2007 Tampa Bay Devil Rays season
Encyclopedia
The Tampa Bay Devil Rays' 2007 season
2007 Major League Baseball season
The 2007 Major League Baseball season, began on April 1 with a rematch of the 2006 National League Championship Series; the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets played the first game of the season at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri, which was won by the Mets, 6–1...

, the 10th season in franchise history, involved the Devil Rays trying to improve on their 2006 season
2006 Tampa Bay Devil Rays season
The 2006 Tampa Bay Devil Rays season was their ninth since the franchise was created. This season, they finished last in the AL East division, and managed to finish the season with a league-worst record of 61-101...

, where they finished last in the American League East
American League East
The American League Eastern Division is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions . This division was created before the start of the 1969 season along with the Western Division...

 Division, and managed to finish the season with a league-worst record of 61-101. During the offseason they signed Japanese
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...

 infielder
Infielder
An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field.-Standard arrangement of positions:In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles...

 Akinori Iwamura
Akinori Iwamura
Akinori Iwamura is a Japanese Major League Baseball infielder, who is currently with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of the Japanese Pacific League...

 to a three year deal. Their manager
Manager (baseball)
In baseball, the field manager is an individual who is responsible for matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. Managers are typically assisted by between one and six assistant coaches, whose responsibilities are specialized...

 was Joe Maddon
Joe Maddon
Joseph John Maddon is the Major League Baseball manager for the Tampa Bay Rays.He previously served as interim manager of the Anaheim Angels in both 1996 and 1999. He was also a long-time bench coach for the team.-Early life and career:Maddon attended Lafayette College, where he played baseball...

 who entered his 2nd season with the Devil Rays.

Although the Rays again finished last in the division, they improved their record by five games, to 66-96. Their season attendance increased by 18,653 to 1,387,603. This marks the first time home attendance has increased in consecutive seasons. Joe Maddon's option years through 2009 were picked up by the club on September 8, 2007. The season was marked by incredible pitching performances by club ace Scott Kazmir
Scott Kazmir
Scott Edward Kazmir is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. Kazmir made his Major League debut with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2004 when he was only 20 years old and at one time held many of the franchise's career pitching records...

 and rookie James Shields, and the bats of club standby Carl Crawford
Carl Crawford
Carl Demonte Crawford is an American professional baseball outfielder who plays for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball. He bats and throws left-handed...

; rookies Delmon Young
Delmon Young
Delmon Damarcus Young is an American professional baseball outfielder with the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball. He is the younger brother of former major league outfielder and first baseman Dmitri Young. He was born in Montgomery, Alabama.Young is known for having a strong and accurate...

, B.J. Upton and Brendan Harris
Brendan Harris
Brendan Michael Harris Brendan Michael Harris Brendan Michael Harris (born August 26, 1980 in Albany, New York is a Major League Baseball utility infielder who is a free agent.Brendan grew up in Queensbury, New York and led the Spartans to the 1998 State Baseball Tournament. He graduated from the...

; and free agents Akinori Iwamura
Akinori Iwamura
Akinori Iwamura is a Japanese Major League Baseball infielder, who is currently with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of the Japanese Pacific League...

 and Carlos Peña
Carlos Peña
Carlos Felipe Peña is a Dominican professional baseball left-handed first baseman. He played previously with the Texas Rangers, Oakland Athletics, Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays and Chicago Cubs.Although he was born in Santo Domingo and his family is from San Francisco de Macorís,...

. Several club single-season records fell during the course of the season.

This was also the last season with the team being named the Devil Rays. The team dropped the "Devil" from the name. Out of nowhere, the following year the team would win the AL East, beating the usual contenders, the Yankees and the Red Sox. The team would win the pennant, but lost to the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series
2008 World Series
The 2008 World Series was the 104th World Series between the American and National Leagues for the championship of Major League Baseball. The Philadelphia Phillies as champions of the National League and the Tampa Bay Rays, as American League champions, competed to win four games out of a possible...

.

Regular season

The Devil Rays opened their 2007 season April 2, on the road against the defending division champion New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...

. The bullpen blew a lead and Tampa Bay lost, 9-5, but came back to win the third game, 7-6 (the second of the opening series was rained out). They suffered a setback in the middle of April when new third baseman Iwamura, off to a hot start with a .339 batting average to that point, suffered an oblique strain and went on the disabled list. However, the team continued to play better than in past years, and on May 4 moved into a tie for second place, the latest that Tampa Bay had been that high in the standings since the 1999 season.

The Rays trailed off going into May, falling eventually back into last place, but surged into their series in Orlando, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...

, against the Texas Rangers
Texas Rangers (baseball)
The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have...

, which they swept. After the series with the Rangers, they won only one of the next seven games, skidding to a then season low, nine games below .500.

After a 9-4 win against the Dodgers to improve their record to 33-40 on June 24, the Devil Rays went on to lose 11 straight games and went on to lose 13 of 14 games since the Dodgers series and went into the All-Star Break
2007 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The 2007 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 78th midseason exhibition between the all-stars of the American League and the National League , the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was held on July 10, 2007, at AT&T Park, the home of the NL's San Francisco Giants...

