The Rays have an answer for their doubters.
Ahead of the team’s series against the Blue Jays on Monday, outfielder and first baseman Luke Raley made T-shirts in response to recent criticism that Tampa Bay had to be cheating to during their best-in-baseball start the season from WFAN hosts Evan Roberts and Craig Carton.
The shirts read, “Tampa Journeymen. Hellooo!? What!?”
“Everyone gets the message…That video, it hit us. So, we wanted to own it … Keep doubting us; we’re going to come out and keep playing good baseball,” Raley said according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.
The Rays currently hold the best record in the league, sitting at 34-14, and went on a 13-game winning streak to kick off the season.
In the beginning of May when Tampa Bay held a 29-7 record, the two sports personalities took issue with how the season was unfolding during their afternoon drive show “Carton & Roberts.”
“There’s something suspicious about that, by the way,” Roberts said after the Rays took two of three games from the Yankees in Tampa Bay.
“Yeah, they’re probably cheating,” co-host Craig Carton replied.
Carton also said of the roster: “A bunch of journeymen outperforming their baseball cards.”
“Christian Bethancourt? HELLO. Taylor Walls? WHAT?” Roberts questioned.
Bethancourt has already matched his performance in the 2022 season.
In the 31 games he played, he has notched five home runs and 15 RBIs, which were his same numbers in last season after 44 games.
He also has improved his OPS since (.772).
Likewise, Taylor Wells has been producing his career-best numbers since he was drafted by the Rays in the third round of the 2017 MLB June Amateur Draft out of Florida State University.
The infielder, a career .192 hitter, has produced a slash line of .269/.368/.546 with a .914 OPS for seven home runs and 19 RBIs.
“You know what most of us do?” Roberts said. “We don’t know who the Rays are, so we say they’re brilliant. Here is the problem: I know who they are. They are not that good.”
Roberts responded to the shirts on the air Monday, saying he loved them and the duo noted the Rays’ lead in the AL East is growing thin,
The second-place Orioles are just 2.5 games back and the Yankees 5.5. behind.
“They deep down know what I know, and I think deep down what you know, and even deep down what [producer] Big Mac [Chris McMonigle] knows,” Roberts said. “And that is, they’re not winning the American League East.”