1998 Tampa Bay Devil Rays | |
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League | American League |
Division | East |
Ballpark | Tropicana Field |
City | St. Petersburg, Florida |
Record | 63–99 (.389) |
Divisional place | 5th |
Owners | Vince Naimoli |
General managers | Chuck LaMar |
Managers | Larry Rothschild |
Television |
Sportschannel Florida WWWB WTSP ( Joe Magrane, Dewayne Staats) |
Radio |
WFLA ( Paul Olden, Charlie Slowes) |
The 1998 Tampa Bay Devil Rays season was the first season in franchise history. This season, they finished last in the American League East and finished the season with a record of 63–99, 51 games behind the World Champion New York Yankees. They finished with the worst record in the American League and second worst in all of MLB, ahead of only their in-state rivals and defending World Series champion Florida Marlins. Their manager was Larry Rothschild.
Miguel Cairo was the last active player remaining from the Opening Day roster, until retiring after the 2012 season.
Pick | Player | Position | From | To |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Tony Saunders | LHP | FLA | TB |
4 | Quinton McCracken | OF | COL | TB |
6 | Bobby Abreu | OF | HOU | TB |
8 | Miguel Cairo | 2B | CHC | TB |
10 | Rich Butler | OF | TOR | TB |
12 | Bob Smith | 3B | ATL | TB |
14 | Jason Johnson | RHP | PIT | TB |
16 | Dmitri Young | 1B | CIN | TB |
18 | Esteban Yan | RHP | BAL | TB |
20 | Mike DiFelice | C | STL | TB |
22 | Bubba Trammell | OF | DET | TB |
24 | Andy Sheets | IF | SEA | TB |
26 | Dennis Springer | RHP | ANA | TB |
28 | Dan Carlson | RHP | SF | TB |
Pick | Player | Position | From | To |
---|---|---|---|---|
30 | Brian Boehringer | RHP | NYY | TB |
32 | Mike Duvall | LHP | FLA | TB |
34 | John LeRoy | RHP | ATL | TB |
36 | Jim Mecir | RHP | BOS | TB |
38 | Bryan Rekar | RHP | COL | TB |
40 | Rick Gorecki | RHP | LAD | TB |
42 | Ramón Tatís | LHP | CHC | TB |
44 | Kerry Robinson | OF | STL | TB |
46 | Steve Cox | 1B | OAK | TB |
48 | Albie Lopez | RHP | CLE | TB |
50 | José Paniagua | RHP | MON | TB |
52 | Carlos Mendoza | OF | NYM | TB |
54 | Ryan Karp | LHP | PHI | TB |
56 | Santos Hernández | RHP | SF | TB |
Pick | Player | Position | From | To |
---|---|---|---|---|
58 | Randy Winn | OF | FLA | TB |
60 | Terrell Wade | LHP | ATL | TB |
62 | Aaron Ledesma | IF | BAL | TB |
64 | Brooks Kieschnick | OF | CHC | TB |
66 | Luke Wilcox | OF | NYY | TB |
68 | Herbert Perry | IF | CLE | TB |
70 | Vaughn Eshelman | LHP | OAK | TB |
The two expansion teams set to debut in 1998, the Devil Rays and Arizona Diamondbacks, had two full seasons to establish scouting and player development systems and were permitted to participate fully in the 1996 and 1997 Major League Baseball drafts. The Devil Rays drafted 29th in 1996 (when they selected 97 players overall) and 31st in 1997 (when they selected 92). The team began developing those players in a farm system with three minor-league affiliates in 1996 and five in 1997.
Among the players selected and signed by Tampa Bay from those drafts were pitcher Dan Wheeler (34th round, 1996), catcher Toby Hall (ninth, 1997), infielder Jared Sandberg (16th, 1996) and outfielder Alex Sánchez (fifth, 1996).
