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Tonight, the Rays usher in their 12th season of games at Tropicana Field. Here's a look back at the franchise's home openers.

FOR OPENERS

The Rays are 5-6 in home openers at Tropicana Field.

SeasonResultAttendanceRays' Starter1998Tigers 11, Rays 645,369Wilson Alvarez1999Red Sox 4, Rays 140,425Rolando Arrojo2000Indians 14, Rays 540,329Juan Guzman2001Rays 8, Blue Jays 141,546Albie Lopez2002Rays 9, Tigers 538,142Tanyon Sturtze2003Rays 6, Red Sox 434,391Joe Kennedy2004Rays 9, Yankees 441,755Victor Zambrano2005Blue Jays 5, Rays 226,018Dewon Brazelton2006Orioles 6, Rays 340,119Seth McClung2007Rays 6, Blue Jays 538,437James Shields2008Mariners 6, Rays 536,048Matt Garza MOST DRAMATIC MOMENT

2003: Carl Crawford hits a three-run home run with two outs in the ninth inning, lifting the Rays past the Red Sox 6-4 in Manager Lou Piniella's first game with Tampa Bay.

MOST IRONIC HOMER

1998: Tigers OF Luis Gonzalez, a Tampa native, hit the first homer in Tropicana Field history, a two-run shot to right field that landed just a few rows away from his relatives.

WORST PREGAME STUNT

1999: The Red Sox scored their first two runs in a 4-1 victory when Rays OF Randy Winn lost a fly ball in a smoky haze, remnants of a pregame fireworks spectacular from the Trop's catwalks. "If you have an indoor stadium, you should refrain from that fireworks," Rays 3B Wade Boggs said.

WORST DEBUT

2000: Rays RHP Juan Guzman, a free-agent signing who was touted as a workhorse, lasted only 12/3 innings in a 14-5 loss to the Indians. Guzman was sent to the disabled list with a sore right shoulder - and never pitched again in the major leagues.

BEST U.S. OPENER

2004: The Rays beat the Yankees 9-4 at Tropicana Field - eight days after beating New York 8-3 in Tokyo (with the Rays designated as the home team in the two-game international showcase).

BEST HITTING PERFORMANCE

2007: Rays 3B Akinori Iwamura went 4-for-4 and scored the winning run, capping a three-run ninth inning in a 6-5 victory against the Orioles.

DEEP THOUGHTS

Fifteen different players have hit homers for the Rays in their previous 11 home openers.

1998 - Wade Boggs

1999 - Fred McGriff

2000 - Bubba Trammell

2001 - Randy Winn, Gerald Williams

2002 - None

2003 - Terry Shumpert, Carl Crawford

2004 - Julio Lugo

2005 - None

2006 - Toby Hall

2007 - Delmon Young, Akinori Iwamura, B.J. Upton, Ty Wigginton

2008 - Carlos Pena, Shawn Riggans

MANAGING SOME PERSPECTIVE

Four different Rays managers weigh in after a home opener:

•Larry Rothschild (1998) - "I mean, we've got 161 games left."

•Hal McRae (2002) - "Regardless of who we're playing, we have a chance to win."

•Lou Piniella (2003) - "Let's not get euphoric."

•Joe Maddon (2007) - "Well, it's a start."

INTO THE WINDUP

These men threw out the ceremonial first pitch at various Rays home openers.

1998 - Baseball Hall of Famers Al Lopez, Monte Irvin, Stan Musial and Ted Williams

1999 - Baseball Hall of Famer Larry Doby

2000 - Former Rays 3B Wade Boggs

2002 - U.S. Army Gen. Tommy Franks

2003 - Bucs coach Jon Gruden and GM Rich McKay

2004 - World junior middleweight champion Winky Wright

2005 - IRL racing team owner Michael Andretti

2006 - The son, grandson and great-grandson of the late Tampa baseball legend Al Lopez

2008 - Gov. Charlie Crist and retired Bucs FB Mike Alstott