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Young Rays Play Nice With Media, Distractions

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By JOE HENDERSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 25, 2008

PHILADELPHIA - The Rays have established a good relationship with the media throng that covers postseason baseball. That's good for a couple of reasons. No one wants bad publicity at a time like this, but more importantly it means the Rays are handling a part of the experience that can be trickier than you think.

Players establish a rhythm and routine over a 162-game regular season. They eat at the same times, sleep late in the morning, go through their routine during the day, then report to the ball park at least 3 1/2 hours before the game actually begins.

That routine gets blown to bits once the postseason arrives, when the demand for information increases dramatically. Television dictates late start times, usually at least 8:30 p.m, which can throw off their internal clock during the day. Players are shuffled from place-to-place for interviews, often to accommodate TV as well.

Instead of handful of reporters in the clubhouse after the game, the place is crammed with notebooks, digital recorders and mini-cams. The same questions are asked, rephrased, asked again, and then repeated.

The Rays, playing in the franchise's first-ever World Series, have handled it well. Many writers have commented privately on the freshness and openness of the players. Most have fallen in some sort of ink-stained love with manager Joe Maddon, who has been exceptionally accommodating.

"I think everybody understands that this opportunity doesn't come along very often," outfielder Rocco Baldelli said. "There have been a lot of good players on a lot of very good teams that have never made it to this point."

Let's be honest about it all, though. It can be overwhelming, especially to a young team, and adjusting to the demands can impact how your team plays.

"It's more of a pain in the butt, to be honest with you – all the stuff you have to do, like this stuff," Baldelli said Friday as he looked around the crowded Rays clubhouse, including a dozen or more reporters who were camped in front of his locker.

"You've got the games starting at 8:30 so you don't get home until 2:30 (a.m.) and then have to have your (travel) bags at the field by 10 the next morning. I don't think it actually affects us once we get on the field and start playing the game, but a lot of guys feel there's just a lot of unnecessary hoopla."

That'll Teach Him

Baldelli was surrounded because he made the mistake of being available when the media was allowed into the clubhouse. As more players drifted in to prepare for the day's workout, the crowd around Baldelli began to lessen.

"When there are so many people in the clubhouse like this, we don't want to come in the clubhouse. If we have stuff to do and we come in the clubhouse, we won't be able to do what we need to," he said.

"If someone says, 'Be back here in one minute' and you walk in the clubhouse and there are 10 people standing around, it makes it tough to take care of business. It does get to be overwhelming if you let it be."

Former Cardinals pitcher John Tudor famously (and sarcastically) asked at a World Series news conference once if a driver's license was the only requirement to get a press pass. He was far from the only player to be swamped by the extra demands this time of year.

Now that I've bitten the hand that feeds with the obligatory media references, let it be said that there are more sources of distraction that have nothing to do with reporters. Everybody wants a ticket to the Series and everybody knows the players have access to them.

Rocco had this suggestion for those who would hit him up: Don't bother.

"Most guys take care of all their own stuff. Guys have families and everything. My family flew down from Rhode Island to help me," he said. "I tell everybody I don't have any tickets. Nothing. I just give them to my dad and let him take care of it."

No Real Complaints

No one is complaining, though.

Not with the chance to take part in something like this.

"As times go on it gets a little more tiring, but we accept that part of it. It's kind of the fun of things," reliever J.P. Howell said. "At the same time we've tried to eliminate a lot of that within our clubhouse. You know the media's around, but throughout the day you have a sense that it's a normal day.

"It is a little weird when you look up and all year you see 11:30 when you get home after a game but now it's 1:30, you kind of scratch your head a little bit. You go, 'Oh man, there's not much time to do anything else,' so you go to bed and then get right back to work. Right on."

All of that takes us back to Joe Maddon. No one is enjoying the post-season run more than the Rays manager. He set the tone during the season and he's doing it now. On Friday night, he got out a little bit with family and friends and enjoyed the city.

As if we expected anything different.

"I had a great night, actually. I did run into a lot of Philly fans. I went to Panorama, a really cool wine bar with some really good Italian food and some wonderful homemade limoncello. My God, I really recommend it," Maddon said.

"The Philly fans have been very cool, actually, very cool. Very complimentary to our group, wishing us well, but not too much. I've been astonished by the whole thing. I went and had lunch today downtown, and the same thing happened in the restaurant there. It's been a great experience. I know once we get out here and the game starts it will change a bit. But really respectful, very nice people."

That's how you handle something like this. Just roll with it, make some friends, and have some fun along the way.

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