The 1998 Tampa Bay Devil Rays season was the first season in franchise history. This season, they finished last in the American League East and finished the season with a record of 63–99, 51 games behind the World Champion New York Yankees. They finished with the worst record in the American League and second worst in all of MLB, ahead of only their in-state rivals and defending World Series champion Florida Marlins. Their manager was Larry Rothschild.

Miguel Cairo was the last active player remaining from the Opening Day roster, until retiring after the 2012 season.

Offseason March 11, 1997: Luis Polonia was signed as a free agent with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.Luis Polonia Statistics Baseball-Reference.com May 10, 1997: Pete Laforest was signed as a free agent with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. June 3, 1997: Jason Standridge was drafted by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 1st round (31st pick) of the 1997 amateur draft. Player signed June 6, 1997.Jason Standridge Statistics Baseball-Reference.com June 3, 1997: Kenny Kelly was drafted by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 2nd round of the 1997 amateur draft. Player signed June 12, 1997.Kenny Kelly Statistics Baseball-Reference.com November 11, 1997: Mike Kelly was traded by the Cincinnati Reds to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for a player to be named later. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays sent Dmitri Young (November 18, 1997) to the Cincinnati Reds to complete the trade. December 9, 1997: Wade Boggs signed as a free agent with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.Wade Boggs Statistics Baseball-Reference.com December 16, 1997: Scott McClain was signed as a free agent with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. December 18, 1997: Josías Manzanillo was signed as a free agent with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. January 27, 1998: Dave Silvestri was signed as a free agent with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. January 27, 1998: Jerome Walton was signed as a free agent with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

Expansion Draft

Round 1 PickPlayerPositionFromTo1Tony SaundersLHPFLATB4Quinton McCrackenOFCOLTB6Bobby AbreuOFHOUTB8Miguel Cairo2BCHCTB10Rich ButlerOFTORTB12Bob Smith3BATLTB14Jason JohnsonRHPPITTB16Dmitri Young1BCINTB18Esteban YanRHPBALTB20Mike DiFeliceCSTLTB22Bubba TrammellOFDETTB24Andy SheetsIFSEATB26Dennis SpringerRHPANATB28Dan CarlsonRHPSFTB

Round 2 PickPlayerPositionFromTo30Brian BoehringerRHPNYYTB32Mike DuvallLHPFLATB34John LeRoyRHPATLTB36Jim MecirRHPBOSTB38Bryan RekarRHPCOLTB40Rick GoreckiRHPLADTB42Ramón TatísLHPCHCTB44Kerry RobinsonOFSTLTB46Steve Cox1BOAKTB48Albie LopezRHPCLETB50José PaniaguaRHPMONTB52Carlos MendozaOFNYMTB54Ryan KarpLHPPHITB56Santos HernándezRHPSFTB

Round 3 PickPlayerPositionFromTo58Randy WinnOFFLATB60Terrell WadeLHPATLTB62Aaron LedesmaIFBALTB64Brooks KieschnickOFCHCTB66Luke WilcoxOFNYYTB68Herbert PerryIFCLETB70Vaughn EshelmanLHPOAKTB

1996–97 MLB June drafts and minor league affiliates

The two expansion teams set to debut in 1998, the Devil Rays and Arizona Diamondbacks, had two full seasons to establish scouting and player development systems and were permitted to participate fully in the 1996 and 1997 Major League Baseball drafts. The Devil Rays drafted 29th in 1996 (when they selected 97 players overall) and 31st in 1997 (when they selected 92). The team began developing those players in a farm system with three minor-league affiliates in 1996 and five in 1997.

Among the players selected and signed by Tampa Bay from those drafts were pitcher Dan Wheeler (34th round, 1996), catcher Toby Hall (ninth, 1997), infielder Jared Sandberg (16th, 1996) and outfielder Alex Sánchez (fifth, 1996).

1996 farm system

Hudson Valley affiliation shared with Texas Rangers

1997 farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: St. Petersburg

Regular season March 31, 1998 – The Devil Rays played their inaugural game, as well as their first home game, against the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers won 11–6 in front of an audience of 45,369 fans. April 1, 1998 – The Devil Rays enjoyed the first win in their franchise's history, an 11-8 comeback against the Tigers. Rolando Arrojo was the winning pitcher. June 22, 1998 – The first interleague game between the Florida Marlins and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays took place at Tropicana Field. The rivalry would be known as the Citrus Series. The Marlins won the game in twelve innings by a score of 3–2.

