The Rays are headed to the World Series for the third time in franchise history, and Rick is joined by Tampa Bay Times Rays beat writer Marc Topkin to explain how a team that most people (including Rick) pegged for around .500 got here. Marc describes the scene at Tropicana Field after the ALCS clincher, and then walks through the season: a roster coming off back-to-back losing years, the camaraderie that built through spring training, Nick Martinez as the team's unifier (and the guy who picks up the dinner checks), Eric Neander's pre-opening-day speech before a game they lost after blowing a 7-0 lead, the early sweep of the Yankees, a four-game sweep in Boston after the All-Star break followed by a sweep of Toronto, and the AL East clincher and postseason celebrations at Yankee Stadium. They revisit Yandy Diaz's "we're going to win tomorrow" quote before Game 6.
The pitching staff gets plenty of time. Marc talks about Drew Rasmussen, who has come back from three elbow surgeries and hasn't lost a game he started since before the All-Star break, and about lining up Rasmussen for World Series Game 1 and Freddy Peralta for Game 2 so both former Brewers can pitch in Milwaukee. He breaks down the trade for Peralta, why Neander passed on a package with top prospect Theo Gillen, and the small adjustments (a quicker delivery without the windup, a new spot on the rubber, more changeups, a higher release point) that turned him into the ALCS MVP, then covers Brian Baker's rise from middle reliever to a streak of 30-plus straight saves, and Liam Hicks, the Arkansas State product and former hockey goalie from Canada who caught seven pitchers on his first night with the team and homered in Colorado.
From there, they get to the personalities: Junior Caminero's 38-second home run trot and the Randy Arozarena pose at home plate, his four-strikeout slump before the rainout, and Chandler Simpson's "cause chaos, create havoc" approach, which warps defenses more than any hitter in baseball. Marc describes Yandy Diaz's growth as a quiet leader (he's the only Rays player remaining from the 2020 World Series) and tells a story about a lineup-card typo that had him at first base. Then he compares this team to the 2008 Rays based on conversations with Joe Maddon, Evan Longoria, BJ Upton, Carlos Pena, and others, and previews the Brewers: the best team in baseball, led by young star Jackson Chourio and flamethrower Jacob Misiorowski, with a front office headed by former Rays executive Matt Arnold. The recorded intro and outro also cover the Bucs preparing for Carolina and the status of Baker Mayfield's thumb, the Lightning's trip west, and the perfect idea for a boat parade from St. Petersburg to Tampa.
Segments
- The scene at the Trop and why the Rays surpassed expectations
- Camaraderie, Nick Martinez, and Eric Neander's opening-day speech
- How the season unfolded: Yankees sweeps, Boston, Toronto, and the clinchers
- Yandy Diaz's guarantee and the volume at the Trop
- Drew Rasmussen's postseason dominance and the World Series rotation
- Freddy Peralta: the trade, the fixes, and the ALCS MVP
- Brian Baker's emergence as closer
- Liam Hicks, the catcher the Rays stole at the deadline
- Junior Caminero's trot and star power
- Chandler Simpson's chaos
- Yandy Diaz: the longest-tenured Ray and a quiet leader
- Parallels to the 2008 Rays
- Previewing the Brewers
- Intro and outro: Bucs prepare for Carolina, Baker Mayfield's status, Lightning, and a boat parade
- Sponsor: Breitling Boutique, International Plaza
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