If you only know Tropicana Field as a joke, you never really knew it at all.
The roof, the catwalks, and the quirks are all easy jabs. But after this past year, I think a lot more people finally understood what Rays fans have known for a long time: it may not have been glamorous, but it took care of this team. And it took care of us, too.
Seeing the roof torn apart revealed so much more than a baseball field underneath. It showed what had been taken away, the part that made it feel safe, familiar, and ours.
Maybe that’s why so many of us loved it exactly as it was. It’s not perfect, but it’s ours.
And while I’m excited for the future, after having to live without it, I think a lot of us are going back with a deeper appreciation for what she means to us.
Thank you to everyone who brought her back, and then some.
See you tomorrow, sweet dome. #RaysUp
Baseball for the Ages ⚾️
Founded in 1988, Arizona Men's Senior Baseball League is the fastest-growing adult baseball organization in the country
@Zevyz6 showcases the unique tradition that has continued on the diamond
Thank you, @RandyArozarena.
I started with the Rays in 2019. It was a fun year. But then covid happened.
2020 was rough.
But one day, in August of 2020, I hopped on a Zoom to do an interview with a guy I had frankly never really heard much of.
He had had covid for a month, but had finally returned to make his Rays debut.
This is a glimpse into our first interaction:
Me: “…..You ate what for a month in quarantine?”
Randy: “Hola Tricia. My name is Randy! I ate only chicken & rice for a month. I don’t know how to cook. So I did 100 push ups a day and ate chicken & rice.”
That was my first impression of Randy Arozarena.
Soon after, Randy made postseason history.
He then lit the world up on the World Baseball Classic stage. He became an overnight sensation and instant fan favorite.
But what you may not have seen behind the scenes is Randy’s passion for the people he cared for.
When Randy decides you’re his friend or teammate or a true fan of his — he will do anything he can to make you happy as a fan, or to protect and defend you as his friend or his teammate — at all costs.
That’s how he lives his life.
A little Randy feel good story for you:
Sometimes, as we know, women have creepers at the field. Various men in the stands who will push the limit, say gross things or get too close.
I’ll never forget one time at the stadium, there was a random fan who was saying some not so nice things — yelling vulgarities from the seats in my direction.
Randy, who doesn’t understand much English, somehow understood and noticed what was going on.
It took about one glance from Randy and one step forward towards the stands/fan for the creep in the stands to know his place. The fan quickly disappeared into the crowd and I never saw him come back again.
Randy must have thought that I deal with that often (thankfully I don’t) — but from that point forward, nearly everyday at the field, he would walk up to me and check in and say “Todo bien hoy?” AKA “Everything good today?”
That’s the player I will miss with the Rays.
Certainly the home runs, the fun antics — but mostly his passion for the game and for the people in the game.
Taj Bradley might be the best pitcher in the game right now….
Last 9 starts
• 55 IP
• 0.82 ERA
• 65 Ks
• 0.87 WHIP
• 20 Consecutive innings without a Run
• 1 ER in last 31.2 IP
He’s 23 years old.