THE East Division of the American League is one of the most—if not, the most—competitive divisions in Major League Baseball (MLB). The more fabled baseball teams like the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox belong to this division along with the Toronto Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays, the upstart team that has joined the MLB in 1998 as the latest expansion team.

Games among teams in this division are intense, passionate and competitive. Fans can expect a dogfight. The last four years, however, saw the emergence of Tampa Bay Rays as the team to beat, effectively marginalizing the other teams, notwithstanding their deep baseball history, traditions and, of course, pockets.

The low-budget Tampa Bay Rays constitute an aberration in a division, where the big guys spend and compete like hell to satisfy their huge followings by winning baseball pennants year after year. The first 10 years of the Rays’ existence as a team represented the worst in baseball, as it was the virtual doormat in the entire American League. Baseball commentators were so frustrated with the Rays’ performance, saying it was a Minor Leaguer, masquerading as a Major League team.

It was only in 2008 that it had a turnaround season to become a thorn in the throats of the big guys, especially the Yankees and the Red Sox, which traditionally dislike each other since the start of professional baseball in the United States more than a hundred years ago. The turnaround is a success story in itself.

This year, the Yankees have the biggest payroll at over $200 million mainly because of a huge market of over 12 million people, who are wiling to watch baseball games; it is followed by the Red Sox at over $150 million. The Orioles and Blue Jays have payrolls of over $100 million. The Rays have a payroll of a measly $42 million, which happens to be the second lowest among the 30 MLB teams.

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THE Rays’ success started in 2008, two years after it had a change of ownership, management and coaches. From being the doormat in the East Division and the MLB, the Rays captured the American League championship in a reversal of form and fortune. They went to the World Series only to lose to Philadelphia Phillies in five games. They had a winning record in 2009, but placed third after the Yankees, which emerged as the MLB champions, and the Red Sox, which won the AL wild card.

The Rays did it again in 2010 and won the American League pennant, but lost to the Texas Rangers in the playoffs. This year the management has reduced drastically the payroll to $42 million from $72 million in 2010, but still won the American League wild card in a celebrated but dramatic comeback to defeat the Red Sox. The Rays lost the playoffs again to the Rangers, which eventually became the American League champions, but lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series.

Despite the meager budget, the Rays have been successful because of the infusion of a new corporate culture after the Wall Street-based group of Stuart Sternberg took over shortly after the season ended in 2006. Initially, the new ownership changed the team’s name from Tampa Bay Devil Rays to Tampa Bay Rays, changed the stingray logo to the ray of sunlight, and adopted a new uniform and team colors.

Knowing their budgetary limitations, the refurbished team has stressed scouting to identify talented but inexpensive players and take them to rigid training and development process to actualize their potentials. This strategy has brought dividends, as the Rays have a steady pool of players for both the Major League and the Minor Leagues.

To complement the team’s players’ development program, the Sternberg group has hired as the team manager the eccentric but highly effective Jose Maddon, who was then the bench coach of Anaheim Angels under Mike Sciocia. Maddon brought a new culture to the team, virtually turning the baseball world upside down.

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TO describe the Rays as baseball’s laughing stock is an understatement. Put simply, the team once personified everything that was bad in baseball. But Maddon has initiated a paradigm shift, changing the defeatist mindset into a winning one. He adopted a new game philosophy that stresses great pitching, effective defense and timely hitting.

For Maddon, the team does not have to score many home runs, but with timely hitting and assertive baserunning, the Rays could do wonders and win games. He has converted several unheralded players into noted players coveted by the other teams. When the Rays lost them to free agency, these players have signed fat contracts with other teams, assuring their future as baseball athletes.

Since 2008, the team has posted a winning record, which means it has won more than half of the 162 games in the regular season. It does not have players, who bat over .300, or pitchers, who win 20 or more games every season, but it has been a perennial contender. The Rays are among the top in stolen bases to show adequate baserunning and have less errors to indicate valuable defense.

Moreover, Maddon has shown out-of-the box decision-making during tight games, allowing the team to win a number of close games against the big guys, the Yankees and Red Sox. As the team shows great promise, the Yankees and Red Sox have to get good players, drawing their checkbooks to sign them at huge cost. The Rays’ only drawback are that they have hardly widened their fan base over the last four or five years. The city of St. Petersburg in Florida, where it is based, has remained a small market.

Maddon has been amply rewarded as he twice won the American League’s Manager of the Year—in 2008 and 2011. He is best remembered as the guy, who has slain the dragons in the Yankees and Red Sox and tamed the baseball gods to his favor. The years 2008 and 2011 have been described as magical years for the Rays.

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