Devil Ball | History of the Rays Pt. 1

The Tampa Bay Devil Rays trip, fall and stumble through their first decade of existence.
This is Part 1 of The History of the Tampa Bay Rays
Release schedule:
Part II (2008) - April 7th
Part III (2009-2011) - April 10th
Part IV (2012-2019) - April 14th
Part V (2020- 2023) - April 17th
EDIT: The picture of Jack Lake may or may not be him, idk there’s 0 pictures of this guy.
Fun and wacky

[@thelameg6]

john bois influence has single handedly revitalized sports journalism

[@foramoreperfectamerica8490]

I wanted Secret Base to do this, but I'm happy someone did it regardless.

[@woodchuck9344]

If this was a rap song he stole secret bases entire flow.

[@derpy.1]

Love that the Seattle Mariners documentary is influencing others to do the same with there own teams. This one’s awesome dude, love it, probably is gonna get your biggest view count from this series once you put all these parts together into a Supercut

[@mauricewilson7116]

Yeah I’ve noticed more and more the past two years, Bois is really the GOAT lol

[@TheJdawg1276]

Even though this is just like dorktown Mariners video i love it. I want one for every team. Great work.

[@sebcausey]

i can’t wait for this to blowup, shoutout to you for doing this- us tampa fans appreciate this

[@zachgeisel5253]

Its almost like ive seen this exact format and sound before 🤔

[@mauricewilson7116]

Jon Bois really changed the game on this site lol

[@jordandr.j4789]

This was an awesome video, I threw a sub in because I think you have some great potential. I can’t wait for part 2

[@mavensbaseball]

As someone who dabbles in making baseball video content. I can only imagine the effort this took. Great job.

[@jamesesterline]

Surprised there was no mention of Josh Hamilton getting drafted first overall in 1999 and his drug and injury problems keeping him from reaching the Majors before the Rays gave up on him, maybe he'll get a mention in the next part if you talk about him getting intentionally walked with the bases loaded by the Rays in 2008.

[@loopydooopy]

The one thing I forgot lol. Thanks for at least pointing it out here, spoilers but he's not mentioned in Part 2 sad.

[@EthanNiedorowski]

Everyone knows that’s story anyway really Nice work Jon bios ish for sure but not so blatant it’s copyright kinda issue I watched an can’t wait for part 2 Copy an paste the pirates an I’ll watch for sure

[@smoceany9478]

when you were talking about how bad kevin cash was, i was 100% convinced that he would come back and become like the rays leader

[@AustSaint]

This was the time that I picked the Devil Rays as my team, Carl Crawford is still my favourite Ray, we had some talent but not all at the same time. I am looking forward to the next episode.

[@CSDonohue11]

Carl Crawford is The Man He’s the 1st Dude I really like from The Rays Then I always liked Julio Lugo Mostly because He was a Good 2B on MVP Baseball 04 😁 Then came Longo 3B That’s My G Crawford & Longo Josh Hamilton will always Be My G too Can’t believe Reds traded Him for Volquez Wasn’t A Bad Trade Especially Given His History and to get a really nice arm prospect But I still wanted Hamilton Then for Him to go do what He did with The Rangers Especially @ Yankee Stadium during The AS Break Could have all been in A Reds Uniform and Hamilton mixed in that team With Votto & Chapman The Reds Dusty coached That could of & would of been lethal I think that’s the 2 2010 MVP’s Could have been on the same team If not it would have been the 2010 2011 MVP’s It’s a trip how short & MAJOR Josh’s Prime was He come on the scene and had an enormous few seasons The crashed as quick as He brought Himself backup to Elite level That’s always a trip to Me When a Guy can be at the most absolutely elite levels for a few seasons and then let themself fall off the cliff Because that’s almost always has to do with taking care of yourself and treating The Game with the care it deserves The Love she’s given You As soon as You mistreat Her for a little too long She’ll bite you in the head 😁 Even when it’s an injury a lot go the time in those instances it’s from not taking care of yourself properly Putting trash in the body Lots of alcohol and stimulants All of a sudden you pull something Next thing you know … blow something out and never the same again. Respect The Game 🙏

[@6thwilbury2331]

This is... pretty good

[@tinypoolmodelshipyard]

