The Philadelphia Phillies got an early look at Tropicana Field, site of Wednesday night’s World Series opener.
Instead of waiting until the day before, they worked out Monday evening at the quirky ballpark. By the time the first pitch is thrown, they will have been off for six days since winning the NL pennant.
“Once we kind of get back to that flow, it starts to come naturally,” Ryan Howard said.
It will be a World Series of contrasts: North vs. South. Old vs. New. Rest vs. rust. Beloved vs. belittled.
Well, both have been disparaged over the years.
The frustrated Phillies have been around since 1883 but the losingest team in the history of U.S. major leagues has had just one title to celebrate, back in 1980. The Rays? The franchise didn’t start play until 1998, didn’t have a winning season until this year and didn’t even shed the Devil from its nickname until after completing play in 2007.
“People were happy when we got our 71st win. People were excited when we got our 81st win, saying you guys have cleared the .500 mark. We still kept going,” said Rays pitcher Matt Garza, the AL championship series MVP. “We’ve proved doubters wrong this entire time.”
But baseball’s glamourpusses have all gone home, with the Yankees and Mets failing to make the postseason, and the Cubs, Dodgers and defending champion Red Sox all getting bounced out of the playoffs.
Tampa Bay was a 200-1 shot to win the Series when betting opened, ahead of only Kansas City and Washington (both 250-1). Philadelphia was 18-1.
“They’re resilient. I think both clubs are similar in that way,” Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. “We’re not going to quit. I think this year they definitely learned that. They’re young and they’re flying on a high. We’re kind of settled.”
After going from a major league-worst 66-96 last year to 97-65 this season, Tampa Bay has a bit of an aura. While the Phillies opened the season with the 13th-highest payroll in the major leagues at $98 million, the Rays were 29th at $44 million, ahead of only Florida.
