1997 Major League Baseball expansion draft
On November 18, 1997, Major League Baseball (MLB) held an expansion draft to allow two expansion teams, the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, to build their rosters prior to debuting in the National League West and American League East divisions, respectively, in the 1998 MLB season. The draft took place in the Phoenix Civic Center in Phoenix, Arizona.
Jeff Suppan was the 2006 NLCS MVP.
The Rays traded Bobby Abreu prior to the season for Kevin Stocker.
Miguel Cairo has played for 10 different Major League teams at 7 different positions (counting DH).
Dmitri Young was selected by the Devil Rays from the Reds, and then traded back to the Reds.
The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. They are one of two major league clubs based in Florida, alongside the National League (NL)’s Miami Marlins. Since its inception, the team's home ballpark has been Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Carl Crawford was one of the Rays' first breakout stars
Evan Longoria owns many Rays franchise records, including games played, home runs, RBIs, and WAR.
Tampa Bay in the 2008 World Series
Randy Arozarena in 2020 set all-time records for most hits and home runs in a single postseason
