Excitement palpable -- and audible -- as Rays start reporting
Adam Berry
@adamdberryPORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- Brett Phillips sat down outside the Rays’ clubhouse at Charlotte Sports Park on Saturday morning, clapped his hands and let loose a five-second scream, going from a deep roar to a high-pitched howl. After months of uncertainty, separation from his teammates and a lockout-mandated lack of communication with Tampa Bay’s coaches and staff, the energetic outfielder certainly wasn’t going to hide his enthusiasm as he finally reported to Spring Training.
“That’s excitement right there, is what that is,” Phillips said, smiling. “Excited to be here in Port Charlotte, to see my teammates, to see my coaches, to see the front office and, most importantly, to finally see the fans.”
The real activity in Rays camp won’t begin for a few days. Most players are set to arrive on Sunday’s mandatory report date to take their physicals, take part in other team business and work out on the field. There should be a more structured workout Monday, and if all goes well, the Rays hope to get their whole roster together on Tuesday for a full workout.
But the anticipation was already evident on Saturday, even with only a few Major League players trickling in and rain rolling through Charlotte County during the Rays’ Minor League Spring Training workout. Manager Kevin Cash said he was “thrilled” to put on his uniform again as he walked around the complex, watching four innings of a Minor League game and greeting a few players in the gym.
“It's great to be back. I'm excited for all the guys to get here and excited to see everybody,” left-hander Shane McClanahan said. “That's what it's all about, being around the guys you get to play with and getting back to work.”
Rays players kept in touch throughout the lockout, individually and as a group. McClanahan said he saw lefty Ryan Yarbrough on a regular basis and got to know new reliever Brooks Raley over the last month, as they all trained at Diesel Fitness in Tampa. McClanahan met Corey Kluber, another new teammate signed before the lockout began, as they threw bullpens at the University of Tampa’s field. McClanahan and Phillips also noted how players stayed in constant communication through a group text thread.
“What we have as a group is special. We were all in our group text talking daily, keeping up with each other, seeing how everyone was doing. And I can say this, because I know: Other teams were not doing that,” Phillips said. “Other teams were not as engaging and as close-knit as we were, and I can say that for a fact. I think that’s just a testament to the character guys we have in this clubhouse. Everyone talks about it. I love it.”
However, as McClanahan noted, there’s a difference between texting and actually getting the group back together. And the Rays’ unique sense of clubhouse harmony is a result of not just the players’ chemistry, but their relationships with Cash, the coaching staff and the front office. Players and staff weren’t permitted to talk at all during the lockout, so they have a lot of catching up to do in the coming days.
“I love talking with everyone and staying in touch and seeing how everyone’s doing. That’s just who I am. It doesn’t matter if it’s my coach or [president of baseball operations Erik] Neander, the front office guys, I’m friends with these guys,” Phillips said. “It’s tough not to talk to your friends. I’m just glad that we were able to come to an agreement.”
Since December, players have had to prepare on their own without advice or input from Tampa Bay’s coaches or training staff. The Rays have spent months drawing up plans for pitchers’ potential workloads without being able to talk to them and hear how they’re feeling. The difficulty was felt on both sides.
After a strong bullpen session, the first person McClanahan wanted to tell was pitching coach Kyle Snyder. And Snyder missed the valuable time they could have spent working together, the casual bullpen sessions that often lead to significant improvements -- like the ones that helped McClanahan and Tyler Glasnow develop new sliders last offseason. McClanahan admitted he would occasionally pick up his phone to fire off a message and remember, “Oh, I can’t text that person.”
“The uncertainty of when we were going to get back and everything like that, it was uncharted territory. We didn't know when to get off the mound, when to start facing batters, but I think we all handled it pretty well,” McClanahan said. “It worked out in the end. Everybody's excited to get here, so we're excited to be back.”
And that anticipation will surely build throughout this shortened Spring Training. The Rays are coming off a 100-win season, a second straight American League East title and a disappointing loss to the Red Sox in last year’s AL Division Series. They know there’s work to be done after all the enthusiastic greetings -- or, in Phillips’ case, the animated screams.
“I feel really good. Everybody does too, to be honest with you. We're all itching to get back,” McClanahan said. “That was the overall vibe. It's, ‘Can't wait to see you guys’ and ‘Ready to get to work.’ So I know that the team's hungry.”