Tampa Bay Times reporter Marc Topkin has covered the Tampa Bay Rays since before there were Tampa Bay Rays. Now in his fourth decade with the newspaper, there is likely no greater authority in the press box on all things Rays.
Topkin was there for the birth of Devil Rays, the ownership changes, the World Series appearances in 2008 and 2020, Hurricane Milton's destruction of Tropicana Field and the ensuing season they had to play home games at Steinbrenner Field, the New York Yankees' spring training park, and the longtime quest for a new ballpark.
A member of the Sports Club of Tampa Bay Hall of Fame, Topkin joined "Florida Matters Live & Local" to preview the World Series between the Rays and Milwaukee Brewers, and offer insight on how the team has become one of the more interesting success stories of sports.
The following interview transcript was lightly edited for clarity and brevity.
What was it like, first of all, to be at Tropicana Field for the winning game of the American League Championship Series? I imagine that atmosphere must have been pretty extraordinary.
Yeah, pretty electric, and I think [for] a number of us that have had the privilege of being around the Rays for a while, it was an interesting flashback to 2008, and happened to be on the same date, Oct. 19, which was one of those cosmic coincidences. But yeah, the way the crowd reacted to the [ALCS Game 6] final out, just the realization that meant that the team was going to the World Series, 40,000 people just in a full roar. Just the way the final out came, a pop-up, so everyone had the anticipation for that second or two. You know, as the catcher [Liam Hicks] raced to catch the ball and get under it, it was pretty wild and pretty rewarding for the players. You could see how they reacted to the crowd as well.
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Why is this team so good? What what do they have that other teams this season don't have?
Well, I think I'll probably be parroting the answers that [president of baseball operations] Erik Neander and (manager) Kevin Cash give when I and others ask them. But they've got really good players and a really interesting mix of players. But they play with a sense of team, a sense of unity, a camaraderie. You hear that from winning teams all the time. But they've kind of beat it into our heads for months now. And when this comes up, how this is a real thing with them, and it's a bond that formed in spring training. It's a team that's very close. I've asked them repeatedly, "That sounds great, but how does that help you actually win games?"They talk about it. It just puts a different kind of mental aspect on it when you're out there. You're doing what's best for the team, not what's best for yourself. And you do see it. You know the guys that put down the bunts, the guys that hit the ground balls to the right side to give themselves up, that hit the sacrifice flies, the way they cheer for each other, even though you know you might pinch-it for me, and I'm at the top step cheering for you anyway.
So, I think that's a strong sense. The fact that they have talented players, and there was a little bit of this chip on their shoulder. I mean, there was a lot of discussion all spring [trainingabout how this was going to be one of the craziest years in the American League East. There were four really good teams, and they were going to battle to the end, and the Rays were not mentioned among those four. And I think they kind of seized upon that. Erik Neander gave a speech before the first game in St. Louis, where he told them, "Look, no one else believes in you guys; we believe in you guys," and I think that was a little bit of a pep talk, so to say, and kind of gave them some motivation. They started slow, but they came back. That first series at the Trop [this season] was a big deal, and I think returning to the Trop [after the hurricane] would probably be the fourth element to my answer there to your question was that they were very happy to be back home.
Yeah, after the kind of year away, which must have been a bit strange for the Rays. Now the Milwaukee Brewers haven't won a World Series, either. So either way, this is going to be a historic championship, right? So, what makes the Brewers formidable opponents for the Rays?
Yeah, they also are really good, and there's some similarities. I mean, they also play a team game. They do a lot of things well. They may have a little bit more power. Their bullpen is really good, whereas the Rays' bullpen has some good pitchers, but there's probably some vulnerability there in the middle innings or the middle-relief roles, and and I think the Brewers also play the game right. And I think I know there's kind of been a couple narratives formed about this series. One is it's two small-market teams. One is no one's going to care across America because there's no big-market teams in it. Does it reframe the need for a salary cap if two small-market teams can win? But I think the angle people are missing is the Brewers were the best team in the National League all year. The Rays were the best team in the American League all year. They both play really good brands of baseball, so this should, from a baseball-on-the-field standpoint, take all the kind of peripheral narratives out of it. It should be a really entertaining and competitive World Series.
