Sometimes I tend to do that at practice,” Franco said. His Globetrotter-like ball toss in Wednesday night’s 8-1 win over Pittsburgh has been viewed more than 5 million times. Wander Samuel Franco has more than obliged. Their father, another ex-pro named Wander Franco, kept naming his sons after him in hopes that a Wander Franco would make the big leagues. He has two brothers who played in pro ball – Wander Alexander Franco and Wander Javier Franco. Then there is Franco, the 22-year-old wunderkind who’s having a breakout season. This year’s magic show features guys like Randy Arozarena, Josh Lowe, Yandy Diaz and Harold Ramirez.Įflin and Shane McClanahan are two All-Star caliber starters, and there are a half-dozen decent arms in the bullpen. It is baseball’s preeminent magician, regularly pulling a rabbit out of a bargain-bin hat. We can fantasize about what the Rays front office would do if it had a Steinbrenner bankroll to play with. In the funny-money baseball world, the Yankees re-signed Aaron Judge for $40 million. His three-year, $40 million contract was the biggest free-agent deal in Rays history. The Rays hadn’t made any splashy off-season moves, other than signing pitcher Zach Eflin. Of ESPN’s 28-member preseason panel of “experts,” only one predicted Tampa Bay would win its division. If a new place isn’t built by then, the Rays might bolt for Nashville or Montreal or Timbuktu.Īll this has produced a perpetual image problem that makes it easy to discount the on-field product. The team and local officials have been negotiating over a new stadium seemingly since 1901. What they don’t have is fan support (currently 25 th in the league) or a decent place to play. Rays still cannot draw fans to Tropicana Field They crunch analytics, scour other teams for undervalued players, have a bountiful farm system and are led by one of baseball’s top managers in Kevin Cash. The Rays have always had payrolls closer to the 1901 Yankees, yet they’ve been a consistent contender for the past 15 years. That’s approximately $205 million more than Tampa Bay is shelling out, though the discrepancy is nothing new. He’s the manager of the Yankees and their $279 million payroll. “They’re playing like the best team in the league right now,” Aaron Boone said. Their 26-6 start going into the weekend was the second best, trailing only the 1984 Tigers.Īt that pace, Tampa would go 131-31 and probably clinch the AL East by next Thursday. The Rays’ 23 wins before May 1 st was two more than any team in baseball's modern era (since 1901). Tampa Bay, with the third-lowest payroll, is running historic rings around the highfalutin Yankees, Mets, Dodgers, Angels and MLB record book. We’re here to marvel at the latest magic trick being pulled off by the most underappreciated franchise in sports. Though God knows, Tampa Bay tries.īut we’re not here to bash Tampa Bay area fans for decades of treating Tropicana Field as if it’s Chernobyl. The last team with such a larger run differential through 32 games was the 1901 Pirates. Heading into this weekend’s series against the New York Yankees, Tampa Bay had outscored opponents by 114 runs. It’s been five weeks of everybody saying, “Did they just do that?”Īs in, did they just break a record that’s been around since William McKinley was president? Good sports: Whitley's Believe It Or Not: Every sports team should be a little more like Tottenham Hotspur “Did he just do that?” Rays’ broadcaster Brian Anderson said.ĭon't be mad about AR: New Colts QB Anthony Richardson was never ready to fully shine at Florida He nonchalantly tossed the ball about a foot above his head, snatched it from midair and then threw out the runner by two steps. In the previous 42 million or so times that has happened in Major League Baseball, the player fired the ball to first base. Tampa Bay’s shortstop fielded a ground ball and plucked the ball from his glove. Wander Franco made history the other night.
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