1999 Tampa Bay Devil Rays season

MLB yearly infobox
name = Tampa Bay Devil Rays
season = 1999
misc =

---

current league = American League
y1 = 1998
division = Eastern Division
y2 = 1998
Uniform logo =
ballpark = Tropicana Field
y4 = 1998
city = St. Petersburg, Florida
y5 = 1998
owners = Vince Naimoli
managers = Larry Rothschild
television = Sportschannel Florida
WWWB/WMOR
WTSP
(Joe Magrane, Dewayne Staats)
radio = WFLA
(Paul Olden, Charlie Slowes)
WBDN
(Eulides Nunez, Enrique Oliu)|The 1999 Tampa Bay Devil Rays season was their second since the franchise was created. This season, they finished last in the AL East division, and managed to finish the season with a record of 69-93. Their manager were Larry Rothschild, who entered his 2nd year with the club.

Offseason

*November 25, 1998: Dave Silvestri was signed as a Free Agent with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. [http://www.baseball-reference.com/s/silveda01.shtml]
* December 11, 1998: José Canseco signed as a Free Agent with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
*February 3, 1999: Joe Oliver was signed as a Free Agent with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. [http://www.baseball-reference.com/o/olivejo01.shtml]
* February 19, 1999: Julio Franco was signed as a Free Agent with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/f/francju01.shtml Julio Franco Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com ] ]
*March 31, 1999: Mike Kelly was released by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. [http://www.baseball-reference.com/k/kellymi02.shtml]

Regular season

* On August 7, 1999, Wade Boggs had the 3,000th hit of his career. [ [http://www.baseball-almanac.com/boxscore/08071999.shtml Baseball Almanac - Boxscore of 3,000th Hit by Wade Boggs ] ] The hit was a home run.

eason standings

Transactions

*April 9, 1999: Dave Silvestri was released by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. [http://www.baseball-reference.com/s/silveda01.shtml]
*July 23, 1999: Joe Oliver was traded by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays with Humberto Cota to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Jose Guillen and Jeff Sparks. [http://www.baseball-reference.com/o/olivejo01.shtml]
*June 23, 1999: Jim Morris was signed as a Free Agent with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. [ http://www.baseball-reference.com/m/morrija03.shtml]

Draft Picks

* June 2, 1999: Josh Hamilton was drafted by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 1st round (1st pick) of the 1999 amateur draft. Player signed June 3, 1999. [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/h/hamiljo03.shtml Josh Hamilton Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com ] ]
* June 2, 1999: Carl Crawford was drafted by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 2nd round of the 1999 amateur draft. Player signed June 14, 1999. [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/c/crawfca02.shtml Carl Crawford Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com ] ]
* June 2, 1999: Doug Waechter was drafted by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 3rd round of the 1999 amateur draft. Player signed June 27, 1999. [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/w/waechdo01.shtml Doug Waechter Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com ] ]

Citrus Series

1999 Marlins win series 5-1
*June 4- Marlins 10- @ Devil Rays 0
*June 5- Marlins 9- @ Devil Rays 7
*June 6- Marlins 11- @ Devil Rays 6
*July 9- @ Marlins 11- Devil Rays 4
*July 10- Devil Rays 9- @ Marlins 8
*July 11- @ Marlins 3- Devil Rays 2

The Rookie

While coaching baseball for the Reagan County Owls, Jim Morris made a promise to his team that he would try out for Major League Baseball if his team won the District Championship, something the team had never accomplished before. His team won the title, and Morris kept his end of the bargain. At tryouts, the Major League scout for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays initially wasn't interested in Morris. But, the scout agreed to allow him to try-out so Morris could keep his promise to his students. Surprisingly, Morris discovered that in spite of his age, and having several surgeries on his arm, he was able to throw a 98-mph fastball. In fact, he threw 12 consecutive 98-mph fastballs. After much debate with his family, Morris signed a professional contract with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays organization at the age of 35. He started out with the Minor League Class AA Orlando Rays but after a few appearances he moved up to a spot with the AAA Durham Bulls. Thanks to solid performances with Durham, Tampa Bay gave him a chance to pitch with the big club when the rosters expanded, and on September 18, 1999, against Royce Clayton of the Texas Rangers, the 35-year old Morris made his debut, striking Clayton out on four pitches. His goal of pitching in the majors was finally realized, and he made four more appearances later that year.

Roster

Starting pitchers

References

* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/TBD/1999.shtml Tampa Bay Devil Rays on Baseball Reference]
* [http://www.baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/roster.php?y=1999&t=TBA 1999 Tampa Bay Devil Rays team page at www.baseball-almanac.com]