Tampa Bay Sun

The Tampa Bay Rays are one team that is almost as remarkable off the field as they are on it. The long road to the team’s creation began in 1980s, trying to woo over existing teams like the Minnesota Twins or the San Francisco Giants. St. Petersburg even built the Tropicana Field (originally the Florida Suncoast Dome) in the hopes of drawing over a team. The team finally came into existence as an expansion franchise in 1998.The Rays (appearing as the Devil Rays, their original name) were featured in the 2002 film The Rookie, which tells the true story of Jim Morris. Morris was a high school science teacher and baseball coach renowned for his ability to pitch at speeds of 98 mph. Morris pitched with the Rays for two seasons. Read the rest of this entry »