Tampa Bay Rays Top Ten: Devil’s in the details
By Tab Bamford
Tampa’s history as a baseball town predates its entry into MLB. The Florida town can claim Hall of Famers Wade Boggs, Tony LaRussa, and Al López along with Dwight Gooden, Fred McGriff, and Gary Sheffield among its native sons. Home to the youngest MLB franchise, along with the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Tampa Bay Rays’ best run came under manager Joe Maddon from 2008 to 2013 when it enjoyed five seasons of 90 or more wins.
While the Diamondbacks had Tampa native Luis González as a marquee Latino with a franchise-defining moment, the Rays have yet to find that Latino player and have that moment. Tampa fans have witnessed the coming and going away of José Canseco, Tino Martínez, and Fernando Rodney at different points in their careers. What Rays fans still await is for Tampa’s efforts to scout Latin America and develop home-grown Latino talent to have a transformative impact on the franchise’s future.
So which Latinos had an impact on the Rays franchise to make its Latino Top 10? To figure that out, we kept it simple by using WAR (as calculated by Baseball-Reference.com) as our metric of choice in composing our ranking. WAR is but one measure of the impact of these players, you might have your own opinion as to who deserves to rank higher (or lower) on the team’s Top 10. Let us know.
Tampa Bay Rays
1. Carlos Peña
Five years in Tampa, 18.1 WAR, one All-Star Game, one Gold Glove, one Silver Slugger
Dominican Republic
Peña was born in the Dominican Republic but came to the States at a young age and was drafted out of Northeastern University by the Rangers. After a couple trades and stops in four cities, Peña took off when he signed with the Rays before the 2007 season. He led the league with 39 home runs in 2009, the season in which he represented Tampa in the All-Star Game. Peña hit 163 home runs and drove in 468 runs in 726 games with Tampa.
2. Julio Lugo
Four years in Tampa, 13.5 WAR
Dominican Republic
Lugo was released in early May of 2003 and signed with Tampa as a free agent less than one week later. He provided some speed from the shortstop position during his time with the Rays, stealing 88 bases in 505 games. Lugo scored 283 runs and slashed .287/.350/.421 with the club before he was traded to the Dodgers in 2006.
3. Matt Garza
Three years in Tampa, 8.5 WAR, 2008 ALCS MVP
USA / Mexico
Garza’s most memorable season in Tampa was his first, when he led the league with two shutouts and posted an 11-9 record in the regular season before having a postseason to remember. Against the Red Sox in the ALCS Garza started – and won – twice, striking out 14 in 13 innings and allowing only two earned runs. In 95 appearances for the Rays Garza was 34-31 with a 3.86 ERA. Tampa traded him to the Cubs in November of 2007 for a package of prospects that included Chris Archer, Robinson Chirinos and Brandon Guyer.
4. Sean Rodríguez
Five years in Tampa, 7.7 WAR
USA / Cuba
Tampa acquired Rodríguez as the player to be named later to complete the deal that sent Scott Kazmir to the Angels. His best season in Tampa was his last (2014) when, as a 29-year-old, Rodríguez hit 12 home runs and drove in 41. In 553 appearances with the Rays he hit 40 home runs and drove in 172.
5. Rolando Arrojo
Two years in Tampa, 6.7 WAR, one All-Star Game
Cuba
A Cuban baseball defector, Arrojo joined the Rays as a 32-year-old in 1998 and was the team’s representative in the All-Star Game. He won a career-best 14 games in his first season, striking out 152 in 202 innings pitched. Over his two seasons in Tampa, Arrojo would appear in 56 games with a 21-24 record in 342.2 innings.
6. Victor Zambrano
Four years in Tampa, 5.0 WAR
Venezuela
Zambrano wasn’t always the most efficient starter; he led the league with 106 walks and 20 hit batters in 2003. But he won 12 games that season and threw a career-best 188.1 innings for the Rays, which was enough to get the attention of other general managers. It’s appropriate that Zambrano would come after Rodríguez on this list because it brings the Scott Kazmir Story full circle. Tampa received Kazmir from the Mets in the trade that sent Zambrano to New York in 2004.
7. Roberto Hernández
Three years in Tampa, 4.9 WAR, one All-Star Game
Puerto Rico
Hernández was one of the first big signings in Rays franchise history; he had led the league in games finished three times with the White Sox (1994-96) before becoming a free agent after the 1997 season. He saved a career-high 43 games in 1999 when he represented the Rays in the All-Star Game. He would save 101 games and strike out 185 in 218 innings in 207 appearances for Tampa.
8. Albie López
Four years with Tampa, 4.8 WAR
USA
López was selected by the Rays with the 48th pick in the expansion draft and would produce an intriguing stat line in the coming seasons. In 2000, López appeared in 45 games. He started 24 and finished 10, but four of his starts were complete games. He had never thrown more than 80 innings in his career before that season; he pitched 185.1 innings in 2000.
9. Alex Colomé
Six years in Tampa, 4.5 WAR, one All-Star Game
Dominican Republic
Colomé was initially a starter in Tampa; his eight appearances in his first two seasons were all starts (traditional starts, too). But he moved to the bullpen in 2015 and hasn’t looked back. Colomé made his first All-Star Game appearance in 2016 and led the league with 47 saves last year. Tampa traded him to Seattle on May 25.
10. Fernando Rodney
Two years in Tampa, 4.3 WAR, one All-Star Game
Dominican Republic
Rodney joined the Rays in 2012 and was an All-Star in his first season. He saved 48 and 37 games in 2012 and 2013, respectively. Overall, Rodney appeared in 144 games with 85 saves and 158 strikeouts in 141.1 innings pitched during his brief Tampa tenure.
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