where he played decently enough to be flipped at the trade deadline, along with James Russell, to the Braves for a young catching prospect by the name of Victor Caratini.  He returned to Chicago in 2015, signing with the White Sox, where he he did not do well at all, hitting .167 in 47 games before being released in August.

Welington Castillo

Debuting with the Cubs in 2010, Castillo spent time behind the plate for the Cubs until May of 2015, when, having been replaced in the starting lineup by Miguel Montero, he was flipped to the Mariners.  He returned to Chicago in 2018 after signing with the White Sox as a free agent.  On May 24th of that season, he was suspended 80 games for a violation of the PED policy.  The White Sox then cut bait following the 2019 season, shipping him off to the Rangers.

Neal Cotts

Acquired by the White Sox in the Billy Koch trade, he debuted with the team in 2003.  He was a key contributor in the bullpen during the 2005 championship season and was the only relief pitcher to appear in all 3 rounds of the playoffs that season.  Following the 2006 season, he was traded to the Cubs for David Aardsma, and he spent the next 3 injury filled seasons on the North Side.

Scott Eyre

Joining the White Sox organization in a 1994 trade with the Rangers, he debuted with the big-league team in 1997.  He split the next 4 seasons between the rotation and the bullpen, not to mention between Chicago and Charlotte, before being moved to the Blue Jays following the 2000 ALDS loss to the Mariners.  He joined the Cubs as a free agent for the 2006 season and enjoyed 2 seasons of relative success, before falling apart in 2008, when he was traded to the Phillies.

Clint Frazier

After missing the second half of 2021 with an injury, Frazier was DFA’d by the Yankees.  He signed a deal with the Cubs that offseason, though he notched just 45 plate appearances before being DFA’s once again.  He chose to finish the year in the Cubs system before becoming a free agent following the season.  After failing to catch on with the Rangers, he signed a minor league deal with the White Sox, eventually hitting .197 in 33 games with the big-league club.

Kosuke Fukudome Continue reading →

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It Has Indeed Been A While

As we hit the halfway point of the 2025 season, I’ve seen fourteen teams already this year, just under half of the league.  Stretching back to the start of 2024, that number jumps to 25, which leaves a quarter of the teams I’ve not seen in quite some time.

Of the remaining five, the Nationals hold the top stop, as it has been over four years now since I have seen them live and in person.  The Twins are the biggest surprise, since going two plus seasons without seeing a division rival is pretty rare. I do have the opportunity to add each of these five teams to this season’s slate in the second half.  Anyway, here’s a look at each team and the last time I saw them play.

Most Recent Game By Team

Team Date
Washington Nationals 5/19/2021
New York Yankees 5/15/2022
Minnesota Twins 10/5/2022
Philadelphia Phillies 6/29/2023
San Francisco Giants 9/5/2023
Cincinnati Reds 4/13/2024
Tampa Bay Rays 4/28/2024
Cleveland Guardians 5/12/2024
Atlanta Braves 5/21/2024
Baltimore Orioles 5/25/2024
Toronto Blue Jays 5/28/2024
Los Angeles Dodgers 6/24/2024
Pittsburgh Pirates 7/14/2024
Detroit Tigers 8/25/2024
New York Mets 8/31/2024
Oakland Athletics 9/15/2024
Los Angeles Angels 3/27/2025
San Diego Padres 4/5/2025
Boston Red Sox 4/13/2025
Milwaukee Brewers 5/1/2025
Houston Astros 5/3/2025
Miami Marlins 5/10/2025
Seattle Mariners 5/20/2025
Texas Rangers 5/24/2025
Colorado Rockies 5/26/2025
Chicago Cubs 5/26/2025
Kansas City Royals 6/8/2025
St. Louis Cardinals 6/19/2025
Chicago White Sox 6/24/2025
Arizona Diamondbacks 6/24/2025
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Cutting Bait

Never quite reaching the promise of when he was drafted, Andrew Vaughn’s tenure on the Southside ended Friday when he was traded to the Brewers for pitcher Aaron Civale.  Vaughn, the third overall pick of the 2019 draft by the White Sox, spent just 55 games in the minor leagues before making his debut with the big-league club in 2021.  Expected to be the next in a long line of mashers a first base, following Frank Thomas, Paul Konerko, and Jose Abreu, Vaughn never quite lived up to that reputation.  His best season came in 2023 and, even then, he was worth only 1.1 WAR.  His struggles this year, which saw him sent back to Charlotte on May 23, wiped out all of the positive gains of his career, leaving him with a negative WAR.  He was looking at a non-tender at the end of this season, so getting something useful back for him is surprising.

Civale has a 40-37 in seven seasons with the Guardians, Rays, and Brewers.  He should fill the hole left by Martin Perez’s injury, giving the young pitching staff a veteran presence.

Vaughn’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:

Continue reading →

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iTunes Top 200: #11 – 19

Music.  It is a powerful thing that brings people together, creates memories, and evokes emotions.  It is the universal language that speaks to the soul.  It forms the soundtrack of our lives.

It has now been five years since we last counted down the Top 200 songs in my iTunes library, featuring he songs I have listened to the most since 2007.  It is time to do so again, seeing which older songs still resonate and if any newer ones have joined the fray.  So, without further ado, here are my most listened to songs, based on number of plays as of January 1, 2025.

With the top of the charts in sight, we continue this week with songs ranking from 19th place with 65 plays, breaking past the century mark, and finishing with the one track with 114 plays, good enough for 11th place since my stats began in late 2007.

#19: Metallica – Harvester of Sorrow
iTunes stats: 65 plays, most recently on 11/5/2024
Previous ranking: #19

Released as the first single from the band’s fourth studio album, it was used as the at-bat music for former White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko for the majority of his career and thus featured on most of my victory playlists leading up to his retirement.

#19: The Lonely Island – Natalie’s Rap (ft. Natalie Portman & Chris Parnell)
iTunes stats: 65 plays, most recently on 11/1/2022
Previous ranking: #17

A slight drop for the second digital short from The Lonely Island, which featured Natalie Portman playing against type as a lewd gangsta.

#18: Foo Fighters – My Hero
iTunes stats: 67 plays, most recently on 9/30/2024
Previous ranking: #19

The highest-ranking tune from the Foo Fighters, up one spot from five years ago, is this live version from their previously mentioned concert in London’s Hyde Park.

#16: P.O.D. – Boom
iTunes stats: 94 plays, most recently on 9/25/2022
Previous ranking: #12

The entrance song for former White Sox closer Bobby Jenks, it made a number of appearances on my early victory playlists.

#16: Blues Brothers – Sweet Home Chicago
iTunes stats: 94 plays, most recently on 9/15/2024
Previous ranking: #170

Getting added to my White Sox victory playlist helped make this classic jump up the chart. Continue reading →

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Not Getting Better

37 games into the 2025 season, the White Sox hold a 10-27 record, good for a birthday but not for a record.  This is one game ahead of last year, when the White Sox started their longest winning streak of the year by defeating the Rays 4-1 to go to 9-28 on the year.  The White Sox, of course, finished last year with the most losses in modern MLB history.