Rays at Red Sox, Fenway

School’s out for summer. I woke up the morning of June 29 feeling light as air and anxious to get to Boston. Our tickets were booked on the Bolt Bus departing from the Tick Tock diner. (I am loving the alliteration.)

The ride was pretty smooth. I was reading Salinger. Then we pulled over for our 10-minute leg stretch at Roy Rogers, somewhere in Connecticut. The bus was leaking oil. The driver was of questionable mental state. We waited for a new bus to pick us up.

The Bolt Bus breakdown

The Rays started the two-game stint with Boston that night. They lost. Boston kept second place behind the Yankees and the Rays kept up what June had looked like so far: slumpy.

Mike, Luca, and Nina: Our gracious hosts and unfortunate Red Sox fans

The following night, our seats in Fenway were pretty great. I had heard there isn’t a bad seat in that stadium. I had heard that it is always packed. I can’t really say what’s true or what isn’t after one night, except that the Rays pulled it out behind Garza, winning 9-4. They closed out June with a win, to set up July and get out of their rut. They broke Boston’s seven-game winning streak.


We sat in right field and could see all the catches made in the warning track. The eighth inning was explosive. That was foreshadowing. The Rays would sweep the Red Sox the following week in the Trop to take back second place.

Rays at Yankees, Yankee Stadium

Fast forward a month and a half, without overlooking the fact that the Rays had the best record and led not only the American League East, but also all of baseball. During which time, we trekked out to Yankee stadium and watched them win 10-6 behind the rookie Wade Davis.


The biggest moments: just as we walked in and up to the railing that overlooks the diamond from the upper level, Jason Bartlett hit a homer off A.J. Burnett on one of the first pitches of the game. The roadtrip plans were sealed as B.L. agreed to join me this summer (even though he doesn’t really like baseball, and if he did, his team would be the Baltimore Orioles.)

Mets at Rays, Tropicana Field

The season looked great from where I was sitting in April. The last spring training game at the Trop, a Rays win 4-2 behind Matt Garza. The news comes out the following day: the Rays have the best record in spring training. Just like they had done in 2008, when they won the ACLS and appeared in the World Series, each for the first time in team history.


Parents enjoy the Rays' win
Raymond, mascot of unknown species, visits the crowd

The Brief Wonderous Recap of a Rays Fan

As introduction to this newly-minted blog, which will have a richer life once we set out on the road, I would like to recap. In the spirit of nostalgia, which comes from a Greek word that means pain, I am tempted to write more of my own history as a Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays fan. I’ll spare you, because I am not sure if this blog is ethnography, journal, or travelogue. I am pretty sure it’s not a baseball blog.