 34-53. After the break it wasn't much better losing 3 games out of 4 against the Yankees in their 1st series after the break and went on to lose 8 straight games between July 21 to July 28. The low point of that Losing streak were two dismal losses to the Yankees. One game losing 17-5 and the other 21-4. The Rays' lack of pitching between their two aces and closer Al Reyes
Al Reyes
Rafael Alberto "Al" Reyes is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. A right-handed pitcher and career reliever, he played for seven teams; debuting on April 27, 1995 with the Milwaukee Brewers and playing for the Baltimore Orioles, Los Angeles Dodgers, Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Yankees, St...

 led to the coining of the idiom, "Kazmir and Shields, then off come the wheels."

For the Devil Rays it was a July to forget but things were getting better in August. Improvements made to the bullpen at the trade deadline led to shorter losing streaks and, eventually, more series wins. On August 11, Starting pitcher Edwin Jackson
Edwin Jackson
Edwin Jackson is an American professional baseball pitcher.-Early life:Jackson's father, Edwin Jackson, Sr., a military cook, was stationed in Germany at the time of his birth. Jackson is one of 27 major league players who were born in Germany...

 pitched the Devil Rays 1st complete game shutout
Shutout
In team sports, a shutout refers to a game in which one team prevents the opposing team from scoring. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball....

 of the year in a 3-0 win against the Rangers. On August 25, Pitcher Scott Kazmir
Scott Kazmir
Scott Edward Kazmir is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. Kazmir made his Major League debut with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2004 when he was only 20 years old and at one time held many of the franchise's career pitching records...

 went 8 innings with a career high 13 strikeouts in a 14-3 win against the Oakland Athletics
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....

 and in that series the Rays took 3 of 4 games out scoring the A's 33 to 9 in the last three games of that series. The hot streak continued with a sweep of the tailspinning Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...

 and series wins at the Yankees and home against the Orioles and the Blue Jays before finally losing 2 of 3 at the Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...

 and splitting a 4-game series at the Seattle Mariners
Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are a professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington. Enfranchised in , the Mariners are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Safeco Field has been the Mariners' home ballpark since July...

.

Their September upswing ensured that they would finish the 2007 season with a better record than the 2006 season. They did, however, hobble into the end of the season, with Carl Crawford's season-ending groin pull in late-September contributing to a 5-13 finish. They did win their final game of the season, though, giving hope for next year.

New team records

Andy Sonnanstine
Andy Sonnanstine
Andrew Michael Sonnanstine is a relief pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays. Sonnanstine is a graduate of Wadsworth High School in Wadsworth, Ohio, and attended Kent State University...

 broke a team record with seven consecutive strikeouts on June 10 in a victory over the Florida Marlins
Florida Marlins
The Miami Marlins are a professional baseball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. Established in 1993 as an expansion franchise called the Florida Marlins, the Marlins are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Marlins played their home games at...

, his first win of the season.

On September 3, Carlos Peña
Carlos Peña
Carlos Felipe Peña is a Dominican professional baseball left-handed first baseman. He played previously with the Texas Rangers, Oakland Athletics, Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays and Chicago Cubs.Although he was born in Santo Domingo and his family is from San Francisco de Macorís,...

 broke the club single-season home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...

 record, previously 34, held by José Canseco
José Canseco
José Canseco Capas, Jr. is a Cuban-American professional baseball manager, outfielder, and designated hitter for the Yuma Scorpions of the North American League and former Major League Baseball player. He is the identical twin brother of former major league player and current teammate Ozzie Canseco...

  and Aubrey Huff . Peña's 35th was a two-run homer off Jim Hoey
Jim Hoey
James Urban "Jim" Hoey grew up in Mount Laurel, New Jersey and is a relief pitcher in the Minnesota Twins organization. He is known mainly for his fastball, which he throws consistently between 95 and 98 mph; he did strike a batter out on a 100 mph fastball while playing for the Bowie...

 in the seventh inning of a 9-7 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. On September 16, he became the first Rays player to hit 40 home runs in a season, the 40th being a leadoff homer coming off Jarrod Washburn
Jarrod Washburn
Jarrod Michael Washburn is a former Major League Baseball pitcher and currently resides in his hometown of Webster, Wisconsin.-High school / college:...

 in the 4th inning of a 9-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners
Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are a professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington. Enfranchised in , the Mariners are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Safeco Field has been the Mariners' home ballpark since July...

. His 45th home run came off Dustin McGowan
Dustin McGowan
Dustin Michael McGowan is an American professional baseball pitcher with the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball. Drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays out of Long County High School in Ludowici, Georgia in the 1st round with 33rd pick of the draft on June 4, 2000...

 in the 5th inning of a 5-4 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League ....

; it was the second of back-to-back homers, following Jorge Velandia
Jorge Velandia
Jorge Luis Velandia Macias [ve-LAHN-deah] is a former Major League Baseball shortstop.Velandia played with the San Diego Padres , Oakland Athletics , New York Mets , Tampa Bay Devil Rays , Toronto Blue Jays , and Cleveland Indians...

