Free Republic

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has picked another fight with progressive corporate America, this time the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team. When he signed the state budget last week, Mr. DeSantis zeroed out $35 million to help build a new site for the Rays’ spring training. “I don’t support giving taxpayer dollars to professional sports stadiums, period,” he said Friday. This is a good policy that too few states emulate, and Florida taxpayers can be grateful that their Governor has a line-item veto and is willing to use it

Last week, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed $35 million the state legislature had approved in the latest state budget to help build a spring training facility for the Tampa Bay Rays. “I don’t support giving taxpayer dollars to professional sports stadiums, period,” DeSantis said.

After a handful of Tampa Bay Rays players refused to wear rainbow-clad uniforms for Pride Night on Saturday, the only openly-gay active player in professional baseball said "discrimination and hate has a voice in baseball and you saw it in Tampa." "We have seen a lot of teams selling rainbow merchandise and doing Pride Nights, which is great, but they need to actually support their players," Bryan Ruby said of the situation in Tampa, which he called "sad and frustrating." "We get one night at the ballpark to be ourselves all year, and it just was an indication that a...

At least five players on the Tampa Bay Rays roster opted not to wear a patch the team added to their uniforms intended to celebrate Pride month in Saturday's 3-2 loss to the Chicago White Sox (box score). During the team's 16th annual Pride Night celebration Rays caps and uniforms had logos colored in the style of the modern LGBTQ+ pride flag, but not everyone in the clubhouse chose to participate. Pitchers Jason Adam, Jalen Beeks, Brooks Raley, Jeffrey Springs and Ryan Thompson were among the players who did not wear the patch on their uniforms and chose to wear...

A late-round pick out of Illinois State in the 2016 draft, Ramirez played three seasons in Tampa Bay’s farm system before being released. Soon afterwards, however, the club rehired Ramirez for a new role as the bullpen catcher on the big league club, opening a door towards the coaching career Ramirez looked to establish.“He brought so much passion and energy each day to our clubhouse and bullpen, and his love for the Rays and baseball was evident to all. He had the biggest heart and the most infectious smile,” Cash said.The Rays did not announce Ramirez’s cause of death. Neander...

Joe Buck’s necessities for the next two weeks: one giant suitcase, two garment bags, plenty of room service and at least nine novel coronavirus tests. That’s the price of entry for the unusual stretch he is in, calling what could be 13 baseball games and four football games in 18 days. As the sports schedule has been scrambled this fall by the pandemic, Buck, the lead play-by-play announcer for Fox Sports’s baseball and football coverage, has seen his itinerary warped, too. Image without a caption “The silver lining in all of this, at least in my life, is baseball is...

In the latest TV ratings, Fox’s coverage of the World Series opener between the Dodgers and Rays averaged 7.2 million total viewers and a Tuesday-topping 1.8 demo rating — though down sharply from the preliminary numbers (11.6 mil/2.9) for last year’s Nationals/Astros Game 1. Check back later for the final tally! NBC | The Voice (7.5 mil/1.0) was down a tick from Monday’s premiere, but teed up Transplant for Stateside highs of 4.3 mil/0.6. ABC | The Bachelorette (4.1 mil.1.1) slipped about 20 percent from last week. Leading out of that, a Supermarket Sweeeeeeep! encore did 1.8 mil and a...

The Rays saluted the LGTBQ community with Pride Night Friday, but unlike some franchises, the team’s commemorative night did not represent a new endeavor for the Rays. SB Nation reports that this is the first year every MLB team will feature a special recognition of the community, but it’s been a regular staple in Tampa Bay for many years.

Here's something you don't see every day: the New York Yankees are defending Alex Rodriguez. After a Tampa Bay Rays minor-league team planned a promo night poking fun at their infamous slugger, the Yankees objected that it was in poor taste. And now, the A-Rod "juice box night" that the Single-A Charlotte Stone Crabs had planned for Friday has been cancelled. The team was going to give juice boxes to the first 500 fans through the gates. They were to read: "100% Juiced. Side Affects [sic] include: tainted records, inflated ego, omission from the Hall of Fame, and more!" The...

Losing a Major League Baseball franchise would be a blow to CBS Radio’s drive to build a successful sports talk station in the market. But MLB commissioner Bud Selig has stated the league is not happy with the support the market is giving the Tampa Bay Rays in terms of attendance despite the club fielding successful teams. The league states, “Last year, the 30 Major League clubs averaged nearly 2.5 million in total attendance; the Rays, who finished with a 90-72 record, drew 1,559,681, which ranked last in the game.” So WHFS-FM “98.7 The Fan” is launching “Save Tampa Bay...