Opening Day starters 3 Quinton McCracken CF 13 Miguel Cairo 2B 12 Wade Boggs 3B 29 Fred McGriff 1B 24 Mike Kelly LF 44 Paul Sorrento DH 6 John Flaherty C 14 Dave Martinez RF 19 Kevin Stocker SS 40 Wilson Álvarez P

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions May 26, 1998: Jerome Walton was released by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. June 2, 1998: Aubrey Huff was drafted by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 5th round of the 1998 amateur draft. Player signed June 17, 1998.Aubrey Huff Statistics Baseball-Reference.com July 1, 1998: Josías Manzanillo was released by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

Citrus Series The season series each year between the Devil Rays and the Florida Marlins has come to be known as the Citrus Series. In 1998, the Marlins won the series 3 games to 1.

June 22 - Devil Rays vs Marlins: 2 – 3 June 23 - Devil Rays vs Marlins: 6 – 4 June 24 - Devil Rays @ Marlins: 4 – 8 June 25 - Devil Rays @ Marlins: 1 – 5

Roster 1998 Tampa Bay Devil Rays Roster Pitchers Catchers

Infielders Outfielders Manager

Coaches (Bullpen) (First Base) (Hitting) (Bench) (Third Base) (Pitching)

Player stats = Indicates team leader

Batting

Starters by position Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; Avg. = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases Pos Player G AB H HR RBI Avg. SB C 91 304 63 3 24 .207 0 1B 151 564 160 19 81 .284 7 2B 150 515 138 5 46 .268 19 3B 117 370 102 11 55 .276 5 SS 112 336 70 6 25 .208 5 LF 155 614 179 7 59 .292 19 CF 109 338 94 1 17 .278 26 RF 90 309 79 3 20 .256 8 DH 137 435 98 17 57 .225 2

Other batters Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; Avg. = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases Player G AB H HR RBI Avg. SB 123 435 122 7 52 .280 3 95 299 97 0 29 .324 9 106 279 67 10 33 .240 13 84 248 57 3 23 .230 0 72 217 49 7 20 .226 4 59 199 57 12 35 .286 0 12 34 11 0 3 .324 0 9 20 2 0 0 .100 0 8 14 1 0 0 .071 0 3 5 1 0 0 .200 0 2 3 0 0 0 .000 0

Pitching

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 32 202.0 14 12 3.56 152 31 192.1 6 15 4.12 172 25 142.2 6 14 4.73 107 32 140.1 5 6 4.23 60 29 115.2 3 11 5.45 46 16 86.2 2 8 4.98 55

Relief pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts; SV = Saves Player G IP W L ERA SO SV 67 71.1 2 6 4.04 55 26 Esteban Yan 64 88.2 5 4 3.86 77 1 68 84.0 7 2 3.11 77 0 54 79.2 7 4 2.60 62 1 38 68.2 2 6 3.80 39 0 48 31.1 0 0 3.73 21 0 10 17.2 0 0 7.64 16 0 22 11.2 0 0 13.89 5 0 7 8.2 0 2 6.23 6 0 6 7.2 0 0 5.87 5 0 3 4.0 0 0 6.75 1 0 1 0.0 0 0 inf 0 0

Other pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts; SV = Saves Player G IP W L ERA SO SV 13 60.0 2 5 5.70 36 0 3 16.2 1 2 4.86 8 0 2 10.2 1 1 5.06 8 0 1 2.2 0 1 20.25 1 0

Game log

|- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" | 1 || March 31 || Tigers || 11 – 6 || Thompson (1–0) || Álvarez (0–1) || || 45,369 || 0–1