Was a 8 year old boy when they came to town, was 8 on may 23rd 1999 when during batting practice i caught a 300 ft foul ball (rowbabove bullpen party section) and spit out my front teeth. Required a lotnof surgery and that was a summer from hell. But for my 9th bday i got to meet the team (beside Canseco who was on fhe DL) got to talk with Wade Boggs (a month b4 his 3k hit/HR) Dave Martinez, Fred McGriff. It made that summer of hell worth it. After my dad lived in Palmetto and we went to many games from 2000-2006. I love the Rays but i was there for the first decade of pain, but their forever the Devil Rays for me. Cant wait for them to bring home the Wprld Series trophy one of these years. Kazmir, Crawford, Baldelli, Winn, Tyner, Gomes, Huff and a man named Carlos Pena who, in the last year as the Devil Rays, WENT TF OFFF. It wasnt alot of winning but it was alot of fun to follow this era of the infant franchise Also i was at the last game of the year 1999 vs Yankees and got to see Randy Winns inside the park grand slam. Thst was amazing to see Last thing. I had the same reaction when i heard Cash was the manager. First thought was *that bum? Really"

[@iamza.]

You win for craziest ass story! Glad you see the upside to it!

[@tinypoolmodelshipyard]

@@iamza. i forgot to mention my 9th bday when i met team ans threw out 1st pitch, was the aame day Cone threw his perfect game. I had a article in st pete times with David Cones 88 pitches and my 1 pitch both produced the same amount of joy. The writer of the article actually presented a grammy in 06, 07. It sucked i had to go through the pain but the story is pretty bad ass. Im missing one of those teeth and always leads to the story. Love it

[@iamza.]

@@tinypoolmodelshipyard you won 1st and 2nd now!!

[@Elephant2024-wi2li]

It is amazing that in spite of the now over twenty five year, interesting and colorful history of the Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays, there really have been next to no books or documentaries about them. The only one I know of is 'The Extra 2%: How Wall Street Strategies Took a Major League Baseball Team from Worst to First' by Jonah Keri. Which reads more like a business oriented, Moneyball type of book than a baseball one. To me, stadium issues notwithstanding, they have consistently been the best run organization in baseball insofar as the results on the field from 2008-2024 set in juxtaposition to the relatively limited overall amount they spend in payroll. Thanks for doing this history of the Rays. Look forward to additional chapters in the series.

[@pikapal91]

I’ve never heard anyone butcher Mets Legend, Ray Ordonez’s name like that.

[@CSDonohue11]

Right !

[@JWex-jy7sk]

Just watched a video on him the other night. This guy's defense during his Mets days was epic

[@maeploykitchen7769]

Awesome video. Can't wait for the next parts!

[@JWex-jy7sk]

Real amazing job on this 1st part and so cool you did this Secret Base Dorktown style! One rare piece of Devil Rays memorabilia I own. In 2002 the Devil Rays were supposed to giveaway Jason Tyner bobbleheads first 10,000 fans. 4 days beforehand, Tyner gets sent down to the minors and the promotion was cancelled. The bobbleheads were stored away in a warehouse never to see the light of day but a very few amount got out. I own one of those very few that got out

[@robmclean4352]

1:00 Fun fact: Game 1 of the ALDS in St Pete drew 19,704 fans; not counting the pandemic year of 2020, that's the worst-attended MLB postseason game in over a century, since Game 7 of the infamous 1919 World Series in Cincinnati (13,923).

[@ba780YT]

This is amazing! I can’t wait to see your channel grow.

[@duality4739]

Appreciate the time it took for this, im gonna watch all 3 fs

[@mars2ian]

Awesome video always wanted something like this for the rays, keep it up👍

[@joshgordonsplug1386]

Hey man great video, love these long form videos on baseball

[@algernontheabsurd4450]

Bro you killed it ! Hope to see you make more videos on different teams ❤

[@PHXNKVHXLIC]

Oh snap, what did I just run into?? I’m excited for this

[@CSDonohue11]

Same. Just needs to pick up The Pace A Bit

[@Jayson_Tatum]

Only Pedro could get charged, punched square in the jaw, and still go on to throw a Complete Game 😂

[@thedude3065]

I'm glad you made this

[@AlexanderTB6]

pretty cool my friend

[@Pocketrocket-pj1us]

18:45 I just for fun, sports fans, Pull up info on the 68 expansion draft, Vs. The Marlins, Rays and in hockey, Vegas who just won it all, after 5 years. The made the finals in the first season of team history. It took owners 60 years but they finally lrealised, new team, new money. Success of a new team was good for all of them!