's second homer of the season.

On September 27, Peña took the RBI record, previously set by Jorge Cantú
Jorge Cantú
Jorge Luís Cantú Guzmán is an American professional baseball first baseman.Cantú bats and throws right-handed. He was born in McAllen, Texas, went to Sharyland High School, but was raised and makes his home in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico.-Tampa Bay Devil Rays:Cantú was spotted by a scout while...

 at 117 in . He tied it with an RBI single in the 1st inning for his 117th, and broke it with a solo home run in the 5th inning for his 118th. Both RBIs were off Chien-Ming Wang
Chien-Ming Wang
Chien-Ming Wang is a Taiwanese Major League Baseball pitcher. He was initially signed as an amateur free agent by the New York Yankees for the 2000 season, and played for the Staten Island Yankees...

 in a 12-4 loss to the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...

. He finished the season with 46 home runs, 121 RBIs and a 1.037 OPS
On-base plus slugging
On-base plus slugging is a sabermetric baseball statistic calculated as the sum of a player's on-base percentage and slugging percentage. The ability of a player to both get on base and to hit for power, two important hitting skills, are represented. An OPS of .900 or higher in Major League...

 (.411 OBP, .627 SLG, both Rays season records), becoming the first Devil Ray to finish a season with at least a 1.000 OPS. Peña went on to win Comeback Player of the Year
MLB Comeback Player of the Year Award
The Major League Baseball Comeback Player of the Year Award is presented by Major League Baseball to the player who is judged to have "re-emerged on the baseball field during a given season." The award was developed in 2005, as part of a sponsorship agreement between MLB and Viagra...

 honors for the American League.

Carl Crawford
Carl Crawford
Carl Demonte Crawford is an American professional baseball outfielder who plays for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball. He bats and throws left-handed...

 approached the 1,000-hit plateau, but a groin pull in late September ended his season early, leaving him stuck at 990 career hits. He will most likely become the first Devil Ray to hit 1,000 hits with the club early next season. It will not be the first four-digit hit milestone for the club; Wade Boggs
Wade Boggs
Wade Anthony Boggs is an American former professional baseball third baseman. He spent his 18-year baseball career primarily with the Boston Red Sox, but also played for the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Devil Rays...

 got his 3,000th hit while with the team in . His injury, however, did not prevent him from finishing the season with a share of the AL stolen base
Stolen base
In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is delivering the ball to home plate...

 title with Brian Roberts
Brian Roberts
Brian Michael Roberts is an American Major League Baseball All Star second baseman, nicknamed B-Rob.He made his Major League debut in and has spent his entire professional career with the Baltimore Orioles organization, located in Baltimore, Maryland.-Early life, education and college-baseball...

 of the Baltimore Orioles. Both players finished the year with 50, marking the fourth time he's led or shared the lead in that category for a year.

Delmon Young
Delmon Young
Delmon Damarcus Young is an American professional baseball outfielder with the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball. He is the younger brother of former major league outfielder and first baseman Dmitri Young. He was born in Montgomery, Alabama.Young is known for having a strong and accurate...

 became the first Rays rookie to play in every game of a 162-game season, setting a team record for most at bat
At bat
In baseball, an at bat or time at bat is used to calculate certain statistics, including batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. It is a more restricted definition of a plate appearance...

s taken in a season with 645. He is the second Rays player ever to play in every game in a season, after Aubrey Huff in 2003. Young was held from the lineup for the last game of the season after not hustling to first on a ground ball during the previous game, but apologized for not giving that game his all and entered the final game as a mid-game replacement. At the end of the season, he was considered a leading candidate for the AL Rookie of the Year award.

On September 10, Scott Kazmir became the first Rays pitcher to record 200 strikeouts in a season, in a 1-0 victory over the Boston Red Sox. His 200th strikeout victim for the year was Coco Crisp
Coco Crisp
Covelli Loyce "Coco" Crisp is an American professional baseball center fielder. Crisp is a switch-hitter and throws right-handed...

. He ultimately claimed the A.L. strikeout title, finishing the year with 239. (A one-game playoff
One-game playoff
A one-game playoff, sometimes known as a pennant playoff or play-in game, is a tiebreaker in certain sports—usually but not always professional—to determine which of two teams, tied in the final standings, will qualify for a post-season tournament...

 permitted Jake Peavy
Jake Peavy
Jacob Edward Peavy is a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who plays for the Chicago White Sox. He bats and throws right-handed...

 to take the MLB strikeout title with 240.) Kazmir is also the first D-Ray starter to finish a season with at least 10 strikeouts per 9 innings (10.41).

During the course of the season, Scott Kazmir became the first Rays starting pitcher to log enough starts and innings to begin compiling rate-based team all-time pitching records, such as ERA
Earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...

.

Roster

2007 Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Roster
Pitchers

Catchers
Infielders

Outfielders

Manager

Coaches
(bench)
(third base)
(hitting)
(first base)
(pitching)
(bullpen)
(senior advisor)

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player G IP W L ERA SO

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player G IP W L ERA SO

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player G W L SV ERA SO
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