So, for somebody who's maybe not necessarily a fan of either team, there's going to be something for them over the course of seven games if it gets to that.
I think so. I mean, if you're looking for celebrities, probably not because if they play, if the New York Yankees or Los Angeles Dodgers were in it, you'd see all kinds of celebrities in the stands and things like that. But if you're looking for what should be really good, kind of traditional, old school — however you want to frame it — baseball where people are playing to get runs across, not just to hit home runs and watch their exit velocity or their pitch velocity on the scoreboard, I think that would be the case. I think a lot of fans would enjoy this matchup.
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Let's just come back to Tropicana Field for a moment, which you brought up at the top of our conversation. I mean, not so long ago the roof was in tatters. Things really weren't looking good for the franchise. So it clearly means a lot for the team to be playing so well as they are in a revitalized Trop, right?
Yeah, I mean, as you asked me about the environment this past Monday night for Game 6 for the Championship Series. The environment was great for the two games against the Yankees in the Division Series. I can't imagine what this coming Monday night is going to be like [for World Series Game 3 at the Trop]. That there's going to be a World Series game back at Tropicana Field. ... I know at the Tampa Bay Times after the hurricane and after you know the damage was assessed and the initial cost estimates came in, we were starting to inventory what story should we do when they announced they're going to knock it down. ,,, I'll steal Erik Neander's phrase. They played at Steinbrenner Field last year. They could not thank the Yankees enough. It saved them from literally maybe having to relocate to another part of the country for the season. But he said it was kind of like sleeping on your friend's couch. You know they weren't home.
You talked to Stu Sternberg, former owner of the Rays, who sold it in 2025 for $1.7 billion. How does he feel about seeing their success just one year later?
I spoke with him the other day, and he said there was an incredible amount of joy, incredible amount of happiness for the people that he worked with. Look, he's not the owner anymore, but I don't think it would be fair to cut him out of the people who deserve credit. This is a continuation of what is now an 18-year remarkable run since they made that transformation from Devil Rays to Rays. It started in '08. They've been to the World Series more than any other American League East team in those 18 years. This being their third trip, they've been to the playoffs 10 times overall. ... He hired Erik Neander, he hired Kevin Cash. I mean, these people were all part of and still are under his wing in that regard. But also he acknowledges a little bit of a longing there of not being involved, of not being there to share those moments with the guys.
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You brought up the 2008 team a moment ago. How does this team compare to the others you've seen? Because you've been covering the Rays pretty much from the get-go. So is this the best version of the Rays you've seen or is it just a different team?
Someone else asked me that the other day, and it's hard to answer. And I'm not trying to cop out here. The game itself is different from 2008 to now. So how they play the game is different. This team is probably a little more athletic. That team may have had a little bit more power. They both have incredible starting pitching. That would be probably an interesting story we could do is break down the '08 pitchers vs. this year's pitchers, the starters. This team probably plays, like I say, a little bit more that small-ball type of game than the '08 team did. But I spoke with probably five or six members of the '08 team in the last few days. Did a story two days ago on what they thought of it, and a lot of them said they see a lot of similarities. I think Carl Crawford was the one who used the phrase that they looked like twins to him, the two teams. So, you know, because they had the incredible speed, Crawford and (B.J.) Upton. This team, obviously led by Chandler Simpson and then Taylor Walls and Richie Palacios and all these other guys who are really fast, too. And so there are a lot of similarities, but probably [there was] a little bit more power and maybe a little more veteran experience on that '08 team because they brought in some guys, but they did that this year, too.
This story was compiled from an interview by Matthew Peddie for WUSF's "Florida Matters Live and Local."
