Frontpage Features

BY WILLIAM MORRISS

In this world we are fascinated by the struggle between good and evil. Everything from movie plots to high profile court battles cause us to pull for the little guy. We are born and raised with this mindset. Ever since the colonists not only covered the spread but also knocked off the heavily favored British in the upset of the century, we Americans have embraced the underdog. Sports brings us these battles daily.

The nation cheered when the Saints won the Super Bowl, and cried when Butler lost to Duke. But in baseball right now, an upheaval of power is occurring. The small market Tampa Bay Rays, owners of the best record in all of baseball, are playing the role of Luke Skywalker to baseballs Evil Empire. And while it’s still early in the season, the Rays successes show why they are the perfect example of how to build a team.

The Tampa Bay Rays play in the AL East, the same division as the two teams with the biggest payrolls in baseball. While fellow AL East members the Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles toil in futility, the Rays have not just put a together a hot start to the season, but a team built to win for years to come. Ever since the Rays began play in 1998, their roster was constructed with a series of bad free agent acquisitions and draft picks.

From 1996-2001 only two of their draft picks, Aubrey Huff and Carl Crawford, made any sort of impact on the Major League level. But beginning in 2002 the team began to lay the foundation for a better future. The team took current center fielder B.J. Upton and Delmon Young with the #1 overall pick in consecutive years. While in the big leagues the Rays were finishing either last or second to last for 5 of the next 6 years, in the minors they were flourishing. Their cupboards were being stocked with current starters, Jeff Niemann, Reid Brignac, Wade Davis, Evan Longoria and David Price.

But the shrewd moves didn’t stop there. When Andrew Friedman took over as GM before the 2006 season, he proceeded to trade Joey Gathright, Mark Hendrickson, Toby Hall and Aubrey Huff for current starters Dioneer Navarro, Ben Zobrist and contributors J.P. Howell, and Mitch Talbot in separate deals. Quite a haul for the new G.M. Friedman when you consider just 3 years earlier he was working as an analyst for Bear Stearns. With this influx of young talent combined with established stars Scott Kazmir and Carl Crawford it was hard not to expect a turnaround. And in 2008 that’s exactly what they did. That year the Rays made it to the World Series and came within 3 wins of completing a worst to first turn around.

So how do small market teams follow the Rays lead and turn around their clubs fortunes? Well first you have to start with pitching. Four of the five Rays starting pitchers came up through their farm system. The fifth, Matt Garza, was acquired after his rookie year. These five combine to form the best starting rotation in baseball, leading the league with a minuscule 2.86 era. To put the Rays and Yankees payroll’s into a bit of perspective take look at these numbers. While the Yankees starting five makes a combined $64.5 million and has a total of 648 career wins combined, the Rays get by with a young staff that only costs them $9.1 million. The average career wins for a Yankees starter, 120, is equal the total career wins by all of Tampa’s current staff. And while the Yankees pay A-Rod $33 million for a years worth of production, the Tampa Bay will spend less money, $31 million, on all eight of their starting position players. Every other team around baseball not playing in a large market should take note as the Rays are showing that Billy Beane’s moneyball tactic’s aren’t the only way to win with a small team.

Despite the fact that the Rays are completely overmatched money wise, the fact that they are still able to not only be competitive but also the best is a testament to what a little hard work and luck can bring a team. In the grand scheme of things, if the Ray’s are to win it all this year, it might not be quite as big as say, the American Revolution, but in Tampa, I guarantee you that they’ll be partying like its 1781.