Level | Team | League | Manager |
---|---|---|---|
A-Short Season | Hudson Valley Renegades | New York–Penn League | Bump Wills |
Rookie | Butte Copper Kings | Pioneer League | Tom Foley |
Rookie | GCL Devil Rays | Gulf Coast League | Bill Evers |
Hudson Valley affiliation shared with Texas Rangers [11]
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: St. Petersburg
3 | Quinton McCracken | CF |
13 | Miguel Cairo | 2B |
12 | Wade Boggs | 3B |
29 | Fred McGriff | 1B |
24 | Mike Kelly | LF |
44 | Paul Sorrento | DH |
6 | John Flaherty | C |
14 | Dave Martinez | RF |
19 | Kevin Stocker | SS |
40 | Wilson Álvarez | P |
AL East | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
New York Yankees | 114 | 48 | 0.704 | — | 62–19 | 52–29 |
Boston Red Sox | 92 | 70 | 0.568 | 22 | 51–30 | 41–40 |
Toronto Blue Jays | 88 | 74 | 0.543 | 26 | 51–30 | 37–44 |
Baltimore Orioles | 79 | 83 | 0.488 | 35 | 42–39 | 37–44 |
Tampa Bay Devil Rays | 63 | 99 | 0.389 | 51 | 33–48 | 30–51 |
Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] | |||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Team | ANA | BAL | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TB | TEX | TOR | NL |
Anaheim | — | 5–6 | 6–5 | 5–6 | 4–7 | 8–3 | 6–5 | 6–5 | 6–5 | 5–7 | 9–3 | 6–5 | 5–7 | 4–7 | 10–6 |
Baltimore | 6–5 | — | 6–6 | 2–9 | 5–6 | 10–1 | 5–6 | 7–3 | 3–9 | 8–3 | 6–5 | 5–7 | 6–5 | 5–7 | 5–11 |
Boston | 5–6 | 6–6 | — | 5–6 | 8–3 | 5–5 | 8–3 | 5–6 | 5–7 | 9–2 | 7–4 | 9–3 | 6–5 | 5–7 | 9–7 |
Chicago | 6–5 | 9–2 | 6–5 | — | 6–6 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 4–7 | 4–7 | 4–7 | 5–6 | 5–6 | 4–6–1 | 7–9 |
Cleveland | 7–4 | 6–5 | 3–8 | 6–6 | — | 9–3 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 4–7 | 3–8 | 9–2 | 7–3 | 4–7 | 7–4 | 10–6 |
Detroit | 3–8 | 1–10 | 5–5 | 6–6 | 3–9 | — | 6–6 | 8–4 | 3–8 | 7–4 | 3–8 | 5–6 | 3–8 | 5–6 | 7–9 |
Kansas City | 5–6 | 6–5 | 3–8 | 4–8 | 4–8 | 6–6 | — | 7–5 | 0–10 | 7–4 | 4–6 | 8–3 | 3–8 | 6–5 | 9–7 |
Minnesota | 5–6 | 3–7 | 6–5 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 5–7 | — | 4–7 | 4–7 | 2–9 | 7–4 | 7–4 | 4–7 | 7–9 |
New York | 5–6 | 9–3 | 7–5 | 7–4 | 7–4 | 8–3 | 10–0 | 7–4 | — | 8–3 | 8–3 | 11–1 | 8–3 | 6–6 | 13–3 |
Oakland | 7–5 | 3–8 | 2–9 | 7–4 | 8–3 | 4–7 | 4–7 | 7–4 | 3–8 | — | 5–7 | 5–6 | 6–6 | 5–6 | 8–8 |
Seattle | 3–9 | 5–6 | 4–7 | 7–4 | 2–9 | 8–3 | 6–4 | 9–2 | 3–8 | 7–5 | — | 6–5 | 5–7 | 4–7 | 7–9 |
Tampa Bay | 5–6 | 7–5 | 3–9 | 6–5 | 3–7 | 6–5 | 3–8 | 4–7 | 1–11 | 6–5 | 5–6 | — | 4–7 | 5–7 | 5–11 |
Texas | 7–5 | 5–6 | 5–6 | 6–5 | 7–4 | 8–3 | 8–3 | 4–7 | 3–8 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 7–4 | — | 7–4 | 8–8 |
Toronto | 7–4 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 6–4–1 | 4–7 | 6–5 | 5–6 | 7–4 | 6–6 | 6–5 | 7–4 | 7–5 | 4–7 | — | 9–7 |
The season series each year between the Devil Rays and the Florida Marlins has come to be known as the Citrus Series. In 1998, the Marlins won the series 3 games to 1. [16]
1998 Tampa Bay Devil Rays | |||||||||
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Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
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Manager
Coaches
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= Indicates team leader |
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; Avg. = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases
Pos | Player | G | AB | H | HR | RBI | Avg. | SB |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
