Connect with us

Published

on

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — They began as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 1998, then shortened their name in 2007 to simply Tampa Bay Rays. Now, as plans for a new ballpark take shape, there’s talk about changing the name again to reflect the team’s actual location: the St. Petersburg Rays.

The St. Petersburg City Council debated the possibility Thursday, ultimately voting for a resolution seeking options to elevate the city’s prominence with the MLB team that could include a name change. Council member Gina Driscoll said she brought the idea forward because many constituents think Tampa Bay really just means the city of Tampa.

“I think we owe it to our residents to have a discussion about this,” Driscoll said.

It is not something the Rays want, team co-president Brian Auld told the council, suggesting such a requirement could torpedo the entire $6.5 billion ballpark and downtown redevelopment project that includes affordable housing, a Black history museum, a hotel, retail and office space, bars and restaurants.

“We are the Tampa Bay Rays. Our name is deliberately inclusive. Our fans live throughout Tampa Bay and central Florida,” said Auld, noting that other local professional sports teams are the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tampa Bay Lightning of the NHL. “There will not be a new ballpark nor development project if there’s a requirement to change our franchise’s name.”

The new $1.3 billion ballpark unveiled in September would be located on the same 86-acre (34-hectare) tract of downtown land where Tropicana Field now sits. That domed stadium, which the Rays have called home since 1998, would be demolished. The deal would lock the Rays into their new home for at least 30 years beginning in 2028, ending speculation the team would move to Tampa or perhaps another city.

Supporters of a Rays name change say since St. Petersburg is putting $417.5 million in tax dollars into the deal, its name should come first — and that would boost the city’s national profile and tourism industry.

“To me, it does not make sense to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on Tampa. Tampa and Tampa Bay are one and the same,” resident Robert Kapusta told the council.

Other baseball teams have changed names. The Florida Marlins were required to become the Miami Marlins before their new stadium opened in 2012. In Southern California, the Angels have been Los Angeles Angels, California Angels, Anaheim Angels and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Mayor Ken Welch, however, agreed with the Rays. Welch, the city’s first Black mayor, has made the new ballpark a cornerstone of redeveloping the Gas Plant District that was home to a thriving Black community before Tropicana Field and an interstate highway displaced those homes and businesses.

“It would be detrimental to the promise we’ve made, if not fatal to this redevelopment,” to require a name change, Welch said.

Pinellas County, which is putting up about $312.5 million for the new ballpark, has no interest in changing the team’s name. Janet Long, chair of the Pinellas County Commission, said at a meeting last week that she does not support a name change “unless they don’t want the money from the county.”

The resolution adopted by the City Council directs Welch’s staff to prepare a report on the issue by Jan. 4. Driscoll amended her resolution to broaden its scope to include other possibilities such as including St. Petersburg in the new ballpark’s name, having players wear city-branded uniforms occasionally, placing more city-promoting signs in the facility and directing broadcasters to accurately describe the location.

Driscoll suggested it was an exaggeration to say the entire project is threatened by having these talks.

“We’ve got some different options here,” she said. “Suddenly, having this conversation puts the entire project in jeopardy? I don’t think that’s true.”

Continue Reading

Sports

Sale, Crochet named comeback players of year

Published

on

By

Sale, Crochet named comeback players of year

LAS VEGAS — Left-handers Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves and Garrett Crochet of the Chicago White Sox won Major League Baseball’s Comeback Player of the Year awards on Thursday.

Cleveland right-hander Emmanuel Clase won his second AL Reliever of the Year award and St. Louis righty Ryan Helsley won the NL honor.

Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani joined David Ortiz as the only players to win four straight Outstanding Designated Hitter awards. Ohtani and the New York YankeesAaron Judge won Hank Aaron Awards as the outstanding offensive performers in their leagues.

Major League Baseball made the announcements at its All-MLB Awards Show.

Sale, 35, was 18-3 with a 2.38 ERA and 225 strikeouts in 177⅔ innings for the NL’s first pitching triple crown since the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw in 2011. He earned his eighth All-Star selection and first since 2018.

Sale helped Boston to the 2018 World Series title but made just 56 starts from 2020-23, going 17-18 with a 4.86 ERA, 400 strikeouts and 79 walks over 298⅓ innings. He was acquired by Boston from the White Sox in December 2016 and made nine trips to the injured list with the Red Sox, mostly with shoulder and elbow ailments. He had Tommy John surgery on March 30, 2020, and returned to a big league mound on Aug. 14, 2021.

