The Wandering Disciple

Good luck to the Tampa Bay Rays as they continue their quest for the World Series Title tonight in Game One of the World Series.  The American League champs take on the Los Angeles Dodgers in a best of seven series at Globe Life Field, a neutral site due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  This is the second time in franchise history that the Rays have made it all the way to the World Series.  (Photo: September 30, 2017)

Take a glimpse inside the clubhouse of the Tampa Bay Rays. Located under the stands of Tropicana Field, this is the home of the Rays. Rays greats from past to present have called this clubhouse their home during the regular season. During Rays Fan Fest, fans can take a tour of the clubhouse and see what life like a major leaguer is like. (Photo: February 4, 2017)

The Tampa Bay Rays sport their Sunday blues for a home game against Toronto in 2016. But this season, the Sunday blues takes a new meaning as Major League Baseball has yet to take to the field for a game due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The season was put on hold during spring training and has yet to resume almost one month into the regular season. (Photo: September 4, 2016)

Navy Midshipman Malcom Perry takes it 52 yards to the end zone for a fourth quarter touchdown in the 2020 East-West Shrine Bowl held at Tropicana Field. The annual college football all-star game featured a 31-27 win for the east coast squad. This annual event in its 95th season not only showcases some of the top college football candidates for the NFL draft, it benefits the Shriner's Hospital for Children. (Photo: January 18, 2020)

St Petersburg, Florida: Since 1925 some of the brightest stars in college football converge for a post-season all-star game benefiting a great cause. The East-West Shrine Bowl features some of the biggest names in the game playing to support the Shriner’s Hospital for Children. This year’s game featured a shoot-out which saw the East beat the West 31-27 in front of 12,894 spectators at Tropicana Field in St Petersburg. The first score of the afternoon came when Florida International’s quarterback James Morgan hit Louisiana’s wide receiver Ja’Marcus Bradley for a nine-yard touchdown strike. The East added another touchdown in the first quarter on a 10-yard touchdown run by Charlotte’s Benny LeMay to make it 14-0. The West then cut the lead in half on a 7-yard touchdown reception by San Diego State’s Parker Houston on make it 14-7 to end the first quarter. The second quarter was quiet on the touchdown front, but both squads exchanged a pair of field goals in the half. The fir...

St Petersburg, Florida: The final stop of the Tampa/St Pete day was a Major League Baseball game between the Tampa Bay Rays vs the Los Angeles Angels. I have always wanted to see the Angels play. One of the hottest lineups in the MLB with Trout, Pujols and Ohtani. And in typical Trop fashion, there would be a lot to talk about. First off it was good to see more than a handful of people in the stands. The Rays offered up $5 tickets for the week and attracted a decent ground. Then we saw history with Ohtani hitting for the cyle. Finally a nice black-out and delay due to a power outage which caused the Trop to go dark for the second time this season. All and all, I love baseball and I love being out at the park. Click on the photo above to see the entire Rays/Angels photo gallery for photo from the game.

St Petersburg, Florida:  The Tampa Bay Rays played host to division rivals as they hosted the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night at Tropicana Field in the first game of a three game series.  The Rays jumped out to an early lead only to watch the bullpen falter in the late innings resulting in an 8-4 loss for the home team. Both starting pitchers, Chris Archer for Tampa Bay and Francisco Liriano for Toronto were dialed in to start the night.  They posted zeroes to the scoreboard for the first three innings of the game. The Rays broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the forth.  Daniel Robertson and Derek Norris delivered back to back homer to put the Rays in front.  Later in the inning, they loaded the bases and Steven Souza Jr drew a bases loaded walk to score Tim Beckham and give the Rays a 3-0 lead. Toronto scored their first run of the evening in the fifth inning.  Justin Smoak hit an RBI single to center, scoring Kendrys Morales to make it 3-1. ...