C | John Flaherty | 91 | 304 | 63 | 3 | 24 | .207 | 0 |
1B | Fred McGriff | 151 | 564 | 160 | 19 | 81 | .284 | 7 |
2B | Miguel Cairo | 150 | 515 | 138 | 5 | 46 | .268 | 19 |
3B | Bob Smith | 117 | 370 | 102 | 11 | 55 | .276 | 5 |
SS | Kevin Stocker | 112 | 336 | 70 | 6 | 25 | .208 | 5 |
LF | Quinton McCracken | 155 | 614 | 179 | 7 | 59 | .292 | 19 |
CF | Randy Winn | 109 | 338 | 94 | 1 | 17 | .278 | 26 |
RF | Dave Martinez | 90 | 309 | 79 | 3 | 20 | .256 | 8 |
DH | Paul Sorrento | 137 | 435 | 98 | 17 | 57 | .225 | 2 |
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; Avg. = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases
Player | G | AB | H | HR | RBI | Avg. | SB |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wade Boggs | 123 | 435 | 122 | 7 | 52 | .280 | 3 |
Aaron Ledesma | 95 | 299 | 97 | 0 | 29 | .324 | 9 |
Mike Kelly | 106 | 279 | 67 | 10 | 33 | .240 | 13 |
Mike Difelice | 84 | 248 | 57 | 3 | 23 | .230 | 0 |
Rich Butler | 72 | 217 | 49 | 7 | 20 | .226 | 4 |
Bubba Trammell | 59 | 199 | 57 | 12 | 35 | .286 | 0 |
Jerome Walton | 12 | 34 | 11 | 0 | 3 | .324 | 0 |
Scott McClain | 9 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .100 | 0 |
Dave Silvestri | 8 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .071 | 0 |
Tim Laker | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .200 | 0 |
Kerry Robinson | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
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Rolando Arrojo | 32 | 202.0 | 14 | 12 | 3.56 | 152 |
Tony Saunders | 31 | 192.1 | 6 | 15 | 4.12 | 172 |
Wilson Álvarez | 25 | 142.2 | 6 | 14 | 4.73 | 107 |
Julio Santana | 32 | 140.1 | 5 | 6 | 4.23 | 60 |
Dennis Springer | 29 | 115.2 | 3 | 11 | 5.45 | 46 |
Bryan Rekar | 16 | 86.2 | 2 | 8 | 4.98 | 55 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts; SV = Saves
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO | SV |
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Roberto Hernández | 67 | 71.1 | 2 | 6 | 4.04 | 55 | 26 |
Esteban Yan | 64 | 88.2 | 5 | 4 | 3.86 | 77 | 1 |
Jim Mecir | 68 | 84.0 | 7 | 2 | 3.11 | 77 | 0 |
Albie Lopez | 54 | 79.2 | 7 | 4 | 2.60 | 62 | 1 |
Rick White | 38 | 68.2 | 2 | 6 | 3.80 | 39 | 0 |
Scott Aldred | 48 | 31.1 | 0 | 0 | 3.73 | 21 | 0 |
Dan Carlson | 10 | 17.2 | 0 | 0 | 7.64 | 16 | 0 |
Ramón Tatís | 22 | 11.2 | 0 | 0 | 13.89 | 5 | 0 |
Matt Ruebel | 7 | 8.2 | 0 | 2 | 6.23 | 6 | 0 |
Eddie Gaillard | 6 | 7.2 | 0 | 0 | 5.87 | 5 | 0 |
Mike Duvall | 3 | 4.0 | 0 | 0 | 6.75 | 1 | 0 |
Brad Pennington | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | inf | 0 | 0 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts; SV = Saves
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO | SV |
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Jason Johnson | 13 | 60.0 | 2 | 5 | 5.70 | 36 | 0 |
Rick Gorecki | 3 | 16.2 | 1 | 2 | 4.86 | 8 | 0 |
Terrell Wade | 2 | 10.2 | 1 | 1 | 5.06 | 8 | 0 |
Dave Eiland | 1 | 2.2 | 0 | 1 | 20.25 | 1 | 0 |
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April (12-13)
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May (12-16)
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June (10-17)
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July (9-16)
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August (10-20)
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September (10-16)
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1998 MLB All-Star Game selection: