Back to the Future? The Tampa Bay Rays’ game on Aug. 13 against the Baltimore Orioles has been officially designated a Turn Back the Clock game. As in going retro with uniforms. Every MLB club does these, and the Rays have done it twice before. In keeping with the theme, the Rays–who only date back to 1998–will wear the uniforms of the 1970 Tampa Tarpons, a minor league affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds that used to play at Al Lopez Field. In fact, third-base coach Tom Foley played for the Tarpons in the ’70s.
But at a time when the competitive animosities between St. Petersburg and Tampa are being revisited over the baseball stadium issue, this might not be the most prudent uniform choice. The symbolism won’t be lost on anyone, especially at St. Pete City Hall. Why not the Devil Ray uni’s, even if they only date back a couple of years? Just like the one Tampa’s Wade Boggs wore when he hit the home run that was hit number 3,000 back in 1999? That was a feel-good, not a feel-parochial moment.