|- style="text-align:center; background:#bfb;" | 2 || April 1 || Tigers || 11 – 8 || Arrojo (1–0) || Moehler (0–1) || || 30,109 || 1-1 |- style="text-align:center; background:#bfb;" | 3 || April 2 || Tigers || 7 – 1 || Yan (1–0) || Worrell (0–1) || || 28,261 || 2–1 |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" | 4 || April 3 || White Sox || 10 – 4 || Baldwin (1–0) || Gorecki (0–1) || || 31,816 || 2-2 |- style="text-align:center; background:#bfb;" | 5 || April 4 || White Sox || 8 – 2 || Springer (1–0) || Eyre (0–1) || || 36,599 || 3–2 |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" | 6 || April 5 || White Sox || 5 – 0 || Álvarez (1-1) || Bere (0–1) || || 33,733 || 4–2 |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" | 7 || April 7 || @ Tigers || 3 – 1 || Florie (0–1) || Arrojo (1-1) || Jones (1) || 45,768 || 4–3 |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" | 8 || April 10 || @ White Sox || 3 – 0 || Sirotka (1-1) || Saunders (0–1) || Karchner (1) || 13,563 || 4-4 |- style="text-align:center; background:#bfb;" | 9 || April 11 || @ White Sox || 5 – 1 || Gorecki (1-1) || Bere (0–2) || || 17,322 || 5–4 |- style="text-align:center; background:#bfb;" | 10 || April 12 || @ White Sox || 4 – 1 || Álvarez (2–1) || Navarro (0–2) || Hernández (1) || 14,004 || 6–4 |- style="text-align:center; background:#bfb;" | 11 || April 13 || Twins || 13 – 12 (14) || Yan (1–0) || Trombley (0–2) || || 31,969 || 7–4 |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" | 12 || April 14 || Twins || 8 – 2 || Radke (2–1) || Springer (1-1) || || 34,337 || 7–5 |- style="text-align:center; background:#bfb;" | 13 || April 16 || @ Angels || 6 – 5 || Saunders (1-1) || Holtz (1-1) || Hernández (2) || 22,906 || 8–5 |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" | 14 || April 17 || @ Angels || 5 – 0 || Finley (3–0) || Gorecki (1–2) || || 31,516 || 8–6 |- style="text-align:center; background:#bfb;" | 15 || April 18 || @ Angels || 8 – 1 || Álvarez (3–1) || Dickson (0–3) || || 37,878 || 9–6 |- style="text-align:center; background:#bfb;" | 16 || April 19 || @ Angels || 6 – 0 || Arrojo (2–1) || Watson (0–2) || || 34,580 || 10–6 |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" | 17 || April 21 || @ Rangers || 4 – 0 || Sele (4–0) || Springer (1–2) || || 26,776 || 10–7 |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" | 18 || April 22 || @ Rangers || 7 – 2 || Helling (4–0) || Saunders (1–2) || || 30,770 || 10–8 |- style="text-align:center; background:#bfb;" | 19 || April 23 || @ Rangers || 12 – 5 || Johnson (1–0) || Oliver (0–3) || || 33,319 || 11–8 |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" | 20 || April 24 || Angels || 10 – 3 || Watson (1–2) || Álvarez (3–2) || || 27,767 || 11–9 |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" | 21 || April 25 || Angels || 7 – 1 || Hill (4–1) || Arrojo (2-2) || || 33,395 || 11–10 |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" | 22 || April 26 || Angels || 2 – 1 || Olivares (1–0) || Springer (1–3) || Percival (5) || 26,882 || 11-11 |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" | 23 || April 27 || Athletics || 7 – 6 || Mathews (1–0) || Hernández (0–1) || Taylor (4) || 25,484 || 11–12 |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" | 24 || April 28 || Athletics || 4 – 3 || Small (1–0) || Johnson (1-1) || Taylor (5) || 25,138 || 11–13 |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" | 25 || April 29 || @ Twins || 2 – 0 || Tewksbury (1–0) || Álvarez (3-3) || Aguilera (5) || 8,964 || 11–14 |- style="text-align:center; background:#bfb;" | 26 || April 30 || @ Twins || 2 – 0 || Arrojo (3–2) || Hawkins (0–3) || || 8,860 || 12–14

|- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" | 27 || May 1 || @ Indians || 7 – 5 || Colón (2–1) || Springer (1–4) || Jackson (10) || 42,712 || 12–15 |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" | 28 || May 2 || @ Indians || 5 – 1 || Ogea (1-1) || Saunders (1–3) || || 42,525 || 12–16 |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" | 29 || May 3 || @ Indians || 10 – 8 || Mesa (3–0) || Hernández (0–2) || || 42,597 || 12–17 |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" | 30 || May 5 || @ Royals || 4 – 2 || Pichardo (3–0) || Álvarez (3–4) || Montgomery (6) || 12,096 || 12–18 |- style="text-align:center; background:#bfb;" | 31 || May 6 || @ Royals || 5 – 0 || Arrojo (4–2) || Rusch (3–4) || || 11,401 || 13–18 |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" | 32 || May 8 || Orioles || 8 – 2 || Rhodes (3–0) || Lopez (0–1) || || 35,355 || 13–19 |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" | 33 || May 9 || Orioles || 7 – 0 || Mussina (4–2) || Springer (1–5) || || 42,486 || 13–20