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Unlike Mudville, There's Joy In Tampa Bay

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 12, 2008

The recent accomplishments of two Tampa Bay-area baseball teams may not be shots "heard 'round the world" like the pennant-clinching homer that Bobby Thomson hit for the old New York Giants. But they ring just as loud.

On Sunday the Tampa Bay Rays, after a decade of dismal baseball that tested the hearts of fans, set a team record for wins with 71. The amazing Rays also hold first place in the American League East Division.

Think about that. The Rays are 4.5 games over the Boston Red Sox and 8.5 games over the New York Yankees. Yet not so long ago, fans felt a sense of hopelessness about the Rays being in the same division as these legacy teams. Then their bats came alive, the bullpen started throwing strikes and the Rays became the little engine that could.

It's been a storybook season no one could have predicted. And set against the backdrop of a region in recession, the team's pennant-chasing performance is some of the only good news heard these days.

Down the ladder of organized baseball, the Citrus Park Little League made some history of its own Friday night in Gulfport. Its all-stars hammered a team from Alabama to advance to the Little League World Series for the first time.

The 11-0 win was so dominating that the game was called early because of the 10-run rule. Congratulations to these youngsters, their coaches and their parents for continuing Tampa Bay's reputation as a hotbed for baseball.

This is the last year the Southeast Regional tournament will be played in Pinellas County after 40 years. The tournament's loss is a shame, given that it helped fuel a tradition of area teams playing in the world championship.

Tampa's Belmont Heights league has been to the series four times and West Tampa twice - to name just a couple. But no Florida team has ever brought home Little League Baseball's top crown, which will be battled for Aug. 15-24.

Maybe this is our year.

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