For Rays and Yankees, the rivalry is real

NEW YORK — For the first 10 or so years of the Rays’ existence, there wasn’t much of a rivalry with the Yankees.

None, really.

The Yankees were in the midst of their historic run of four World Series championships in a five-year window (and nine straight division titles) with their homegrown core of stars.

The Rays were the 1998 expansion team trying to build a foundation while not losing 100 games each year that the Yankees stepped over.

That changed dramatically in 2008 — traced by some to Rays infielder Elliot Johnson running over Yankees catcher Francisco Cervelli in a spring-training game as an after-the-fact metaphor for no longer being pushed around.

Despite significant differences in star power and payrolls, it has since developed into one of the game’s more intriguing and hotly contested matchups on a nearly annual basis.

It will be in the spotlight over the next nine days, as the teams meet six times, starting Tuesday at Yankee Stadium, with the majors-best Yankees (44-16) holding a nine-game lead in the American League East.

“We know the (American League) East as a whole is a behemoth,” said Twins manager Rocco Baldelli, a Rays 2000 draft pick who played, coached and worked for them through 2017 (save for the 2009 season in Boston). “It’s tough. Every day you show up, it’s a challenge.

“But I think you’re talking about two of the best teams in baseball that kind of arose from different places, some vastly different places, but are actually competing for the exact same thing right now. And when you’re talking about an even playing field — and I think it actually is an even playing field when you’re talking about talent — that’s an impressive thing for the Rays to be able to say.”

Current centerfielder Kevin Kiermaier, whose Tampa Bay tenure goes back to the 2010 draft, notes how competitive the Rays are with the Yankees despite obvious differences, such as a roughly $150 million opening-day payroll disparity this year, $237 million to $78 million.

“The Yankees, they’ve got the big payroll, the mega-superstars,” Kiermaier said. “Rightfully so. They deserve it. Those guys deserve everything, all the credit, that has come throughout their careers.

“And then you’ve got the Rays. The small payroll. Not a whole lot of household names, but a lot of above-average major-leaguers. And guys who know how to win.”

That they do.

From 1998 to 2007, the Yankees had the majors’ best record (985-631, a .610 winning percentage), while the Rays had the worst (645-972, .399).

But from 2008 on, the Yankees have the second best (1,282-944, .576) record, the Rays the fourth (1,216-1,011, .546). Each team has won four AL East titles. The Rays made it to the World Series twice (losing in 2008 and 2020), the Yankees once (winning in 2009).

“It’s got to be frustrating — I’m sure we’re frustrating for a lot of teams over the last few years. It’s just, ‘How the heck do these guys, how do they do it?’” Kiermaier said. “It’s no matter who we’re playing, but if you want to talk about huge market/ huge payroll, small market/small payroll, it’s fun.”

As a kid growing up in the St. Petersburg area, Brett Phillips pledged allegiance to the new team that debuted in 1998 but knew the Yankees were always the headliners.

“There was no rivalry, and everyone was there to see the Yankees,” said Phillips, now a Rays outfielder. “So we’ve definitely grown a lot and actually into a rivalry in the AL East, which I’m sure no one thought about when we were younger. So, that’s been cool.”

Fueling the rivalry has been a series of hit and nearly hit batters (such as Mike Brosseau famously in 2020, leading to Rays manager Kevin Cash’s “I’ve got a whole damn stable full of guys that throw 98 miles an hour” comment) and heated tempers. Also, the dramatic 2020 AL Division Series, which the Rays won in five games.

A new book about the Yankees — unabashedly called ”The Franchise” — by Mark Feinsand devotes an entire chapter to the rivalry with the Rays.

In tracing the evolution of the competition, Feinsand provides an interesting framework.

In the Rays’ early years, it seemed they only mattered to George Steinbrenner. The attention-loving Yankees owner lived in Tampa and made it clear to his staff and, indirectly, their players that he hated to lose to the new kids on his block, even in spring training.

He ordered manager Joe Torre to play his regulars and, Feinsand wrote, “players began to jokingly refer to these exhibition games as the ‘World Series,’ though to The Boss, there was nothing funny about it. ‘You always had to beat Tampa, but it wasn’t good enough to beat them 2–1,’ Torre said. ‘You had to beat them 10–1.’”

Hal Steinbrenner, who took over running the Yankees after his father’s 2010 death, is much more reserved in his management style. But Hal, who also lives in Tampa, told Feinsand the Rays are a pain to him, too.

“There’s no doubt it’s a good rivalry,” Steinbrenner said. “At times, the players haven’t liked each other much, which seems to be one of the components of a great rivalry. We play a lot of games against them just like with the Red Sox. It can definitely be more painful for me walking around Tampa, so it’s even more of a rivalry for me.”

Historic pace

At 44-16, the Yankees are on pace to win 119 games. Here is how some other teams that got off to hot 60-game starts finished:

Team Start Finish

1954 Indians 42-18 111-43-2 (.721)

1984 Tigers 44-16 104-58 (.642)*

1986 Mets 44-16 108-54 (.667)*

1998 Yankees 46-14 114-48 (.704)*

2001 Mariners 47-13 116-46 (.716)

* won World Series.

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