Tropicana Field sprung to life as thousands of fans packed the Trop for the 2017 Rays Fan Fest.  Here fans could get hyped up for the upcoming season by taking part in interactive games, meet with players, buy items at the Rays charity sale and much more.  (Photo: February 4, 2017)

Tampa Bay's favorite sea dog Raymond runs through the outfield at Tropicana Field to rally the Rays fans prior to the start of a Major League Baseball game.  Raymond is the lovable mascot of the Tampa Bay Rays and can be found making fans smile throughout the Trop.  (Photo: September 4, 2016)

St Petersburg, Florida: The Tampa Bay Rays played host to the hottest team in the American League when the Texas Rangers came to town to kick of a three game series. The Rays struggled to contain the long ball as they dropped the opener 6-2 on Friday night. The Rangers broke the scoreless tie by scoring in the top of the fifth inning. Mitch Moreland opened the frame with a solo home run to put the Rangers on the board. Later in the inning, Ian Desmond delivered an RBI single to score Elvis Andrus to make it 2-0. The Rangers momentum carried over to the sixth inning where they pushed across three more runs. Adrian Beltre got things started with a solo home run to center. Jonathan Lucroy followed with a single and Moreland drew a walk to put two runners on the bases. Nomar Mazara then singled home Lucroy with a ground ball through the left side. Moreland later scored on a bases loaded walk by Jurickson Profar to increase the lead to 5-0. Beltre led off the seventh with an...

St Petersburg, Florida: The Tampa Bay Rays and Oakland Athletics locked horns in an exciting game of long ball to conclude “Play Ball” weekend at Tropicana Field. The ball had a hard time staying in the yard as the game featured a combined seven homers. The hit parade started in the first inning as both team exchanged homers in the first inning. It was Danny Valencia striking his first of three homers in the top of the inning. Then Brandon Guyer answered with a solo shot in the bottom of the first to tie the game 1-1. Guyer homered again in the second, this time a three run blast to left gave the Rays a 4-1 lead. The Rays added a run in the fourth as Guyer drove home his fifth run of the afternoon via a sac fly to score Steve Pearce and give the Rays a 5-1 lead. The A’s inched closer to the lead by manufacturing three runs in the fifth. Coco Crisp drove home a run with an RBI single to score Yonder Alonso. Then Valencia cleared the bases with a two run homer to pull with...

St Petersburg, Florida: After losing to the Blue Jays on opening day, the Tampa Bay Rays returned to the field at Tropicana Field for game two of the four game opening series. A combination of a red-hot power lineup for the Blue Jays and a tough to hit knuckleballer on the mound, the Rays dropped the game by the score of 5-3. The Rays took an early lead in the second inning on a solo home run by Steven Souza Jr to make it 1-0 Rays. But the Blue Jays quickly countered on a solo homer by Josh Thole in the third to tie the game. The Blue Jays took the lead fourth inning on a sac fly by Troy Tulowitzki and a two run homer by Michael Saunders to make it 4-1. Both clubs exchanged runs on the fifth, a solo homer by Josh Donaldson in the top of the inning for the Blue Jays and Kevin Kiermaier scoring on a wild pitch in the bottom of the inning made it 5-2. The Rays scored their final run of the night in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI single by Kiemaier. But the Rays could not m...

St Petersburg, Florida: The Tampa Bay Rays opened up their final series of the season with a three game set against the AL East leading Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night at Tropicana Field. The Rays were unable to keep the red hot offense of the Blue Jays quiet as they fell 8-4 in the last Friday night game of the season for the Rays. The Blue Jays had already clinched the American League East title and had their ticket to the postseason punched but they didn’t roll-over for the Rays as they pushed to secure home field advantage for the playoffs. They were also looking to put starter Mark Buehrle in the record books as the sought his fifteenth straight 200-inning season. The Blue Jays jumped out to an early lead in the second inning. A ground ball to short by Kevin Pillar scored Chris Colabello to give them a 1-0 lead. The lead held until the bottom of the fifth when the Rays struck for four runs. Luke Maile tied the game with an RBI single to score Richie Shaffer. Then l...

Tropicana Field as viewed from Section 303 prior to a Sunday afternoon game. The 31,000 plus seat stadium was built in 1990 and is the only domed stadium in Major League Baseball. It has been the home of the Tampa Bay Rays since their inaugural season in 1998 as well as hosted arena football, college football, hockey, concerts and much more. (Photo: September 20, 2015)

St. Petersburg, Florida: Thousands of Rays fans flocked to Tropicana Field for the annual Fan Fest presented by the Tampa Bay Rays. The event occurs each season and services as the kick-off event for the upcoming season. The event features vendors and events that showcase the Rays and their commitment to the community. After spring training camp wrapped up for the day, the players and coached headed to the Trop to entertain their fans. The players spent time signing autographs and answering questions for those who waited in line to see them. There were plenty of booths set up with gifts and games for those who attended. Children got the opportunity to run the bases and swing for the fences just like the pros do. In addition to the activities, fans got the opportunity to tour the Trop and the Rays clubhouse. The event occurs annually and admission is free.