ST. PETERSBURG -- Baker Mayfield’s right thumb got a little unexpected help from across town this week, and the Rays were happy to play a part.
The Buccaneers asked the organization for help with a protective glove after Mayfield dislocated his thumb, and Rays home clubhouse attendant Tyler Wall modified a receiver’s glove for the quarterback. Mayfield wore it in Sunday’s 43-13 win over Carolina and threw a second-quarter touchdown, returning after missing the previous three weeks.
“They’ve done an incredible job helping me out to get where I’m at,” Mayfield said earlier this week.
The gesture fit right into the broader spirit of “Champa Bay,” where the region’s teams have spent recent years trading support as much as celebrating trophies. The Bucs and the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning have both had championship parades in the area, and now the Rays are trying to add their own run to that history as the World Series arrives in St. Petersburg.
“It’s going to be a great story -- coming back and being able to play these next few games to get some momentum back,” said Rays outfielder Jonny DeLuca.
Tropicana Field will host its first World Series game since 2008 on Monday evening, with the 2020 Fall Classic having been played in Arlington, Texas. The setting feels familiar for a region that has already seen plenty of big-stage moments from its local teams.
The Bucs beat the Chiefs in Super Bowl LV at Raymond James Stadium in 2021, and the Lightning brought multiple Stanley Cup home games to the area in 2021 and ’22, including a home-ice clincher in Game 5 of the 2021 Final.
“The past 10 years have been incredible,” said Rays shortstop Taylor Walls. “Every team that’s there, they feel like they figure out ways to win right now. The community there has been awesome towards us, towards every one of those teams.
“To come back and have that fan base, that entire area -- the state of Florida, really -- behind you, you can just feel they want it as bad as you do.”
Rays CEO Ken Babby said the club understands what it means to be part of that mix of winning sports teams in the area.
“We’ve got to earn our way into Champa Bay,” said Rays CEO Ken Babby. “We’re proud to work alongside several sports organizations in our community who have set a standard of excellence. We want to continue to earn our place alongside them.”
“Just a year ago, the Rays were playing their home games at Steinbrenner Field,” he said. “It was the Yankees who stood up to make that a possibility for us. They didn’t have to do that.”
The cross-team support goes well beyond one glove. Walls said he and his teammates regularly take in Bucs and Lightning games whenever they can, and the feeling is mutual.
“Anytime there’s an opportunity where we’re not playing and they are, we’re always there in some capacity,” Walls said. “The support system between all of us is pretty close.”
That shared energy is one reason the Rays are leaning hard on the home crowd during the rest of the Fall Classic. Several players have stressed that Tropicana Field needs to be loud, believing the atmosphere can tilt things their way.
“We love it there, and we love our fan support,” manager Kevin Cash said. “Our fan support has been second to none in this postseason run.
It was loud [in Milwaukee]. I think that we can get just as loud, if not louder, at our ballpark.”
The catwalks will eventually disappear from the Rays’ home. The club is planning a $2.3 billion, 31,000-seat domed ballpark on the current Hillsborough Community College grounds in Tampa, Fla., with an opening scheduled for April 2029.
For now, though, the Rays are still embedded in a sports market that knows how to throw a parade. They just want to give the boats a reason to sail again.
“I know our group is ready to get back there,” Cash said. “We’d love to do everything we can to … really give our fans something to yell about.”
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