The 2008 award season proved to be a very good one for the Tampa Bay Rays tickets sales and the franchise. Evan Longoria, a third baseman, was named the American League Rookie of the Year, and he also won the 2008 All-Star game AL Final Fan. Carlos Pena, the Rays left-handed first baseman, was awarded an American League Gold Glove in 2008. Starting pitcher Scott Kazmir and catcher Dioner Navarro were both selected for the American League All-Star game.

Joe Maddon, the Rays manager, was named the 2008 American League Manager of the Year. Maddon is credited with the Rays mantra for the 2008 season, nine equals eight. Maddon was expressing the idea that nine players playing hard for nine innings of baseball can become one of the eight teams that qualifies for the playoffs. The 2008 season was the first winning season in the history of the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Tampa Bay Rays gained notoriety when Disney made a movie about former relief pitcher Jim Morris in 2002. The movie, called The Rookie, tells the story of Morris unlikely journey to major league baseball. Morris could repeatedly throw a baseball at 98 miles per hour. When his talent is discovered by professional baseball scouts, hes signed to the Rays. During his brief MLB career, Morris pitched at total of 15 innings in 21 games.

Now is an exciting time to be a party of Tampa Bay Rays tickets for the baseball team. Get your Tampa Bay Rays tickets early to watch Joe Maddon and the Rays turn this blossoming franchise into a serious MLB contender.

Up until recently, the team was called the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. In November of 2007, majority owner Stuart Sternberg decided to give the teams image a major overhaul. He elected to drop the Devil and call them the Tampa Bay Rays. Tickets continued to sell even with the name change. The team also changed their logo and team colors. The teams colors; which were once black, green and blue, are now navy blue, Columbia blue, and gold. Their mascot is a seadog named Raymond.

The Tampa Bay Rays tickets were slow to sell at first because the franchise did not get off to a very auspicious start. Under the Rays first manager, Larry Rothschild, the Rays first game was a loss to the Detroit Tigers by a score of 11-6. Every year except 2004, the Rays came in last place in the American League Eastern Division. All that changed with the 2008 season when the Rays won their first American League East Division title. They then went on to defeat the Boston Red Sox to win the American League Championship Series. After that, Tampa Bay Rays tickets were on the A list.