A look inside the 120 -hour Tampa Bay Rays of the Steinbrenner of the Yankees Champ

Tampa, Florida (AP) – Junior Caminero opened the narrow white door in its new spacious locker and the third basic player of Tampa Bay discovered a Giancarlo Stanton of Bat Giancarlo left behind.

At the bottom of the row of the other prestigious corner stand, the launcher Shane Baz did not know that he was in the home of the spring training of Aaron Judge.

“I haven’t found anything yet,” he said. “I’m going to take anything.”

Left home after Hurricane Milton destroyed the roof on Tropicana’s field On October 9, the Rays began their season as Tenants of Steinbrenner FieldThe spring training seat for New York Yankees. They beat the Rockies of Colorado 3-2 When the Kameron Misner recruit broke equality at the head of the ninth round with its first circuit of the major league.

“Talk about the wind. Talk about wearing sunglasses in a home opening match. It was a bit strange at first,” said Rays manager Kevin Cash. “I have my different notes and thoughts and the winds whisking in the canoe and, yes, it is simply not a factor to which we are used to. Shadows, not used to this, at least at home. ”

Tampa Bay replaced more than 3,000 panels and images in the baseball stadium during a 120 -hour renovation after the last spring training match at Yankees ended on Sunday at 3:33 pm at the time of the first launch on Friday at 4:10 pm before a closed window crowds of 10,046 on a Sunny 82 degree, the banners and the big aisons of the “rhythm” “Rays” of “rays” of “rays” and the berries of the carbase “and the carbase of the” “”. McClana and Taj Bradley were at the back of the dashboard, visible by the rolling cars.

A “NY” chandelier nested in the spacious Rays Clubhouse was covered with a square canvas highlighting the yellow of the Rays, the blue and the white of Columbia with “Home of the Rays” written on each side. The replica of the Yankee Stadium Frieze above each stand was also hidden, and a carpet with white “TB” letters was on the ground leading to the showers, obscured the reading of “Le Bronx” and “New York”, intended to imitate a metro.

Clubhouse staff found a touchpad and changed the 12 thin ceiling lamps imitating fine Yankees scratches from white to deep blue.

Slimming has been installed in the canoes and the bench pad was replaced with the bat racks and headphones.

But there were reminders that it was a stadium built for the extended lists of Spring Training – most Rays had two lockers. Only 39 of the 77 stands were occupied, including 25 of the 51s sound the walls.

The “New York Yankees executive offices” were engraved in the doors of an office entrance, and the statue of the deceased owner of the Yankees, George Steinbrenner, and the display of New York’s retirement numbers outside the ball stadium were unchanged. The Yankees logos were in place at the end of each row in the bowl of the seats and while “TB” replaced a panel of the Yankees at the top of the dashboard, the letters “George M. Steinbrenner Field” remained below.

Their locker room reused as the office of the director of visitors, the referees were moved to a trailer at more than 100 feet beyond the corner of the left field, near a street in the city.

Ray players took place in much more sumptuous installations than those they were used to in the too much: a two -level weight area, three therapy swimming pools with water -level televisions, a sauna red therapy, four shot and an interior / outdoor dining room.

“It’s almost too much,” said launcher Zack Littell, preparing for his departure on Saturday. “There is so much space. I think if you had to complain about something, you have to walk very far to get places. ”

Some players have changed their seasonal rentals on the Saint Petersburg side of La Baie to the Tampa flank, shortening their journey. Cash said that her 10 -minute too much hike was now 30 minutes by car.

When he opened a drawer in his new office, Cash came across a handwritten note from the counterpart Aaron Boone.

“He just said:” Learn that. You guys, hope to have good health, ”said Cash, expressing his appreciation.

“This one was quite chic. Some of the things that Tito leaves is not so classy,” he said, referring with playfulness to the new manager of Cincinnati, Terry Francona.

Although the visitors’ clubhouse is cramped, it is not uncomfortable. An additional space was created by moving the coach’s room to what had been a storage space.

“They did everything they can to make it feel like a large league park,” Kris Bryant said Colorado.

Tampa Bay has played 2148 overflow games, including the playoffs, according to the Elias sports office. The previous Rays’ Outdoor Home Matches were a pair of series in Kissimmee, Florida, 2007 and ’08, matches against Yankees moved to the Citi Field in New York in 2017 and San Diego during the eliminatory series of the 2020 neutral site.

The time last year at the Champ de tropicana in Saint Petersburg only recorded on average 16,515, 28th among the 30 teams, and the opening day was the only sale. THE Rays retired this month from an agreement for a new basic stadium On a site adjacent to too much, and Major League Baseball will watch closely to help determine if there would be a frequentation advantage at a new stadium on the Tampa side of the bay, like a proposed site of Ybor City.

“We want the stadium here. I hate crossing the bridge,” said Tom Eifrid, who was in the match with his wife, Kim, and attended each household in the shelves of the rays 2007. Eifrid lives in Hillsborough county, goes to around 10 games per season and took him 30 minutes to go to Steinbrenner Field vs an hour and 20 minutes too.

Given the intimate atmosphere of the stage at 34 rows. The shelves expect fireworks – real fireworks must be triggered after the circuits during the matches at night.

“I know a much smaller capacity here, but it will look like a very complicated house,” said Taylor Walls, the Rays field player. “We are delighted to play in front of our fans here, in front of Tampa fans, maybe even Orlando who now has a chance to go to the game.”

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