Tampa, Florida – Junior Caminero opened the narrow white door in his new and spacious locker and the third base of Tampa Bay discovered that a bat Giancarlo Stanton left behind.
In the row in the other prestigious position in the corner, the pitcher Shane Baz had no idea that he was in the spring training dwelling of Aaron Judge.
“I haven’t found anything yet,” Rays pitcher said. “I will take anything.”
Left homeless after Hurricane Milton destroyed Tropicana’s field roof On October 9, the Rays began their season as Tenants in Steinbrenner FieldThe Spring Training Headquarters of the Yankees in New York, playing the Rockies of Colorado on Friday in the first game of the Great League.
The Rays replaced more than 3,000 signs and images at the 11,000 capacity baseball stadium during a 120 -hour image change after the last spring training game at the Yankees house Base and the great photos of Shane McClanahan and Taj Were the back the back the the The The The Thinter supposes. Marcón, visible to the cars they drive.
A spider lamp “NY” intertwined in the spacious Casa Club Rays was covered with a square canvas that highlighted the yellow, blue and white rays of Columbia with “home of the rays” written on each side. The replica of the Yankee stadium frieze on each position was also hidden, and a carpet with “TB” white letters was on the floor that led to the showers, darkening the tiles of the reading “El Bronx” and “New York”, was intended to emulate a meter.
Clubhouse staff found a touch panel and changed the 12 thin roof lights that mimic the stripes of the Yankees from white to deep blue.
Dressers were installed in the shelters and the bank filling was replaced together with the slices of bats and helmet.
But there were reminders, this was a stadium built for expanded spring training lists: most rays had two lockers. Only 39 of 77 positions were occupied, including 25 of the 51 that sounded the walls.
The “New York Yankees Executive Offices” were recorded at the doors of an entry of the office and the statue of the late owner of the Yankees, George Steinbrenner, and the exhibition of the retired numbers of New York outside the stadium remained unaltered. The Yankees logos were in their place at the end of each row in the seat bowl and while “TB” replaced a Yankees sign on the scoreboard, the letters “George M. Steinbrenner Field” remained below.
His costume reused as the Visitors’ Manager’s office, the referees moved to a trailer to more than 100 feet beyond the corner of the left field, near a city street.
Light ray players luxured in much more luxurious facilities than those that were accustomed to the troop: a two -level weight area, three televisions therapy swimming pools at water level, sauna red light therapy, four batting cages and an interior/exterior dining area.
“It’s almost too too much,” said launcher Zack Littell, preparing for his start on Saturday. “There is so much space. I think if you had to complain about something, you have to walk a long way to get places.”
Some players changed their seasonal rentals from the side of the Bay of St. Petersburg to the Tampa flank, shortening their trip. Rays manager Kevin Cash said his 10 -minute walk to Trop was now 30 minutes by car.
When he opened a drawer in his new desk, Cash found a note written by the counterpart Aaron Boone.
“He just said: ‘Enjoy it. You, you hope to have good health,'” said Cash, expressing your appreciation.
“This was quite elegant. Some of the things Tito leaves is not so elegant,” he said, playing playfully to Cincinnati’s new manager, Terry Francona.
While the Visitors Club House is narrow, it is not uncomfortable. An additional space was created by moving the coach’s room to what had been storage space.
“They have done everything possible to make this feel like a major league park,” said Kris Bryant in Colorado.
Tampa Bay has played 2,148 games in the Trop, including postseason, according to Elias Sports Bureau. The previous Rays Outdoor Games at home were a couple of series in Kissimmee, Florida, in 2007 and ’08, the games against the Yankees moved to Citi Field in New York in 2017 and in San Diego during the postseason 2020 on the neutral site.
Last year’s calendar in the Tropicana field of St. Petersburg averaged only 16,515, 28 among the 30 teams, and the opening day was the only seller. He The rays withdrew this month from an agreement for a new stadium proposed In a site adjacent to the Trop, and Major League Baseball will observe closely where there would be an assistance advantage for a new stadium on the bay’s Tampa side, as a proposed site of Ybor City.
“I think fans have always wanted baseball in Tampa Bay instead of St. Petersburg,” Littell said.
Given the intimate atmosphere of the stadium of a 34 -row cover. Rays expect fireworks: real fireworks will be activated after home runs during night games.
“I know a much smaller capacity here, but it will feel like a much more full house,” Rays Taylor Walls’ team said. “We are excited to play in front of our fans here, in front of Tampa fans, maybe even Orlando who now has the opportunity to travel to the game.”
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