There are a few times in baseball that should probably just get canceled. The Tampa Bay Rays are one of them. The entire franchise not only has to try to win on the field, they are clinging to their entire existence. The Rays have been trying to get a new stadium for what seems like forever. This latest news I’m about to tell you is straight up bonkers.
According to puny Jeff Passan, the Tampa Bay Rays want to become the Montreal Expos only half the time. I don’t know exactly what that means but it sounds accurate:
“The Tampa Bay Rays received permission from Major League Baseball’s executive council to explore a plan in which they would play early-season home games in the Tampa Bay area and the remainder of the year in Montreal, sources familiar with the situation told ESPN.”
“While the plan is in its nascent stages, the Rays have embraced the two-city solution as the most feasible to saving baseball in the Tampa Bay area after years of failed attempts to build a new stadium in the region, according to sources.”
“The return of baseball to Montreal, which lost the Expos when they moved to Washington, D.C., and became the Nationals before the 2005 season, has long been speculated and has significant support among power brokers in the city, including Stephen Bronfman, the private-equity magnate whose father, Charles, was the Expos’ original owner.”
“Under the plan, the Rays would play in new stadiums in both the Tampa Bay area and Montreal, according to sources. The ability to play games early in the season in Florida would preclude the need for a domed stadium, cutting the cost of a new building. A month ago, Bronfman — who along with Montreal businessman Mitch Garber has expressed interest in taking a minority stake in the Rays alongside owner Stuart Sternberg — reached an agreement with a developer on a site in Montreal’s Pointe-Saint-Charles neighborhood to potentially build a new stadium. The number of home games each city would receive has not been determined, according to sources.”
This is PATHETIC. If the Rays aren’t functional enough to play 81 games a year in Tampa, then they shouldn’t have a franchise. Despite playing pretty solid baseball on the season and compiling a record of 43-31, the Rays have an average attendance of 14,546 which is the second lowest in baseball. The Rays tarped off the entire top deck of seats because it’s embarrassing to look at. Enough is enough. Just move them to Montreal full time.
The Marlins will then need to do the same. Move them out to Vegas. Nobody goes to Marlins games either. Florida should be for spring training and that’s it. Then maybe the fans in that trash state will appreciate the sport a little more when it is taken away from them.
