2008 Tampa Bay Devil Rays season
| 2008 Tampa Bay Rays | |
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| American League Champions American League East Champions |
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| Major League affiliations | |
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| Location | |
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| Results | |
| Record | 97–65 (.599) |
| Divisional place | 1st |
| Other information | |
| Owner(s) | Stuart Sternberg |
| General manager(s) | Andrew Friedman (de facto) |
| Manager(s) | Joe Maddon |
| Local television |
FSN Florida WXPX (Ion TV 66) |
| Local radio |
WHNZ WGES (Spanish) |
| < Previous season Next season > | |
The 2008 Tampa Bay Rays season, the 11th season in franchise history, marked the change of this baseball team's name from the "Tampa Bay Devil Rays" to the "Tampa Bay Rays", as revealed on November 8, 2007. The change in name also came with a change in logo and uniforms, with new team colors of Columbia blue, Navy blue and gold. The new logo, colors and name were leaked on September 20, 2007, and were confirmed officially on November 8, 2007, when an official announcement was made in downtown St. Petersburg. Prior to the decision to rename the team the Rays, other options considered included the "Aces", "Bandits", "Cannons", "Dukes", "Stripes", and Stuart Sternberg's personal favorite, the "Nine."
This was the third season with Joe Maddon managing the club. The club had built upon the improvements made in 2007, and had secured the franchise's first winning record, playoff berth, and American League pennant.
The Rays played another series at Champion Stadium at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex in 2008, making it the second year that a series had been moved to the Greater Orlando area. The April 22–24 series against the Toronto Blue Jays was selected for the move. Neither the MLB — nor the Blue Jays, who were 10–17 at Tropicana Field over the previous three seasons — resisted the idea. The series move was successfully voted on by the City of St. Petersburg, who holds the lease to Tropicana Field, on January 24, 2008. This was similar to the 2007 series against the Texas Rangers, in which the Rays also won all three games.
The Rays, with their off-season acquisitions and continued prospect development, fostered high hopes both within the organization and from analysts that the team would perform well during the 2008 season. Their performance on the field during spring training justified those hopes. On March 23, they won their team-record 15th spring training game, and finished with a record of 18–8 with two ties and two cancellations due to rain, along with having the highest winning percentage of all teams in spring training.
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