Rays honor Negro Leagues: 'It means a lot'

On Sunday, Major League Baseball celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Negro Leagues in order to honor the legacy of the men and women who contributed to the legacy of the Negro Leagues.

The Rays and Blue Jays will tip their cap before the start of the second game of Sunday’s doubleheader. All players, managers, coaches and umpires will wear a symbolic Negro Leagues 100th anniversary logo patch during the games.

“It means a lot,” said Rays manager Kevin Cash. “MLB and the players and everybody is doing the right thing by recognizing. I know we’re tipping our hat in between games, and it’ll be a little unique to tip your hat when there are no fans in the stands, but we’ll make it work.”

• The Negro Leagues: Complete coverage

Cash is one of many players, coaches and staff members that have attended the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City. During his visit, Cash was impressed with all the talent that the league had during its time. He was also told about all the struggles that the men and women had to overcome.

“Pretty impressive place,” Cash said. “You hear stories throughout the game coming up, whether Minor League or Major League, but to go see that first hand, it’s pretty well-documented how good those players were, how talented they were and what they went through. And then the times how unfortunate it was that not the most opportunity was presented [for them] in the Major Leagues.”

In February, Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association announced a joint donation of $1 million to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum to complement efforts to educate and raise awareness of the impact the Negro Leagues and its players had on the sport and in society.

Roster move
After Sunday’s 7-5 win over the Blue Jays, the Rays optioned right-hander Aaron Slegers in order to make room for Yonny Chirinos, who was reinstated from the injured list before the game. Chirinos served as the 29th man, starting the seven-inning affair after the Rays won a suspended game earlier on Sunday.

Slegers pitched a scoreless eighth inning for the Rays in the later game, recording his first save of the season and the second of his career. Slegers will remain on the team’s taxi squad for the remainder of the road trip.

The Rays also added right-hander Sam McWilliams to the taxi squad.

Snell’s plan
Left-hander Blake Snell will open the three-game set against the Yankees, and the plan for him is to pitch six innings or throw 85 pitches. Snell had a slow innings buildup, but the left-hander seems to be closer to full-go after tossing five scoreless innings in his last start against the Red Sox.

Up next
After Monday’s off-day, Snell and the Rays begin a three-game series against the Yankees that starts on Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. ET at Yankee Stadium. In his last start against New York, Snell tossed three scoreless innings. The Rays are 3-1 against the Yankees this season. The game will be televised on Fox Sport Sun and MLB.TV.