State Sen. Nancy Detert, R-Venice, is pushing a change in the law that would allow Sarasota to keep state money while seeking a Major League Baseball team to replace the Cincinnati Reds as a spring training attraction. This is the Reds' final spring training in Sarasota. She said her goal is to "hopefully steal teams from Arizona," where tax breaks have led to six teams leaving Florida since 1998. ...more

March 11, 2009

Like hockey's Lightning and the football's Buccaneers, the Rays label themselves a team from "Tampa Bay."But unlike the other big-league squads, which play in Tampa, the Rays' home base gets little recognition in the shorthand of sports communication. ...more

September 30, 2008

Leave it to a member of the Red Sox to put the Rays' attendance woes in the kind of straightforward terms that public relations-conscious members of the home team have generally avoided. ...more

September 17, 2008

You're probably aware that New York is the most populated city in America, and there's a good chance you know that Los Angeles is No. 2 and Chicago is No. 3. But what city is the 12th largest? You might be surprised to learn that it is Jacksonville, with more than 800,000 folks living there in 2007, according to just-released figures from the U.S. Census Bureau. ...more

July 15, 2008

The owner of the Major League Baseball team was frustrated. He was stuck in an old ballpark that was considered out of date and unable to provide the revenue streams professional teams need to compete in the modern-day sport world. ...more

June 15, 2008

LAND O' LAKES - Zephyrhills athletic director and softball coach Craig Milburn has watched his glimmer of hope transform from an idea to an event. ...more

June 7, 2008

How about those Rays? For baseball enthusiasts in these parts, the Tampa Bay Rays' first-place standing this late into the season is something we've never experienced. Are you a believer yet? Probably not, but this is fun to watch. ...more

May 28, 2008

SEBRING — One of Adam Simmons's childhood goals was realized on Thursday when the Sebring senior walked out onto Firemen's Field, not as a Blue Streak, but as an All-Star. ...more

May 24, 2008

SEBRING –– Eric Hosmer. Adrian Nieto. Casey Kelley. Let those names sink deep into your subconscious, because in a blink of an eye they just might be playing for your favorite Major League baseball team. For now, those are just a few players scheduled to participate in the 30th annual Florida Athletic Coaches Association All-Star Baseball Classic at Firemen's Memorial Field May 22-24. Five of the top 50 overall prospects in this year's talent pool for the upcoming MLB First Year Player Draft will be showing off their skills for the conglomerate of major league and college scouts and the fans that come from all over the state to see this amazing collection of a future who's who of baseball in the coming years. "This event has become a haven for scouts and college coaches to get a last chance to scout these kids," FACA All-Star co-coordinator Travis Rapp said. "All the kids named to this team have proven themselves over the course of their careers, but I've seen so many players improve their draft position with a good showing here. ...more

May 19, 2008

For the first time since the spring training days of the Cincinnati Reds, Plant City Stadium was nearly packed last week for a sporting event. ...more

May 10, 2008