Sale fractured a rib while pitching in batting practice in February 2022 during the management lockout. On July 17, in his second start back, he broke his left pinkie finger when he was hit by a line drive off the bat of the Yankees’ Aaron Hicks. Sale broke his right wrist while riding a bicycle en route to lunch on Aug. 6, ending his season.

Crochet, 25, was 6-12 with a 3.58 ERA over 32 starts for a White Sox team that set a post-1900 record of 121 losses, becoming a first-time All-Star. He struck out 209 and walked 33 in 146 innings.

He had Tommy John surgery on April 5, 2022, and returned to the major leagues on May 18, 2023. Crochet had a 3.55 ERA in 13 relief appearances in 2023, and then joined the rotation this year.

Sale and Crochet were chosen in voting by MLB.com beat writers.

Clase and Helsley were unanimous picks by a panel that included Hall of Famers Trevor Hoffman, Mariano Rivera, Dennis Eckersley and Rollie Fingers, along with John Franco and Billy Wagner. The AL award is named after Rivera and the NL honor after Hoffman.

A three-time All-Star, Clase was 4-2 with a 0.61 ERA, 66 strikeouts and 10 walks in 74⅓ innings, holding batters to a .154 average. The 26-year-old converted 47 of 50 save chances, including his last 47.

Voting was based on the regular season. Clase was 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA in the playoffs, allowing three home runs, one more than his regular-season total.

Helsley, a two-time All-Star, was 7-4 with a 2.04 ERA and 49 saves in 53 chances. He struck out 79 and walked 23 in 66⅓ innings.

Ohtani became the first player with 50 or more homers and 50 or more stolen bases in a season. A two-way star limited to hitting following elbow surgery, Ohtani batted .310 and led the NL with 54 homers and 130 RBIs while stealing 59 bases.

Ortiz won the DH award five years in a row from 2003-07.

The DH award, named after Edgar Martinez, is picked in voting by team beat writers, broadcasters and public relations departments. MLB.com writers determined the finalists for the Aaron awards, and a fan vote was combined with picks from a panel of Hall of Famers and former winners to determine the selections.

Judge led the major leagues with 58 homers and 144 RBIs while hitting .322.

Continue Reading

Sports

Georgia leading rusher Etienne ruled out vs. Vols

Published

on

By

Georgia leading rusher Etienne ruled out vs. Vols

No. 12 Georgia will be without leading rusher Trevor Etienne for Saturday’s showdown against No. 7 Tennessee.

Etienne was downgraded from questionable to out on Thursday night’s SEC availability report.

Etienne left Georgia’s win over Florida with an upper-body injury on Nov. 2 and did not return. He played limited snaps in last week’s 28-10 loss at Ole Miss, carrying the ball six times for 24 yards.

Etienne leads the Bulldogs with 477 rushing yards and seven touchdowns this season.

The loss is another blow to Georgia’s banged-up backfield. Cash Jones is also listed as questionable while Branson Robinson remains out after missing the past three games with a knee injury.

That leaves true freshman Nate Frazier as the only healthy Bulldogs running back who has played meaningful snaps this year. Frazier is second on the team with 333 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

Continue Reading

Sports

QB Castellanos exits after losing BC starting job

Published

on

By

QB Castellanos exits after losing BC starting job

Boston College quarterback Thomas Castellanos, who lost his starting job earlier this week, will not be returning to the team, he announced Thursday night.

Castellanos, who started 12 games last season and retained the top job under new coach Bill O’Brien, wrote on X that “unfortunately, all good things come to an end, even though it’s sooner than I would like.” He did not mention the transfer portal in his departing message and has not officially entered it. The junior from Waycross, Georgia, started his career at UCF and appeared in five games in 2022.

O’Brien said Tuesday that Grayson James, who replaced Castellanos in last week’s win against Syracuse, will start Saturday when Boston College visits No. 14 SMU. Castellanos “wasn’t real thrilled” with the decision, O’Brien said, adding that the quarterback decided to step away from the team for several days.

Castellanos had 2,248 passing yards and 1,113 rushing yards last season under coach Jeff Hafley, passing for 15 touchdowns and adding 13 on the ground. He had 18 touchdown passes and only five interceptions this season, but his accuracy dipped in recent weeks, and he completed only 2 of 7 passes against Syracuse before being replaced.

In his statement, Castellanos thanked both coaching staffs he played for at Boston College and wrote that he had “some of the best experiences of my life in the Eagles Nest and I will truly cherish these memories forever.”

Continue Reading

Trending