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Fans of the team formerly known as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays didn’t really have a ton to root for until the franchise dropped the Satanic aspect of its original moniker ahead of the 2008 season.
The Rays punched their ticket to the World Series in their first campaign following the rebrand (although they were unable to top the Phillies), and they’ve appeared in the playoffs in half of the seasons they’ve played since then (including another World Series trip where they fell to the Dodgers in 2020).
When you consider the team has only existed for 25 years, I can understand why they’d feel the need to furnish the rafters at Tropicana Field with some of the banners professional sports franchises traditionally hoist to commemorate various achievements
However, the Rays may be getting a little overzealous on that front based on a new addition that was unveiled on Opening Day.
The 86-76 record Tampa Bay posted in 2022 was enough to earn a spot in the Wild Card round, but the team’s season ended with a whimper after Cleveland sent them packing by winning the first two games of the series.
Most franchises would put that defeat behind them and look toward the future.
However, the Rays are not most franchises, as someone decided it would be a good idea to immortalize that, um, achievement in the form of the “2022 American League Wild Card” banner that made its official debut on Thursday.
#Rays revealing 2022 AL Wild Card banner pic.twitter.com/s0KKFvDMKP
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) March 30, 2023
While some of the fans in attendance appeared to appreciate the new addition based on the surprising amount of applause the unveiling was able to generate, plenty of other people were more than happy to clown on the Rays for taking the time and effort to hang up the Major League Baseball equivalent of a participation trophy.
Can we please not hang wildcard banners…..
— 247 Rays (@24_rays) March 30, 2023
don’t get me wrong… I respect the Rays trying to fill the place with banners like division titles, AL titles and WS titles but Wild Card is just kinda embarrassing.
— Jordan Moore (@iJordanMoore) March 30, 2023
If you’re gonna put up participation banners at least make them smaller or different looking than the AL CHAMPIONS banner
— 𝓐𝓶𝓻 (@amrsfeed) March 30, 2023
I love the #Rays but the fact we celebrate a Wildcard birth with a banner is stupid. Especially so because we lost.
Stop celebrating mediocrity
— ☞ Chuck Glass ☜ (@TheChuckGlass) March 30, 2023
Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.