Rays host LLWS champions: 'This is where they want to be'

ST. PETERSBURG -- Teraj Alexander was standing near the Rays dugout on Saturday afternoon with a signed baseball bat in his hands and a smile stuck on his face. Then Rays rookie Junior Caminero called Alexander over. They looked over Caminero’s bat together, pointing out the details on the barrel and posed for a few pictures before parting ways.

“This is awesome,” Alexander said, still grinning.

The Rays hosted Alexander and seven of his Lake Mary, Fla., Little League teammates for Saturday’s 3-2 win over the Blue Jays at Tropicana Field, celebrating the Little League World Series champions throughout the afternoon.

Rays manager Kevin Cash, coaches and players all took time to meet with the Lake Mary players and their coach, Jonathan Anderson, during pregame batting practice. After a video presentation commemorating the championship, Little League Home Run Derby champion Landon Bono threw the ceremonial first pitch to Tampa Bay reliever Kevin Kelly. Then Bono and his teammates took the field with the Rays for the Canadian and U.S. national anthems.

The team was also recognized after the fifth inning, as the Tropicana Field scoreboard showed highlights of their championship run and flashed to them sitting in the stands. The crowd of 20,704 responded with loud cheers.

“To be here in a Major League stadium, on the field? Oh, man, this is huge for these kids,” Anderson said. “This is where they want to be when they grow up, right? So to even be close to it has to be a dream come true.”

The Rays put on a good show for them, claiming their third straight victory and clinching a winning home record to pull back within a game of .500, at 77-78. Taj Bradley went five innings to earn his first win since July 25, and Jonathan Aranda had the big hit for the second day in a row, this time a two-run blast in the third inning.

But it all comes back to Tampa Bay’s pitching, which has allowed nine total runs over the last six games.

“Right now, if you put this in a vacuum, I am really pleased with the way that the guys are going about their business offensively, defensively, getting timely hits, and [all of it is] highlighted by just outstanding pitching,” Cash said.

The Rays made sure the kids and their families didn’t leave empty-handed, either, after a roughly two-hour trip to the Trop.

The club presented the team with a framed City Connect jersey, featuring the No. 24 and “LLWS CHAMPS” on the back. Each player also received a bat signed by one of Taylor Walls, Brandon Lowe, Josh Lowe, Jonny DeLuca, José Caballero, Dylan Carlson or Caminero, as well as several signed baseballs.

The Rays also invited the Lake Mary team inside their clubhouse hours before the game. Josh Lowe gave Anderson a bunch of batting gloves for the program to use. Caminero gifted the players his own batting gloves. Shane McClanahan handed out Rays apparel. Yandy Díaz, a favorite among the group, gave away a bunch of gear, including his shoes.

Arriving about three hours before Bradley’s first pitch, the Lake Mary party was greeted by McClanahan, who spoke to them and autographed baseballs while standing on the field during batting practice. Groups of players and coaches stopped to talk to the kids as they walked off the field, taking time to answer questions and ask plenty of their own about the team’s experience in Williamsport.

Cash shook hands with the Lake Mary players and coaches and chatted them up during BP. Many of the kids are fans of the Rays, so Cash made sure to let them know that he and others bounced from the Dodger Stadium dugout to the clubhouse between innings to follow their championship weekend games on ESPN on Aug. 25.

“Special moment,” Cash said. “Something that they’re never going to forget.”

In the 77th year of the tournament, Lake Mary’s walk-off bunt in extra innings made the club the first Little League World Series champion from the state of Florida. Cash made it to Williamsport with the Tampa Northside Little League team in 1989, and Rays third base coach Brady Williams played there for the Dunedin National Little League squad in '91.

“I kind of feel it, but I don’t know how long it’s going to take these players to understand that they’re going to be the first ones,” Anderson said. “Always the first. That’s the crazy part.”

It’s been a whirlwind of a month since then. The team took part in a parade in downtown Lake Mary and another at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. The squad also traveled to Tallahassee, Fla., and met last week with Gov. Ron DeSantis, who gave each player two years of paid in-state college tuition, according to Anderson.

Next weekend, players and coaching staff will be recognized during the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Raymond James Stadium. But they won’t soon forget their day at the ballpark.

“They've got one more World Series than I do,” said reliever Drew Rasmussen, who closed out Saturday’s victory with a six-out save. “They were happy to be here. It's just so much fun to see how much joy they had on their faces and the innocence and the excitement of being on a Major League Baseball field. It's great to see.”