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[52] [53] Similarly, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays gave away their rights to $5 million from baseball's central fund for each of the five years following expansion (1998–2002). The suit that was launched in response to the failed 1993 expansion was settled in 2003, five years after the Devil Rays began play in the American League. [ 55 ]
On November 18, 1997, Major League Baseball (MLB) held an expansion draft to allow two expansion teams, the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, to build their rosters prior to debuting in the National League West and American League East divisions, respectively, in the 1998 MLB season.
Other cities mentioned as potential expansion locations which did not officially submit an application to the league included Charlotte and Washington. [2] After whittling down the field to four finalists (Northern Virginia, Orlando, Phoenix and Tampa Bay), MLB announced Phoenix and Tampa Bay as the two expansion franchises on March 9, 1995. [4]
Major League Baseball last expanded in 1998. For years, commissioner Rob Manfred has maintained the league would not consider expansion until the Oakland Athletics and Tampa Bay Rays resolved ...
The Tampa Bay area has a long association with amateur and professional baseball. Tampa and St. Petersburg were among the first hosts of Major League Baseball spring training in the 1910s, the Tampa Smokers and St. Petersburg Saints were two of the founding members of the minor league Florida State League (FSL) in 1919, and several other communities in the area also hosted FSL teams in the ...
Tampa Bay was rumored to be a front-runner when MLB expanded by two teams in 1991, but Miami and Denver were chosen instead. [13] Finally, in March 1995, St. Petersburg was awarded a major league expansion franchise along with Phoenix. [14] The Tampa Bay Rays began play as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in newly renamed Tropicana Field in 1998.
Tropicana Field was immediately antiquated in the 1990s ballpark boom, and while MLB saw fit to place an expansion team there in 1998, the Rays remain the only franchise to never host an All-Star ...
NEW YORK — Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred made one thing clear: An MLB expansion team is not coming to Nashville — or anywhere — anytime soon. Manfred said during his annual ...