[@AhJeezEnt]

Big Jon Bois vibes, love it

[@caseyhayward8094]

as a life long orioles fan, i remember those early tampa teams and oh man they were just rough every single year. it took them ages to figure it out but when the finally did, it was like big news in the division lol.

[@mackdbush984]

Glad I could reminiscent, since I helped build Dome. Great video 😎. Go Ray's ✨️

[@chrispayne6825]

I lol'd at the cownosed rays

[@VACATETHE48]

I feel like you could've gone a lot deeper into how awesome some of these Devil Rays players were. Kazmir, Crawford, Baldelli, Huff, Cantu, Upton can all have 5-10 minute highlight reels of their own.

[@loopydooopy]

True, but then the video would be 2 hours long lol

[@hiddenleafguy4576]

​@loopydooopy Thats how we like it brother!

[@CSDonohue11]

Yes…. Cantu & Lugo were GREAT on MVP Baseball 04 😁

[@VACATETHE48]

@@CSDonohue11 I'd play the Devil Rays all of the time in MLB 06 The Show... Cantu, Huff, Baldelli, Crawford, Kazmir, Young, Gathright and... Chad Orvella... are all A potential players and just makes the team completely busted in a few short years. Upton, Lugo, and for whatever reason, Ty Wiggington, also provide excellent lineup depth. Edwin Jackson is on the team too so, that's a 4th thumbs up.

[@anthonyrivera0917]

1998-2007 was the era of losing for the rays.

[@wacopaco2099]

Great video man, awesome recreation of Jon Bois editing. That bein said, please blow your nose before you record big man.

[@loopydooopy]

lol I was getting over a cold when I recorded, it gets better later.

[@TBone31]

Really like this series as a rays fan

[@EthanNiedorowski]

Pretty good 👍 When is number 2 coming out

[@emorimiku]

that 2004 season graph looks rough

[@orinmcintyre3885]

Good vid bro

[@MatBenavidez]

Love the usage of the Celeste music!

[@limitless_pulls]

How in the world do you not have more subscribers? not saying that disrespectfully, I'm just genuinely surprised. You deserve a lot more.

[@mauricewilson7116]

Nice first edition, I love Sports Doc like this. I remember as a kid, the Rays having cool uniforms, terrible teams and played in that weird ass stadium lol PS: Jon Bois and Secret Base’s influence is over all Sports YT. From using data/charts, to using Jazz/Synth/70s Soundtracks to Google Earth, Bois’ fingerprints are all over this and other videos lol.

[@NeverTooManyGames]

That Mariners doc was special stuff. Came out at a great time too cause of the pandemic

[@mauricewilson7116]

@@NeverTooManyGames yeah it came out at the perfect time, Better than the Last Dance IMO.

[@vampirecountingmoneyup2248]

great content, even as a Jays fan

[@Iridescence93]

Cool video. Rays up

[@MagicalBread]

Diet Jon Bois!

[@Pocketrocket-pj1us]

20:00 That losing season is not as bad as the Cleveland Spiders! I think you must have meant post War. Or modern game.

[@tesstesseract]

the giants been around a looong time in what world were they a fledgling team in the 90s?

[@kalvinfilarski6460]

Did you really call Wade Boggs a journeyman?

[@Intermission19]

W vid

[@marcuslallanilla1325]

Peak

[@loopydooopy]

peak

[@zacharybuttitta3039]

You are not going to get anywhere blatantly ripping off someone's style

[@mrsoftpalms]

Put your own spin on this instead of directly ripping off Jon Bois--it is too similar which makes it, very distinctively, not as good. Keep trying though; getting to 37 minutes isn't easy, even if you're speaking at the pace of a sloth.

[@vernetroyer5020]

Bro stop hating. That’s so goofy. I don’t see you making content like this, stop hating on people who make content in a similar manner to someone else. Jon Bois didn’t come up with the sports storytelling concept, he was inspired by others, just like this guy was inspired by Jon. Quit being a hater

[@EthanNiedorowski]

@@vernetroyer5020 haters going to hate lovers going to love ❤️ just keep telling us all about the rays and don’t let this kid dump on you. #soft palms

[@alexmurphy8837]

Maybe the intent of the video was to create something similar to Jon Bois since that style of documentary has worked? Maybe it was in tribute to that style of video

[@PHXNKVHXLIC]

How do you prefer your videos then? Fast talking with lots of moving images and a pacifier for you as well?

[@dolan3489]

He’s from Philly so he’ll need a lot more pictures than words