Tampa Bay Rays: The All-Time Bracket
No. 2 vs. 7 seed
In 2009, the Tampa Bay Rays finished only third in the AL East and missed out on postseason-play by 11 games. But they did win 84 times, and while that was a comedown from the 97 victories of one season earlier it remained the second-best showing in the franchise’s history to that point.
Left fielder Carl Crawford hit .305 while Longoria buttressed his .281 average with 33 home runs and 113 RBIs. Shortstop Jason Bartlett batted .320. Ben Zobrist bounced between second base and the outfield, batting .297 with 27 homers and 91 RBIs.
Pena’s average fell, but he still provided power at first base with 39 homers and 100 RBIs.
David Price became an emerging star on the pitching staff, winning 10 games, Garza struck out 189 in 203 innings but only managed an 8-12 record.
The 2013 Rays got a 32-homer, 88 RBI season from Longoria, But the team offense, based on a .257 average, was ordinary. Still the Rays qualified for the wild card game, which they won over Cleveland before being eliminated by Boston in the division round.
Price produced a modest 10-8 record with nine no-decisions, but Matt Moore and Alex Cobb both stepped up to win a combined 28 times against just seven defeats. Rookie Chris Archer was 9-7.
Game 1: The 2009 Rays had an 84-78 .518 regular-season record. The 2013 team played 92-71 .564 ball, giving it an eight-game win.
Game 2: The 2009 team did not qualify for post-season play, so this game is a forfeit for 2013.
Game 3: Both teams had 106 OPS+ scores. That sends the third game to a tie-breaker involving the best individual OPS+ among regulars. In 2009 Zobrist topped the team at 149. In 2013, Longoria only reached 133.
Game 4: The 2013 Rays had a 103 staff ERA+. In 2009 the staff was average with a 100 ERA+.
Game 5: The 2009 Rays accumulated a 42.5 WAR, 2.5 more than the 2013 team.
Game 6: The 2009 team fielded .983, one point worse than the league average. The 2013 team excelled with a .990 fielding average, five points better than the league average.
Result: 2013 in six games