You’ve probably already read the headlines, heard the news, know what’s happening in the AL East. The Rays are off to a scorching 13-0 start to the MLB season. Sure, it’s something that has happened before in baseball, but only twice before in the modern era with the 1987 Brewers and 1982 Braves (Something special happened in the ’80s during Baseball, I tell ya). But I’m going to break this down even further than most, show you what is separating these 2023 Rays from everyone else. First, we have to start with something fairly simple; who have they played so far? That’s right, the schedule plays somewhat of a factor, and here it is summed up; 3 against Detroit, 3 in Washington, 3 against Oakland, and finally 4 against Boston. As I sit here writing, they are starting their 3-game series in Toronto against the Blue Jays.
So, what’s so special about those four teams that they played, you might ask. Detroit got rid of some older players by non-tendering them, like Jeimer Candelario, Kyle Funkhouser, and Willi Castro. The only major name that they added was Michael Lorenzen, while also keeping Matt Boyd on one-year deals. Their Starting Day Roster was lacking, to say the least, and now sit in last place in the AL Central with a 3-9 Record. Washington is probably a sadder case, ever since they traded away Juan Soto and Josh Bell in 2022 for some prospects and MLB ready players. They at least did some more work in the offseason than Detroit, but not much more, adding the following to their lineup; Dominic Smith, Jeimer Candelario, and Joey Mineses. They also sit at the bottom of the NL East, tied for last place. After facing these first two teams, the Rays had already outscored their opponents a whopping 44 to 13 runs with their pitching and offense on fire.
The Oakland A’s traded away most of their talent in A.J. Puk, Cristian Pache, and Sean Murphy for just JJ Bleday, Kyle Muller, Billy Sullivan and similar players. While rolling out a starting lineup with the likes of Ramon Laureano, Tony Kemp, and Shea Langeliers, this team sits at the bottom of the AL West. If you haven’t noticed a theme yet, the Rays have run through a bunch of bottom barrel teams, and Boston is no different; the Red Sox find themselves at the bottom of the AL East. Now, that’s not to say that the Rays’ record-tying streak is the product of getting lucky or playing bad teams, but setting the modern era record will be against the second place Jays, and sweeping past them will certainly cement the team in MLB history.
