Rays to keep themed road trip tradition going

LAKELAND, Fla. -- Themed road trips have been one of the more colorful norms for the Rays since 2008, when they had three such trips in their first winning/playoff season.

Last year, the Rays had five such trips including letter jackets, college football jerseys, all-white, camouflage and the accidental preppie.

Rays manager Joe Maddon likes to have fun, which is his nature. But he also believes that fun leads to his teams being relaxed, and thus, the players are able to perform better.

Maddon tipped his hand on Friday regarding two trips in the works for 2014. One will be a "Woodstock" trip when the team goes to Seattle. Another will be a tuxedo trip to an as-yet-to-be-determined destination.

"I think a tuxedo trip, because that's kind of the antithesis of who we are," said Maddon noting that the team generally dresses in jeans and T shirts. "Definitely insist on jeans and sneakers to accent the tux. So I'm working on a proper date for that. ... I already have mine."